25,000 Feet Without a Parachute
July 31, 2016 11:17 AM Subscribe
So is this crazier than the guy who jumped from low orbit?
posted by Beholder at 11:27 AM on July 31, 2016
posted by Beholder at 11:27 AM on July 31, 2016
Watch Luke Aikens jump out of a plane at 25,000 feet without a parachute.Thanks, but no.
posted by schmod at 11:32 AM on July 31, 2016 [4 favorites]
Hey. Where did this pot of petunias come from?
posted by schmod at 11:33 AM on July 31, 2016 [51 favorites]
posted by schmod at 11:33 AM on July 31, 2016 [51 favorites]
It's awesome that this was a successful jump and stuff...
But I'm left wondering what headlines would have been written (if any) if he'd missed the net? Or would he have just been awarded the 2016 Darwin Award without much comment?
posted by hippybear at 11:40 AM on July 31, 2016 [6 favorites]
But I'm left wondering what headlines would have been written (if any) if he'd missed the net? Or would he have just been awarded the 2016 Darwin Award without much comment?
posted by hippybear at 11:40 AM on July 31, 2016 [6 favorites]
Well that was a dumb thing to do.
posted by octothorpe at 11:44 AM on July 31, 2016 [10 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 11:44 AM on July 31, 2016 [10 favorites]
Thanks, but no.
That's what I said too, but then I watched it anyways. And it was excellent.
posted by mattamatic at 11:44 AM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
That's what I said too, but then I watched it anyways. And it was excellent.
posted by mattamatic at 11:44 AM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
Yeah, I kind of felt enraged reading that his wife brought their 4 year old to watch.
If I heard someone was planning to do this, I would say it was stupid. The since they couldn't have been sure of the outcome before hand, I don't think the fact hat it worked out makes it any less stupid.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 11:45 AM on July 31, 2016 [14 favorites]
If I heard someone was planning to do this, I would say it was stupid. The since they couldn't have been sure of the outcome before hand, I don't think the fact hat it worked out makes it any less stupid.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 11:45 AM on July 31, 2016 [14 favorites]
Is it possible that in the future, this, like skydiving, will be available to anyone who has money to burn and a weekend to give it a try? I hope the hell not.
posted by Countess Elena at 11:46 AM on July 31, 2016
posted by Countess Elena at 11:46 AM on July 31, 2016
It seems you have to do crazier and crazier things to get noticed.
It makes hot air balooning seem tame. And yet.
posted by Bee'sWing at 11:46 AM on July 31, 2016
It makes hot air balooning seem tame. And yet.
posted by Bee'sWing at 11:46 AM on July 31, 2016
But I'm left wondering what headlines would have been written (if any) if he'd missed the net?
Considering it's unlikely the video would be published and it looks in the middle of nowhere with no crowd, probably nothing. If he's in movies or something, maybe a "Stuntman Luke Aikens dies in desert parachuting accident" on Variety with no mention of lack of parachutes.
posted by lmfsilva at 11:53 AM on July 31, 2016 [2 favorites]
Considering it's unlikely the video would be published and it looks in the middle of nowhere with no crowd, probably nothing. If he's in movies or something, maybe a "Stuntman Luke Aikens dies in desert parachuting accident" on Variety with no mention of lack of parachutes.
posted by lmfsilva at 11:53 AM on July 31, 2016 [2 favorites]
With tired and caffeine presently waging war inside my skull, I initially read this as "Watch 25000 Clay Aikins jump from a plane without a parachute"
This being far enough away from that expectation, I was almost disappointed...almost...
posted by The Legit Republic of Blanketsburg at 11:56 AM on July 31, 2016 [15 favorites]
This being far enough away from that expectation, I was almost disappointed...almost...
posted by The Legit Republic of Blanketsburg at 11:56 AM on July 31, 2016 [15 favorites]
I assume there was some careful physics worked out ahead of time.
Yeah they didn't just go do this one weekend. They did simulations and many practice jumps.
posted by thelonius at 12:00 PM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
Yeah they didn't just go do this one weekend. They did simulations and many practice jumps.
posted by thelonius at 12:00 PM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
But how do you practice this? Even if you're wearing a parachute, once you get below a certain altitude you won't be able to stop in time.
posted by dilaudid at 12:10 PM on July 31, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by dilaudid at 12:10 PM on July 31, 2016 [2 favorites]
Similar stuff I've come across on YouTube in the last couple of days: an aspiring rapper who shot himself through the cheek and filmed it as a self-promotional stunt, and a compilation video of a bunch of people stabbing themselves in the fingers while playing that game (and I use that word loosely) where you put your hand flat on a table and then try to stab between your fingers.
