Orbital skydives to follow inflatable heatshield success? "NASA has announced a successful live test of a prototype inflatable heat shield for re-entry to a planet's atmosphere. The blow-up shield could have important implications for future missions to Mars - and also, perhaps, for the nascent field of orbital spacesuit skydiving."
posted by homunculus on Aug 20, 2009 - 27 comments

• Canopy Formation Parachuting Record: 81 100
• Formation Skydiving Record: 400
• 69 :pɹoɔǝɹ uoıʇɐɯɹoɟ ƃuıʎlɟǝǝɹɟ [also, champion freeflying duo Spaceland Anomaly]
posted by not_on_display on Jun 30, 2009 - 19 comments

The highest recorded skydive was performed in 1960 by Joe Kittinger from 102,800 feet. That record may not stand any longer. After twenty years of planning and attempts, almost twenty million dollars, and a two hour ascent on May 26th, Michel Fournier, wearing only space suit and parachute, will step out of the gondola of a 650 foot helium balloon at 130,000 feet.... The Great Leap. [more inside]
posted by Kronos_to_Earth on May 24, 2008 - 29 comments

Human flight. Birdman suits enable the wearer to fly. You can jump from land or sky. If that's not exciting enough for you, add a rocket.
posted by desjardins on Oct 3, 2007 - 27 comments

Leaping Through the clouds 40 years ago yesterday, 18 experienced recreational skydivers took off in a converted World War II B-25 flying at 20,000 feet, intending to land at Ortner Field in Wakeman, Ohio. Expecting to free fall and then pop their chutes at 3,000 feet, after passing through the clouds at 4,000 feet, they instead plunged into Lake Erie, five miles from shore. FAA rules then and now bar skydiving through clouds, for obvious reasons. The plane's pilot wasn't rated to fly the craft but he also received bad information about his location from an air traffic controller in Oberlin: the controller mistook a Cessna observing the jump from a couple of miles away for the B-25. Two skydivers, one of whom had used his Styrofoam-lined helmet as a flotation device, were saved from the waters by a passing boater; 16 skydivers drowned. Oddly, one skydiver had told people the night before that, given a choice, he would take drowning as the way to go. He did not survive. The tragedy remains the worst recreational skydiving accident in history. (Sub. required.)
posted by etaoin on Aug 28, 2007 - 20 comments

Two men go skydiving with cameras on their helmets. For one of them, everything goes well. For the other... not so well: neither chute functions and he hits the ground at 80mph. Video footage and post jump interview here. {via waxy}
posted by dobbs on Feb 13, 2007 - 70 comments

Whether or not you generally enjoy testosterone-ridden activities, watching Greg Gasson jump from one plane to another is pretty cool. Also: a longer video of a second such jump, plus lots of annoying commentary. Registration required.
posted by louigi on Aug 18, 2006 - 21 comments

GX Jupitter-Larsen - noise maker, video artist [some NSFW] and inventor of the TNU.
posted by tellurian on Aug 1, 2006 - 9 comments

It's a bird, it's a plane! , no it's the Special Forces using strap-on stealth wings to zoom silently into battle. We've all fantasized about jet packs, but being dropped from a plane with wings on your back is a silent way to travel great distances before opening a parachute for landing, just like daredevil Felix Baumgartner, who soared across the English Channel. Who wants to go first?
posted by twsf on Jun 6, 2006 - 22 comments

skydiving photos skydiving or skydriving (via)
posted by hortense on Mar 27, 2005 - 41 comments

Men falling from the sky [14MB Quicktime] (via newstoday)
posted by gwint on Dec 15, 2004 - 70 comments

"Skydiver in record Channel flight" is the claim made by an Austrian skydiving across the channel aided by small strap-on wings. Evidently he needed a 1 in 4 glide angle to make it, but a simple understanding of flight mechanics would suggest that the distance he could fly is proportional to the amount of strap-on wing area. At what point does skydiving become gliding?
posted by marvin on Jul 31, 2003 - 12 comments

Skydive naked! This 4.1 MB mpeg is NSFW, but if you enjoyed madamjujujive's pianist post, you might like this too.
posted by homunculus on Jan 31, 2003 - 19 comments

Ah, skydiving. The air around a dropzone, especially a big one like SkyDive Chicago, is pretty rarefied: a newcomer to the sport like myself is entirely lacking in cool, even if normal people think having made even one solo jump is pretty impressive. I'm certainly nowhere near the cool-level of the Golden Knights, the Army's team of crack parachutists. Speaking of them and SDC, they were of course there when this year's national championships were held in August. I especially liked the video of them showcasing their excellent HALO technique.
posted by kavasa on Sep 23, 2002 - 20 comments

Skydiver falls to his death, was part of fireworks display
He went out with a bang.
posted by GernBlandston on Sep 3, 2002 - 24 comments

Dead Mike had an accident while skydiving and fell 80 feet to the concrete runway. He survived and put up this website to tell his story (warning: sound.)
posted by homunculus on May 24, 2002 - 7 comments

awesome skydiving images
my brother posted this link in his blog.

i've never gone skydiving myself, though i've thought about it. there's always that nagging doubt about the chute.

any mefi'ers taken the plunge? did you dig it?

if you haven't yet, would you?
posted by bwg on Aug 3, 2001 - 23 comments

Skydiver to jump from edge of space I hope all the inaccuracies in this article are the journalists fault and not this guy trying to make this seem more important and pioneering than it is. It's not like this wasn't done over 40 years ago. What "...emergency procedures for people exploring space" would this create? If he went much higher or came in from outer space he'd vaporize. Less extreme science than just plain old extreme sports, 21st century style.

Millner claims that scientists have helped him on the project, but it is not known if the human body is capable of enduring such a descent. (sigh) Figures.
posted by redleaf on Mar 4, 2001 - 10 comments