|
Author
|
Topic: Skydiver jumps 25,000 feet with no parachute
|
fredtrav
Member Posts: 1673
From: Birmingham AL
Registered: Aug 2010
|
posted 07-31-2016 01:11 AM
   
Not really space related, but thought this cool, incredibly stupid. From USA Today: Pro skydiver Luke Aikins successfully completed an insane stunt on Saturday for a Fox TV special. He jumped out of a plane with no parachute and fell 25,000 feet into a net the size of about one-third of a football field. |
cspg
Member Posts: 6210
From: Geneva, Switzerland
Registered: May 2006
|
posted 07-31-2016 04:37 AM
Stupid is the word. If he has missed the net, would the broadcast have continued? |
PeterO
Member Posts: 399
From: North Carolina
Registered: Mar 2002
|
posted 07-31-2016 05:23 AM
I read yesterday that the broadcast was delayed, although it didn't say by how much. Presumably they had a contingency plan for an off-target landing. |
Solarplexus
Member Posts: 107
From: Norway
Registered: Jan 2014
|
posted 07-31-2016 12:24 PM
Woow! I believe I would have used a laser beam of some sort to guide me in.  |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
|
posted 07-31-2016 12:40 PM
There were lights around the target — if white, they indicated he was on target, if red, he was off target (in the direction of the light) and needed to make a correction. |
dom
Member Posts: 855
From:
Registered: Aug 2001
|
posted 07-31-2016 01:05 PM
And he only just made it. Flipping over onto his back at the last minute appears to have taken him off centre. Too near the edge for my liking.  |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
|
posted 07-31-2016 01:30 PM
His only safe landing was on his back, hence the flip. The net, as it lowered, forced his body to bend. Had he landed face down, he could have suffered spinal injuries. |
dom
Member Posts: 855
From:
Registered: Aug 2001
|
posted 07-31-2016 05:24 PM
Yes, I know the flip was intentional but doing that meant he seemed to drift off centre at the last second. He nearly missed! |
Skythings
Member Posts: 243
From:
Registered: Jun 2014
|
posted 07-31-2016 07:52 PM
I can't imagine having been in those bleachers and watching if he missed. Personally I would never have attended such an event in person. I have no interest watching someone perish in front of my eyes. There was a very real possibility of failure with this stunt. It's great footage to watch because he made it, but just watching his reaction while he's still in the net, indicates to me he will likely not be performing that stunt again. He got very lucky. |
oly
Member Posts: 905
From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: Apr 2015
|
posted 07-31-2016 09:23 PM
I am not sure if I think this is cool or sheer madness but I am impressed.
Maybe NASA could set something like this up to save on landing parachutes on Orion (just joking, but it makes it space related). |
MarylandSpace
Member Posts: 1336
From:
Registered: Aug 2002
|
posted 07-31-2016 11:00 PM
I wonder what his terminal velocity was? |
Glint
Member Posts: 1040
From: New Windsor, Maryland USA
Registered: Jan 2004
|
posted 08-01-2016 01:50 PM
Zero. Same as if he had missed.  |
advertisement