With these examples of how technology has enriched our lives and our culture in mind, I ask: what did the jumper get for doing this? If the answer is 'internet-famous for a couple days', I can only regard it as a serious miscalculation of risk vs. reward.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 12:13 PM on July 31, 2016 [4 favorites]
With these examples of how technology has enriched our lives and our culture in mind, I ask: what did the jumper get for doing this? If the answer is 'internet-famous for a couple days', I can only regard it as a serious miscalculation of risk vs. reward.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 12:13 PM on July 31, 2016 [4 favorites]
But how do you practice this? Even if you're wearing a parachute, once you get below a certain altitude you won't be able to stop in time.
One possibility might be by doing practice jumps from 25000+X feet until you can successfully pass through an identically sized virtual target that is above minimum pack opening altitude X (perhaps with slight adjustments for the slight difference in air density). Presumably you also have to include getting your horizontal ground velocity below a reasonable value as one of the conditions of a successful virtual target "hit".
posted by RichardP at 12:23 PM on July 31, 2016 [4 favorites]
One possibility might be by doing practice jumps from 25000+X feet until you can successfully pass through an identically sized virtual target that is above minimum pack opening altitude X (perhaps with slight adjustments for the slight difference in air density). Presumably you also have to include getting your horizontal ground velocity below a reasonable value as one of the conditions of a successful virtual target "hit".
posted by RichardP at 12:23 PM on July 31, 2016 [4 favorites]
With these examples of how technology has enriched our lives and our culture in mind, I ask: what did the jumper get for doing this? If the answer is 'internet-famous for a couple days', I can only regard it as a serious miscalculation of risk vs. reward.
Promotional sponsorship from a chewing gum brand was what I saw.
posted by CBrachyrhynchos at 12:26 PM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
Promotional sponsorship from a chewing gum brand was what I saw.
posted by CBrachyrhynchos at 12:26 PM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
If there's ever evidence that women are smarter than men, it's that you never ever see women doing this sort of shit.
posted by AFABulous at 12:34 PM on July 31, 2016 [14 favorites]
posted by AFABulous at 12:34 PM on July 31, 2016 [14 favorites]
It's RT, Putin's propaganda outlet. They're promoting adventure and thrill to destabilize social relations in the English speaking world. Sorry, that's a paranoid idea, for sure, but if you want a fun international conspiracy theory, there you go.
posted by saulgoodman at 12:35 PM on July 31, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by saulgoodman at 12:35 PM on July 31, 2016 [3 favorites]
Considering it's unlikely the video would be published and it looks in the middle of nowhere with no crowd, probably nothing. If he's in movies or something, maybe a "Stuntman Luke Aikens dies in desert parachuting accident" on Variety with no mention of lack of parachutes.According to the BBC it was aired live on Fox television.
Having your four year old son watch you go splat is probably the point where even the most reckless daredevil parent would be "dude, not cool".
posted by fullerine at 12:35 PM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
One possibility might be by doing practice jumps from 25000+X feet until you can successfully pass through an identically sized virtual target that is above minimum pack opening altitude X (perhaps with slight adjustments for the slight difference in air density). Presumably you also have to include getting your horizontal ground velocity below a reasonable value as one of the conditions of a successful virtual target "hit".
That was my thought. After you hit terminal velocity, the physics is going to be the same (give or take a few percent). Hitting a mark at 200 feet shouldn't be radically different from hitting a mark at 2,000 feet (recommended minimum chute altitude.)
posted by CBrachyrhynchos at 12:36 PM on July 31, 2016
That was my thought. After you hit terminal velocity, the physics is going to be the same (give or take a few percent). Hitting a mark at 200 feet shouldn't be radically different from hitting a mark at 2,000 feet (recommended minimum chute altitude.)
posted by CBrachyrhynchos at 12:36 PM on July 31, 2016
it looks in the middle of nowhere with no crowd
There was a crowd, I don't know why the youtube video has no sound but in this version you can see them cheering afterwards and hear one woman absolutely shrieking in what sounds like fear when he gets close to landing. You can also get some commentary here like that he's practicing flipping early in the jump and that his cousin Andy was the one took his oxygen mask mid air!
posted by jamesonandwater at 12:36 PM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
There was a crowd, I don't know why the youtube video has no sound but in this version you can see them cheering afterwards and hear one woman absolutely shrieking in what sounds like fear when he gets close to landing. You can also get some commentary here like that he's practicing flipping early in the jump and that his cousin Andy was the one took his oxygen mask mid air!
posted by jamesonandwater at 12:36 PM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
If there's ever evidence that women are smarter than men, it's that you never ever see women doing this sort of shit.
