Were it me making the jump, I think a reserve chute would not be as important as a change of underpants.
Perhaps several changes!
Posted on 05/19/2010 1:15:57 AM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
As Joe Kittinger found out in 1960, it’s hard to jump from a height of 102,800 feet—let alone in an open gondola, in minus 100 F temperatures, wearing 160 pounds of equipment—and survive. As Michele Fournier reaffirmed this weekend on an airfield in Saskatchewan, it’s even more difficult to break that 50-year-old record for the highest free fall.
The French parachutist attempted, for the fourth time, to rise to a height of 130,000 feet in a pressurized capsule dangling beneath a high-altitude air balloon, then step out of it and hurtle toward Earth at supersonic speed, breaking the sound barrier. One of the previous attempts, which began in 2002, left Fournier remaining on the tarmac due to bad weather; another resulted in a torn parachute and a mechanism that fired prematurely, separating the capsule from the balloon just as it took off. This year he returned to North Battleford with a brand new balloon and launch team—American pilots who told me they used vacation days to “come up here and get this guy to where he wants to go.”
The surface winds at 2:30 am on Sunday, when the team began setting up for the attempt, were around 6 knots—right at the edge of the window of safety for launch. The headlights of a forklift pierced the blackness as it lumbered from a small metal hanger on one end of the airfield to another, ferrying a large plywood box with the balloon packed neatly inside. In the distance, Fournier’s silver capsule, shaped like a bullet, sat illuminated in a cone of light. At 4 am, the sky lightened to a deep purple, then a smoky blue, and by 4:18 the Canadian flag whipping over the main terminal had slowed to a lazy wave, and then finally hung limp from its
(Excerpt) Read more at popularmechanics.com ...
Sounds like his equipment is badly designed and sucks s**t all around.
His reserve chute popped open during a pressurization test? What the hell does that mean? That the parachute pack was somehow hermetically sealed or the clod got the D-ring caught on something?
The guy is 66, he’s too old for it.
It could be that the chute was suppose to deploy at a certain altitude (air pressure) if he failed to act (blackout)
It could be that the chute was suppose to deploy at a certain altitude (air pressure) if he failed to act (blackout)
That makes the most sense. And he plumb forgot that the device was still on. Sounds like Alzheimers to me.
Never too old to hit the ground and go splat.
Seems like the Fates really don’t want this guy to try it; maybe he should listen...
Were it me making the jump, I think a reserve chute would not be as important as a change of underpants.
Perhaps several changes!
For instance, if I wanted to break the previous record, i'd add, like, 5 feet. maybe 10. 30,000 is overkill (literally) hahaha :)
The French parachutist attempted, for the fourth time, to rise to a height of 130,000 feet in a pressurized capsule dangling beneath a high-altitude air balloon, then step out of it and hurtle toward Earth at supersonic speed, breaking the sound barrier.Thanks sonofstrangelove. This guy should consider himself lucky.
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