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Skydiving without a chute

Quote:

Source: Skydiver successfully lands without parachute in world 1st - World - CBC News

A 42-year-old skydiver with more than 18,000 jumps made history Saturday when he became the first person to leap without a parachute and land in a net instead.

After a two-minute freefall, Luke Aikins landed dead centre in the 30.5-by-30.5-metre net at the Big Sky movie ranch on the outskirts of Simi Valley, Calif.

As cheers erupted, Aikins quickly climbed out, walked over and hugged his wife, Monica, who had been watching from the ground with their four-year-old son, Logan, and other family members.

"I'm almost levitating, it's incredible," the jubilant skydiver said, raising his hands over his head as his wife held their son, who dozed in her arms.

"This thing just happened! I can't even get the words out of my mouth," he added as he thanked the dozens of crew members who spent two years helping him prepare for the jump, including those who assembled the fishing trawler-like net and made sure it really worked.

The stunt, broadcast live on the Fox network for the TV special "Stride Gum Presents Heaven Sent," nearly didn't come off as planned when Aikins revealed just before climbing into his plane that the Screen Actors Guild had ordered him to wear a parachute to ensure his safety. Producers for the show were not immediately available to elaborate on the restriction.

He said he considered pulling out at that point because having the parachute canister on his back would make his landing in the net far more dangerous. If he had to wear it he said he wouldn't bother to pull the ripcord anyway.

"I'm going all the way to the net, no question about it," he said from the plane. "I'll just have to deal with the consequences when I land of wearing the parachute on my back and what it's going to do to my body."

A few minutes before the jump one of the show's hosts said the requirement had been lifted. Aikins left the plane without the chute.

He jumped from 7.6 kilometres in the sky with three other skydivers, each wearing parachutes. One had a camera, another trailed smoke so people on the ground could follow his descent and the third took an oxygen canister he handed off after they got to an altitude where it was no longer needed.

Then the others opened their parachutes and left him on his own.

Aikins admitted before the jump he was nervous and his mother said she was one family member who wouldn't watch.

When his friend Chris Talley came up with the idea two years ago, Aikins acknowledged he turned it down cold.

"I kind of laugh and I say, ;Ok, that's great. I'll help you find somebody to do it,"' he told The Associated Press as he trained for the jump last week.

A couple of weeks after Talley made his proposal Aikins called back and said he would do it. He'd been the backup jumper in 2012 when Felix Baumgartner became the first skydiver to break the speed of sound during a jump from 24 miles above Earth.

The 42-year-old daredevil made his first tandem jump when he was 12, following with his first solo leap four years later. He's been racking them up at several hundred a year ever since.

His father and grandfather were skydivers, and his wife has made 2,000 jumps. His family owns Skydive Kapowsin near Tacoma, Wash.

Aikins is also a safety and training adviser for the United States Parachute Association and is certified to teach both students and skydiving instructors. His business Para Tactics provides skydiving training to Navy Seals and other members of elite fighting forces.

I thought the size of his balls would cause some unpredictable aerodynamics :)

EDIT: updated video link

A rogue wind gust and he would go fucking squished.

Fuck that. Skydiving sure...but this? Madness.

insanity,most of the time when i think how many things can go wrong,the panic sets in...and when panic sets in,Thing's get much more fucked up quicker.
i don't know how he blocked out everything,maybe he had a dealth wish?.

When I read this I assumed he used one of those flying squirrel suits.

wow.. i wonder what he would look like if he smashed into the pavment? any dent in the pavment? any bones left? the suit?

Quote:

Originally Posted by FerrariEnzo (Post 8776993)

wow.. i wonder what he would look like if he smashed into the payment? any dent in the payment? any bones left? the suit?

...wait, do you think pavement = payment?

New link. That's just insane. There might have been a huge audience watching a human body explode onto the ground like a watermelon :heckno:

Some people love to tempt fate

Landed dead center? I don't think so.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronin (Post 8776997)

...wait, do you think pavement = payment?

LOL autocorrect FTW..

It's all fun and games until somebody misses the net.

Skydiving without a chute is no problem....anyone can do that without any skill or training...doing it a second time....now THAT is really impressive.:fuckyea:

There's an old video of a guy in Austrlia I think it was with a helmet cam who's chute never opened and he survived... You hear him hit the ground and he's gurgling away but he lived.

Now that guy is a fuckin hero....

Edit: it was New Zealand... Here:

Now that guy must attempt to crash into some bushes and survive, not some pussy net.

Also, how does a 42 yr old have more than 18,000 jumps? That's about two jumps everyday for 24 years assuming he started in 18. Some ppl jump that much? lol

Quote:

Originally Posted by flagella (Post 8777147)

If its part of your job to take people up and jump tandem with them you can do 4-6 jumps a day.

Must really love his wife and kids... And he almost missed too

The craziest part is when he flips over. Two to three seconds and you're literally blind from seeing where the net is. Incredible.

He wasn't even close to centre either. That's crazy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FerrariEnzo (Post 8777082)

LOL autocorrect FTW..

No worries...but here on RS we once had a guy who thought wonder = wander so you can see where I as coming from...

lol...why does one asshole have to let out a blood-curdling scream right before he lands it

Quote:

Originally Posted by meme405 (Post 8777173)

If its part of your job to take people up and jump tandem with them you can do 4-6 jumps a day.

When I went, I bet they went up at least 10 times.

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but fuck, i sweated a little just watchin that

Quote:

Originally Posted by fliptuner (Post 8777350)

When I went, I bet they went up at least 10 times.

Abby?

Busy days I am sure they can and will do many more jumps, you gotta average that with the days they aren't as busy, or the days weather stops their jumps.

Anyone interested in it, or who hasn't tried, I highly recommend the crew out in Abby, they do a phenomenal job and its a blast.