Some women have done that, but not voluntarily.
posted by elgilito at 12:52 PM on July 31, 2016 [3 favorites]
Some women have done that, but not voluntarily.
posted by elgilito at 12:52 PM on July 31, 2016 [3 favorites]
Considering it's unlikely the video would be published
I don't know that this is true. There was a video going around a couple of years ago of a skydiver whose parachute failed. It was the video from his helmet camera. And we certainly heard about it when those two wingsuit guys died awhile ago in an illegal jump in a national park.
posted by not that girl at 12:53 PM on July 31, 2016
I don't know that this is true. There was a video going around a couple of years ago of a skydiver whose parachute failed. It was the video from his helmet camera. And we certainly heard about it when those two wingsuit guys died awhile ago in an illegal jump in a national park.
posted by not that girl at 12:53 PM on July 31, 2016
Well, ultimately it depends if the people holding the rights of what was recorded to the SD card want to share it or not. But, considering it was on live on TV and with a crowd:
people are weird.
posted by lmfsilva at 1:03 PM on July 31, 2016
people are weird.
posted by lmfsilva at 1:03 PM on July 31, 2016
I was tempted to post a link to the Mountain Goats song Amy aka Spent Gladiator 2, which begins:
Do every stupid thing that makes you feel alive
Do every stupid thing to try to keep the dark away
Let people call you crazy for the choices that you make
Find limits past the limits
Jump in front of trains all day*
But I decided not to. And then I saw that somebody had linked to The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton, and I thought about how the Mountain Goats have a song for just about everything, and decided to go for it.
[*The chorus goes "Stay Alive" which is also important. And of course the song is about the failure to stay alive. Still.]
posted by not that girl at 1:04 PM on July 31, 2016 [7 favorites]
Do every stupid thing that makes you feel alive
Do every stupid thing to try to keep the dark away
Let people call you crazy for the choices that you make
Find limits past the limits
Jump in front of trains all day*
But I decided not to. And then I saw that somebody had linked to The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton, and I thought about how the Mountain Goats have a song for just about everything, and decided to go for it.
[*The chorus goes "Stay Alive" which is also important. And of course the song is about the failure to stay alive. Still.]
posted by not that girl at 1:04 PM on July 31, 2016 [7 favorites]
He was definitely rehearsing his roll-over a few times there at the beginning. The thing I noticed most was he didn't hit the net dead-center by any means. That could have turned out bad. I bet now that he can say he's done it, he never does it again.
posted by ctmf at 1:10 PM on July 31, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by ctmf at 1:10 PM on July 31, 2016 [2 favorites]
kind of felt enraged reading that his wife brought their 4 year old to watch.
Eh, it's what this guy does. It reminds me of this from a Jack Reacher book:
He shook his head. "Listen, I'm sick of justifying myself. It's ridiculous. You know your neighbors? You know the people who live around here?"
"Not really," she said.
He rubbed mist off the glass and pointed out his window with his thumb. "Maybe one of them is an old lady who knits sweaters. Are you going to walk up to her and say, oh my God, what's with you? I can't believe you actually have the temerity to know how to knit sweaters."
posted by ftm at 1:12 PM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
Eh, it's what this guy does. It reminds me of this from a Jack Reacher book:
He shook his head. "Listen, I'm sick of justifying myself. It's ridiculous. You know your neighbors? You know the people who live around here?"
"Not really," she said.
He rubbed mist off the glass and pointed out his window with his thumb. "Maybe one of them is an old lady who knits sweaters. Are you going to walk up to her and say, oh my God, what's with you? I can't believe you actually have the temerity to know how to knit sweaters."
posted by ftm at 1:12 PM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
Anything for a rush, a bounce in a net, and 15 minutes of fame.
