After taking the internet by storm with his madness and being forced to postpone his personal challenge twice, with a homemade rocket, Mad Mike Hughes finally faced the laws of physics with his latest creation — and lived. The rocket exceeded 560 kilometers per hour and came close to 600 meters in altitude. No records broken, but he said he would do it, and he did.
The original story takes us back to late last November, when this limousine driver known as Mad Mike Hughes announced his intention to prove that the Earth is flat by flying in a homemade rocket. The web responded with comments like “we don’t need another madman,” and doubted his ability to take off. Previous tests didn’t inspire much confidence either, with torn parachutes and landings that almost cost him his life. Nevertheless, Mad Mike’s perseverance proved greater than we initially imagined, and on March 24, this happened:
Yes, he did it! Mad Mike took off in his rocket from the abandoned community of Amboy (near the famous Route 66) and lived to tell the tale. He reached an estimated top speed of 560 kilometers per hour (despite slightly lower pressure than planned), while the “landing” required two parachutes. The video shows that the deployment of the second parachute was critical, or else the rocket would have crashed like an egg. Mad Mike needed assistance to get out of the vehicle and indicated he “wouldn’t be able to get out of bed” for a day, but was glad to return home for dinner and see his cats.
Now, what about the flat Earth? Let’s say nothing. The rocket only rose to 1,875 feet, about 571 meters of altitude. Many commercial drones can go higher than that (barring software limitations), and I imagine several readers are at more than 600 meters above sea level right now. Mad Mike will have to fly much higher to prove the Earth is flat, and that includes building a “Rockoon”, a rocket that is lifted by a balloon before taking off. Ah, he also said he wants to be governor. Could it have been the bump on the head...?
Source: Route 66 News
