In October 2012, Felix Baumgartner left the world speechless after jumping from 39,000 meters. Two years later, a Google executive with similar gear, no sponsors and far less press shattered that record. Both jumps carried enormous risk, yet they pale next to the madness of Luke Aikins, who threw himself out of a plane at 7,600 meters without a parachute and landed in a net... intact.
Why would anyone do that?
“Why?” It’s a simple and powerful question. Why would anyone in their right mind throw themselves out of a plane at more than seven thousand meters without a parachute or a wingsuit? What are they trying to prove? Earth’s gravity still works, and it doesn’t make exceptions. For Luke Aikins, falling into the void is completely normal. He started skydiving at 12 and is a third-generation skydiver; his grandfather founded a school after serving in World War II. Aikins also worked as a stunt double in several films, including Iron Man 3. But this jump was different. One thing is jumping out of a plane with all the necessary gear, and another is jumping out “naked,” with the specific goal of landing on a 30-by-30-meter net that, at one point, looks as small as a postage stamp.
The professional behind the jump
… and he did it, with the skill and precision you’d expect from a professional. When someone’s work looks “too easy” on camera, it’s because they know exactly what they’re doing. With about 18,000 jumps over a 30-year career (an average of 1.6 jumps a day), no one doubts that Aikins feels more at home “among the clouds” than “on the ground.” The jump, dubbed “Heaven Sent,” took two years of preparation, and Aikins admitted he initially didn’t want to do it because he’s married and has a small son. Then came bureaucratic complications. SAG-AFTRA, the actors’ union, issued a “do not work” order for its members unless Aikins carried at least a parachute. The irony is that carrying the parachute would have made the jump more dangerous, because of the added mass.
Aikins boarded the plane with the parachute on, assuring everyone he wouldn’t open it, but the union withdrew its order at the last moment, and everything went ahead as originally planned. During the two minutes his fall lasted, Aikins had the chance to practice several times the spin he needed to perform to hit the safety net safely. The net worked perfectly, and judging by the video, he didn’t need any medical checkup. Now the question is: will anyone be willing to top this? After all, records exist to be broken...
Source: the original NPR report