It's either that, or RIP, a dirt nap, and the Darwin Award.
Either way, you"re famous.
posted by BlueHorse at 1:17 PM on July 31, 2016
It's either that, or RIP, a dirt nap, and the Darwin Award.
Either way, you"re famous.
posted by BlueHorse at 1:17 PM on July 31, 2016
If you've got a 4-year-old then you're ineligible for the Darwin Award.
posted by rlk at 2:14 PM on July 31, 2016 [32 favorites]
posted by rlk at 2:14 PM on July 31, 2016 [32 favorites]
If sweater knitting was a dangerous and unpredictable extreme sport in which grandma dying via needle through the eye was a realistic outcome, I would want to spare 4-year-olds from the sight of that.
In other words, there's a big difference between actions which are merely aesthetic and those with the potential to damage innocent people (psychologically or physically). But I guess edgy super hero types don't follow those rules.
posted by simen at 2:47 PM on July 31, 2016 [2 favorites]
In other words, there's a big difference between actions which are merely aesthetic and those with the potential to damage innocent people (psychologically or physically). But I guess edgy super hero types don't follow those rules.
posted by simen at 2:47 PM on July 31, 2016 [2 favorites]
But how do you practice this? Even if you're wearing a parachute, once you get below a certain altitude you won't be able to stop in time.
In an article I read earlier today it said that he got permission to pull the chute at 1000 feet, much lower than normal. Also, they were using smaller nets on the practice runs.
posted by advil at 3:02 PM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
In an article I read earlier today it said that he got permission to pull the chute at 1000 feet, much lower than normal. Also, they were using smaller nets on the practice runs.
posted by advil at 3:02 PM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
Yes, because smaller nets always makes sense when you're just practicing.
posted by hippybear at 3:07 PM on July 31, 2016
posted by hippybear at 3:07 PM on July 31, 2016
I guess I can surmise from this thread that jumping out of an airplane 25,000 feet up without a parachute is not for everyone.
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 3:11 PM on July 31, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 3:11 PM on July 31, 2016 [2 favorites]
It COULD be for everyone... might solve a few of the world's problems actually.
posted by hippybear at 3:16 PM on July 31, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 3:16 PM on July 31, 2016 [4 favorites]
I clicked thinking thinking he'd be given a parachute on the way down, I kept waiting for that. My jaw dropped at the end.
posted by bonobothegreat at 3:25 PM on July 31, 2016
posted by bonobothegreat at 3:25 PM on July 31, 2016
I'm glad this got posted here because I was wondering if it succeeded because I saw this guy on the ABC national broadcast on Thursday. I didn't get the feeling he was doing it for the fame, some people just like pushing limits.
Do we also think that the guy walking the tightrope across the Grand Canyon on TV was fame seeking too? Or just that he wanted to do it?
posted by LizBoBiz at 3:32 PM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
Do we also think that the guy walking the tightrope across the Grand Canyon on TV was fame seeking too? Or just that he wanted to do it?
posted by LizBoBiz at 3:32 PM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
They surely had a planned drop point but experienced skydivers have some control over their fall
This. A fellow I used to play music with is a skydiving instructor and all-purpose madman. As an instructor, he knows a lot of general aviation pilots. The instructor – let's call him Scott, because that is his name – accompanied a pilot one time who was going out for the afternoon to get some more hours on his Cessna. Scott was just along for the ride and to keep him company but by the end of the afternoon, Scott began to get anxious because he was supposed to be meeting someone at his house that evening and the timing was getting tight. Scott asked the pilfi if he had a spare chute aboard (he did) and then asked the pilot to divert a bit so he would pass over Scott's remote, rural house.
Scott donned the chute, said farewell, and stepped out the door at 12,000 feet, then landed in his backyard. He had to get a lift back to the airport the next day but he was on time for his social engagement.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 3:33 PM on July 31, 2016 [16 favorites]
This. A fellow I used to play music with is a skydiving instructor and all-purpose madman. As an instructor, he knows a lot of general aviation pilots. The instructor – let's call him Scott, because that is his name – accompanied a pilot one time who was going out for the afternoon to get some more hours on his Cessna. Scott was just along for the ride and to keep him company but by the end of the afternoon, Scott began to get anxious because he was supposed to be meeting someone at his house that evening and the timing was getting tight. Scott asked the pilfi if he had a spare chute aboard (he did) and then asked the pilot to divert a bit so he would pass over Scott's remote, rural house.
