Posted on 07/31/2016 6:11:07 AM PDT by BenLurkin
Luke Aikins, 42, a veteran of 18,000 jumps, completed the stunt without mishap, landing almost in the middle of the 100ft by 100ft net.
Taking only a few moments to regain his composure, Mr Aikins dusted himself off, clambered out of the net and jumped into the arms of his very relieved wife, Monica.
The leap, which was broadcast by Fox, was watched by other members of the family and a crowd of well-wishers packed into an improvised spectator stand in the California desert.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Watched the same video; had exactly the same thoughts. Not even close to the center.
By the way, isn’t there a FAA regulation or some such against deliberately leaving an airplane without a parachute? I recall hearing/reading about it after a spate of chute less jumps where an accompanying parachutist carried a spare to be transferred during the fall and attached to the chute less jumper’s parachute harness.
Have to believe that the signoffs/ waivers on this stunt - not just for the jumper, but also for all the other persons involved in the air and on the ground - must’ve been as thick as a telephone book when they were all stacked up.
Tough way to claim your 15 minutes of fame.
I agree. The world is better that there are daring people like him in all sorts of endeavors. They are the trailblazers.
Ditto and ditto.
I have seen similar intros to an article about a skydiver who made x amount of successful jumps and finally went s p l a t. It's like playing Double or Nothing - you only have to lose once and Game Over.
“Yes, we need fewer daring men in the world...”
He’s only “daring” because he made it. If he had ended up as a spot on the ground he would have been the week’s candidate for the Darwin award.
He would have been daring even if he had been killed.
Just like the American pioneers were daring, opening a whole new world for us to live in.
This jumper did the same, he opened a whole new world.
There are some cool and exciting things on my bucket list...but that ain’t one of them.
A whole new world jumping out of airplanes without parachutes. Great. How impressive.
I hope a lot of liberals are inspired and follow in his footsteps.
I imagine much the same was said when the first parachutist made his jump.
“Skydiver makes history by jumping 25,000 feet into a net without a parachute”
So, when can I try this at home?
Um, NO.
Daring is when you are courageous enough to take a high calculated risk. His plan was at least extremely well thought out, he prepared comprehensively and he had a massive jump experience to learn about how to control his flight during his falls. All of that lead to a calculated risk that he took to be able to control his fall, even through wind patterns, such that he would be able to guide himself to a spot on the ground. He was daring because the consequence of failure was death and he could not control all the variables.
Darwin candidates are rash people who take thoughtless risks with little or no preparation. They are simply stupid.
This man was NOT stupid. He was daring. Who dares wins. He won. And he has now made history.
How about you? What history have you made in your lifetime. Don’t look down your nose at those who achieve something, even something as useless as these kinds of daredevil stunts.
Does anyone else think he had a small reserve chute on his body in case he believed he was seriously blown off course?
Sounds like the first item on my Bucket List.
You can proclaim this as some great achievement all you like. To me, it’s nothing more than a successful stunt that somebody did for their 15 minutes of fame. It didn’t help mankind. It didn’t save anyone’s life. It didn’t do ANYTHING except give a bunch of people a cheap thrill for two minutes. To me, it’s meaningless.
“This will encourage other idiots to try similar stunts, and probably get some people killed. And for what? 15 minutes of fame?”
“Somebody” always gets killed driving, walking the dog, flying, eating, or even sleeping. Did you know that 100% of those who are born will die? You might keep voting democratic, but you will die eventually.
Why not? Your kids would be rich.
This guy had already jumped without the parachute. And NO nets. warning — language
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lq-54gox6-k
18000 jumps is two jumps per day for 25 years. Who does this guy think he is, Wilt Chamberlain?
You’ll need a 25,000 foot ladder and a swimming pool.
I guess there is always someone willing to test the evolutionary process.
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