So, an American chap is going to skydive without a parachute

[anonymous-user]

Nutter - but a very skilled one

Well done lad!

[The Mad Monk]

hornetrider said:

...live on the telly. No 'chute, no wingsuit, just dive onto a net the size of a football pitch.

http://www.people.com/article/luke-aikins-heaven-s...

What can possibly go wrong?

[Turquoise]

Rather closer the edge of the net than the centre too

[numtumfutunch]

Turquoise said:

Rather closer the edge of the net than the centre too

I thought so too!

And it was 100ft which is a bit smaller than a footy pitch

[mouseymousey]

Very impressive but I'm pretty sure he had a concealed parachute. He definitely does a practice touch where the pilot chute would be and also checks his emergency handles.

Doesn't detract from the fact that it was an awesome stunt though.

[Randy Winkman]

mouseymousey said:

Very impressive but I'm pretty sure he had a concealed parachute. He definitely does a practice touch where the pilot chute would be and also checks his emergency handles.

Doesn't detract from the fact that it was an awesome stunt though.

I'm not disputing what you say, but I wonder when he would use it? "Whoops, I'm just about to miss the net so I'll open my secret chute. Here goes ......

[98elise]

mouseymousey said:

Very impressive but I'm pretty sure he had a concealed parachute. He definitely does a practice touch where the pilot chute would be and also checks his emergency handles.

Doesn't detract from the fact that it was an awesome stunt though.

I'm have no experience at all, however it didn't look like he had a concealed chute. I would have thought the team that dropped with him were prepared to latch onto him if things were going wrong on the way down. I would have thought they pulled away once it was very certain he was going to hit the net.

If he was doing checks, could it just be what he's done on 1000's of other drops so its just second nature?

[Sheetmaself]

Whether he did or didn't wear a chute i have no idea,but i do feel it strange he left it open to people wondering. Surely a tight jump suit (as I geuss he couldnt do it shirtless due to altitude and temperature) would of proved no back up.

Unless he needed the resistance to temper his terminal velocity of course.

[KTF]

mouseymousey said:

Very impressive but I'm pretty sure he had a concealed parachute. He definitely does a practice touch where the pilot chute would be and also checks his emergency handles.

Doesn't detract from the fact that it was an awesome stunt though.

They are pretty bulky and he didn't appear to have one.

He had people following him down, one pulled at a higher altitude, one at a lower. After that he was on his own. I suspect he landed too far to the side of his intended target but he made it nonetheless. That must have got the pulse racing somewhat.

[WinstonWolf]

Randy Winkman said:

mouseymousey said:

Very impressive but I'm pretty sure he had a concealed parachute. He definitely does a practice touch where the pilot chute would be and also checks his emergency handles.

Doesn't detract from the fact that it was an awesome stunt though.

I'm not disputing what you say, but I wonder when he would use it? "Whoops, I'm just about to miss the net so I'll open my secret chute. Here goes ......

Perhaps, and it's purely a flight of fantasy on my part, he had airbags in his suit?

[Europa1]

mouseymousey said:

He definitely does a practice touch where the pilot chute would be and also checks his emergency handles.

Maybe he was just trying to push some poo back in?

[amancalledrob]

KTF said:

Thanks for the calculations. I guess there is more give in the net otherwise he would black out when he hits it and experiences 10g which won't look good on TV?

It's a lot of g, but in my uneducated opinion it'd take more than 0.5 seconds for it to render someone unconscious

[98elise]

amancalledrob said:

KTF said:

Thanks for the calculations. I guess there is more give in the net otherwise he would black out when he hits it and experiences 10g which won't look good on TV?

It's a lot of g, but in my uneducated opinion it'd take more than 0.5 seconds for it to render someone unconscious

Isn't high G only a problem if the blood is leaving the head (ie if you're upright or sitting). Falling onto his back with that mount of give in the net wouldn't cause him any problems.

[amancalledrob]

98elise said:

amancalledrob said:

KTF said:

Thanks for the calculations. I guess there is more give in the net otherwise he would black out when he hits it and experiences 10g which won't look good on TV?

It's a lot of g, but in my uneducated opinion it'd take more than 0.5 seconds for it to render someone unconscious

Isn't high G only a problem if the blood is leaving the head (ie if you're upright or sitting). Falling onto his back with that mount of give in the net wouldn't cause him any problems.

That's a great point, I hadn't thought of that

[Foliage]

mouseymousey said:

Very impressive but I'm pretty sure he had a concealed parachute. He definitely does a practice touch where the pilot chute would be and also checks his emergency handles.

Doesn't detract from the fact that it was an awesome stunt though.

Muscle memory,

Its more likely that the other jumpers would be equipped to grab him and tandem him down, perhaps even past the height of the net.

[Gareth79]

Foliage said:

Muscle memory,

Its more likely that the other jumpers would be equipped to grab him and tandem him down, perhaps even past the height of the net.

IF he wore one (which I doubt) it would probably only be so that he could pull on his own if he realised very late he might miss, ie. lower than another skydiver could grab him and pull themselves.

I'd like to think that the full TV show had decent shots that show he wasn't wearing one. I guess he could have made a special rig with just a main canopy packed flat, and a suit with tearaway pieces that the pilot chute could push out, but it would be very risky both in terms of operation and it being discovered. I'm sure the main reason for the baggy suit was to slow his fall rate.

[popeyewhite]

Foliage said:

Muscle memory,

Doesn't exist. However if you practice something over and over and over again people may do it without thinking - in other words a simple reaction - especially when placed in the the situation where that specific action is normally required - Who hasn't stamped on the brake pedal when a front seat passenger in a mate's car?

Foliage said:

Its more likely that the other jumpers would be equipped to grab him and tandem him down, perhaps even past the height of the net.

I'd have thought so too.

[audidoody]

They threw a laser-guided rubber dummy out of the plane.

When it hit net it was quickly grabbed and the chap emerged from a hole dug under the net.

Obvious innit?

[Jimbeaux]

98elise said:

mouseymousey said:

Very impressive but I'm pretty sure he had a concealed parachute. He definitely does a practice touch where the pilot chute would be and also checks his emergency handles.

Doesn't detract from the fact that it was an awesome stunt though.

I'm have no experience at all, however it didn't look like he had a concealed chute. I would have thought the team that dropped with him were prepared to latch onto him if things were going wrong on the way down. I would have thought they pulled away once it was very certain he was going to hit the net.

If he was doing checks, could it just be what he's done on 1000's of other drops so its just second nature?

They pulled their chutes at 5,000ft. That is a mile up over a net that would look like a postage stamp. I think that is just when they deployed for safety, hitting that spot at 5,000ft is still an uncertain thing imo. As I said earlier, driving to work is enough danger for me.

[wc98]

Gareth79 said:

IF he wore one (which I doubt) it would probably only be so that he could pull on his own if he realised very late he might miss, ie. lower than another skydiver could grab him and pull themselves.

I'd like to think that the full TV show had decent shots that show he wasn't wearing one. I guess he could have made a special rig with just a main canopy packed flat, and a suit with tearaway pieces that the pilot chute could push out, but it would be very risky both in terms of operation and it being discovered. I'm sure the main reason for the baggy suit was to slow his fall rate.

it looked like he was wearing a one piece tracking suit . advantage being extra manouevrablity allowing him to make directional adjustments far quicker than a basic jump suit. fantastic achievement ,but nowhere near the level of these guys.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C_jPcUkVrM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GASFa7rkLtM