Scott donned the chute, said farewell, and stepped out the door at 12,000 feet, then landed in his backyard. He had to get a lift back to the airport the next day but he was on time for his social engagement.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 3:33 PM on July 31, 2016 [16 favorites]
Talk about your leap of faith, he had to flip over at the last moment
posted by Fupped Duck at 3:36 PM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Fupped Duck at 3:36 PM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
Yeah it's crazy. OTOH, he's jumped 18,000 times (equivalent to twice a day for 25 years), so I'm pretty sure he knows what he's doing.
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 3:41 PM on July 31, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 3:41 PM on July 31, 2016 [5 favorites]
A complete waste. Utterly useless.
He had the only opportunity to pack a backpack with a picnic lunch complete with plates, cutlery and perhaps a change of clothes and pull the I-got-the-wrong-backpack gag but he missed it.
That's the real target and he missed it.
posted by GuyZero at 3:55 PM on July 31, 2016 [55 favorites]
He had the only opportunity to pack a backpack with a picnic lunch complete with plates, cutlery and perhaps a change of clothes and pull the I-got-the-wrong-backpack gag but he missed it.
That's the real target and he missed it.
posted by GuyZero at 3:55 PM on July 31, 2016 [55 favorites]
Still one of the most impressive feats of skill and bravado I've ever seen, but dare I say my awe was a tiny bit diminished by the four-person support crew surrounding him most of the way down.
posted by Flashman at 3:59 PM on July 31, 2016
posted by Flashman at 3:59 PM on July 31, 2016
I'd say we have reached Peak "Hey, Watch This!"
posted by oneswellfoop at 4:29 PM on July 31, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by oneswellfoop at 4:29 PM on July 31, 2016 [6 favorites]
If there's ever evidence that women are smarter than men, it's that you never ever see women doing this sort of shit.
And yet:
Dean Potter, Extreme Climber, Dies in BASE-Jumping Accident at Yosemite
Potter was the former husband of the climber and wing-suit flyer Steph Davis, who lost another husband, Mario Richard, to a BASE-jumping accident in Italy in 2013.
Personally I have a hard time imagining doing the thing that killed your former, and current husband as your favorite thing to do. But, that's what she does.. When she's not freesoloing to BASE jump, that is.
TED Talk
and, Previously
posted by alex_skazat at 4:33 PM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
And yet:
Dean Potter, Extreme Climber, Dies in BASE-Jumping Accident at Yosemite
Potter was the former husband of the climber and wing-suit flyer Steph Davis, who lost another husband, Mario Richard, to a BASE-jumping accident in Italy in 2013.
Personally I have a hard time imagining doing the thing that killed your former, and current husband as your favorite thing to do. But, that's what she does.. When she's not freesoloing to BASE jump, that is.
TED Talk
and, Previously
posted by alex_skazat at 4:33 PM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
Skydiver -> Mondelēz International -> Russia Today is a hell of a confusing content chain
posted by creade at 4:45 PM on July 31, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by creade at 4:45 PM on July 31, 2016 [4 favorites]
If there's ever evidence that women are smarter than men, it's that you never ever see women doing this sort of shit.
It's evolved in. A tribe doesn't take as long to recover from a large loss of men than it takes to recover from a loss of women.
Men are expendable. Now hold my beer. Hey, y'all, watch this!
posted by ocschwar at 4:58 PM on July 31, 2016 [3 favorites]
It's evolved in. A tribe doesn't take as long to recover from a large loss of men than it takes to recover from a loss of women.
Men are expendable. Now hold my beer. Hey, y'all, watch this!
posted by ocschwar at 4:58 PM on July 31, 2016 [3 favorites]
If there's ever evidence that women are smarter than men, it's that you never ever see women doing this sort of shit.
Annie Edson Taylor
Helen Gibson
Zazel
Ethel Dare
posted by Autumn Leaf at 5:20 PM on July 31, 2016 [5 favorites]
Annie Edson Taylor
Helen Gibson
Zazel
Ethel Dare
posted by Autumn Leaf at 5:20 PM on July 31, 2016 [5 favorites]
Surely this would have been better if he had bellowed, "Witness me!" as he leapt out.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:30 PM on July 31, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:30 PM on July 31, 2016 [2 favorites]
All of them with complexes about penis size, I assume.
posted by hippybear at 5:46 PM on July 31, 2016
posted by hippybear at 5:46 PM on July 31, 2016
I clicked thinking thinking he'd be given a parachute on the way down, I kept waiting for that. My jaw dropped at the end.
That's been done before.
posted by jjj606 at 6:24 PM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
That's been done before.
posted by jjj606 at 6:24 PM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
Nothing but net! Thankfully. Because there are no rebounds in this sport.
posted by Kabanos at 7:03 PM on July 31, 2016
posted by Kabanos at 7:03 PM on July 31, 2016
Since it's on Russia Today, maybe that nice Mr Putin might be tempted to emulate this feat.
posted by monotreme at 7:20 PM on July 31, 2016
posted by monotreme at 7:20 PM on July 31, 2016
how do you practice this?
It's like they say: if at first you don't succeed, perhaps skydiving is not for you.
posted by flabdablet at 7:26 PM on July 31, 2016 [4 favorites]
It's like they say: if at first you don't succeed, perhaps skydiving is not for you.
posted by flabdablet at 7:26 PM on July 31, 2016 [4 favorites]
Am I wrong in my gut feeling that the jumper's action doesn't impress me in the least? His actions are similar to the man who jumped from low orbit.
Their actions didn't take special skill. A bit of training of course, but nothing that anyone else couldn't do.
What impresses me in both jumps is the men and women who designed and built the apparatus that allowed a person to fall and land without dying.
The person who dives the deepest by using a special suit isn't amazing. The person who built/designed the equipment that allowed the dive is the one to be admired.
posted by 2manyusernames at 8:15 PM on July 31, 2016 [2 favorites]
Their actions didn't take special skill. A bit of training of course, but nothing that anyone else couldn't do.
What impresses me in both jumps is the men and women who designed and built the apparatus that allowed a person to fall and land without dying.
The person who dives the deepest by using a special suit isn't amazing. The person who built/designed the equipment that allowed the dive is the one to be admired.
posted by 2manyusernames at 8:15 PM on July 31, 2016 [2 favorites]
For training purposes its surprising how low you can pull a chute and still have it be effective, but most estimates put it at 500-600 feet. Base jumpers have jumped at 100 feet, but they pull immediately and never reach terminal velocity.
Anyway while there was huge risk this seems like one of those things where with sufficient practice and conditions I'd expect him to be able to pull it off. Just because you're the first doesn't always make you special.
I used to coach age group swimming and a kid on our swim team got a lot of notoriety and news for swimming across the golden gate at age 11 or 12. The thing was we had a bunch of kids who were better swimmers then him and this was one team out of 20-30 in the Bay Area so there were literally maybe a few hundred kids capable of making that swim. But no one had, he did it and got his 15 minutes of fame.
Thats how I feel about this one except that one miscalculation and he dies in front of his wife.
posted by bitdamaged at 8:23 PM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
Anyway while there was huge risk this seems like one of those things where with sufficient practice and conditions I'd expect him to be able to pull it off. Just because you're the first doesn't always make you special.
I used to coach age group swimming and a kid on our swim team got a lot of notoriety and news for swimming across the golden gate at age 11 or 12. The thing was we had a bunch of kids who were better swimmers then him and this was one team out of 20-30 in the Bay Area so there were literally maybe a few hundred kids capable of making that swim. But no one had, he did it and got his 15 minutes of fame.
Thats how I feel about this one except that one miscalculation and he dies in front of his wife.
posted by bitdamaged at 8:23 PM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
All I can say is that the chute-less jumper is braver than me. But I'm certainly more sane, so I'm OK with that tradeoff.
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 9:47 PM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 9:47 PM on July 31, 2016 [1 favorite]
The entire point of stunts like this is that they are supposed to be death-defying: increased risk of death is the focus. If it was predictable enough that his four year old being there wasn't a big deal, then the whole thing wasn't a big deal. If it was unpredictable enough to be dangerous, then maybe having your kid inside the splatter radius is a little questionable.
posted by nfalkner at 11:52 PM on July 31, 2016
posted by nfalkner at 11:52 PM on July 31, 2016
If there's ever evidence that women are smarter than men, it's that you never ever see women doing this sort of shit.
. . . I would do this
posted by Anonymous at 12:15 AM on August 1, 2016
. . . I would do this
posted by Anonymous at 12:15 AM on August 1, 2016
But is Annette OK?
posted by Captain l'escalier at 4:01 AM on August 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Captain l'escalier at 4:01 AM on August 1, 2016 [1 favorite]
Still one of the most impressive feats of skill and bravado I've ever seen, but dare I say my awe was a tiny bit diminished by the four-person support crew surrounding him most of the way down.
...and...
I clicked thinking thinking he'd be given a parachute on the way down, I kept waiting for that. My jaw dropped at the end.
Yes - that's why this is something of a charlatan act, and not really life-endangering. That support team close to him - what was the plan if he went off course slightly at any point, I wonder? One of them hands him a spare chute? He holds onto a team member and they float down under a chute?
He may have jumped without a parachute on him (though a few people have pointed out that his jump suit is suspiciously bulky so maybe not even that). But I'd be more impressed (if that's the word) if he jumped without any access to a parachute.
posted by Wordshore at 5:13 AM on August 1, 2016
...and...
I clicked thinking thinking he'd be given a parachute on the way down, I kept waiting for that. My jaw dropped at the end.
Yes - that's why this is something of a charlatan act, and not really life-endangering. That support team close to him - what was the plan if he went off course slightly at any point, I wonder? One of them hands him a spare chute? He holds onto a team member and they float down under a chute?
He may have jumped without a parachute on him (though a few people have pointed out that his jump suit is suspiciously bulky so maybe not even that). But I'd be more impressed (if that's the word) if he jumped without any access to a parachute.
posted by Wordshore at 5:13 AM on August 1, 2016
He may have jumped without a parachute on him (though a few people have pointed out that his jump suit is suspiciously bulky so maybe not even that). But I'd be more impressed (if that's the word) if he jumped without any access to a parachute.
God forbid a person doing a dangerous thing have any back-up plans to deal with any unexpected problems that might crop up. If it doesn't work perfectly, he should just die. This is why I believe no skydiver should have a backup parachute. Hot-air balloonists should not have ground crews. Circus performers on the high wire or trapeze should not have nets. Rodeo clowns should be banned—if you can't get out of the arena without being gored or trampled all on your own, you've got no business riding that bull. This thing where there are firefighting crews and medical personnel standing by at racetracks, or an ambulance parked outside NCAA gymnastics meets? Total BS. And don't even get me started on boaters with spare clothes in dry bags! Skiers with avalanche beacons! Long-distance open-water swimmers with a support team nearby in a boat!
I hope Wordshore was being smart-alecky and I am being tone-deaf. Because otherwise.
posted by not that girl at 6:05 AM on August 1, 2016 [11 favorites]
God forbid a person doing a dangerous thing have any back-up plans to deal with any unexpected problems that might crop up. If it doesn't work perfectly, he should just die. This is why I believe no skydiver should have a backup parachute. Hot-air balloonists should not have ground crews. Circus performers on the high wire or trapeze should not have nets. Rodeo clowns should be banned—if you can't get out of the arena without being gored or trampled all on your own, you've got no business riding that bull. This thing where there are firefighting crews and medical personnel standing by at racetracks, or an ambulance parked outside NCAA gymnastics meets? Total BS. And don't even get me started on boaters with spare clothes in dry bags! Skiers with avalanche beacons! Long-distance open-water swimmers with a support team nearby in a boat!
I hope Wordshore was being smart-alecky and I am being tone-deaf. Because otherwise.
posted by not that girl at 6:05 AM on August 1, 2016 [11 favorites]
I used to coach age group swimming and a kid on our swim team got a lot of notoriety and news for swimming across the golden gate at age 11 or 12. The thing was we had a bunch of kids who were better swimmers then him and this was one team out of 20-30 in the Bay Area so there were literally maybe a few hundred kids capable of making that swim. But no one had, he did it and got his 15 minutes of fame.
Yikes! If you miscalculate the currents and get washed past the bridge, aren't you pretty much guaranteed to be shark bait?
posted by ocschwar at 7:24 AM on August 1, 2016
Yikes! If you miscalculate the currents and get washed past the bridge, aren't you pretty much guaranteed to be shark bait?
I don't know the details of that swim, but adults who swim out that way (to and from Alcatraz for example) are always accompanied by a support boat. The boat also keeps you out of the path of those huge container ships.
posted by purpleclover at 7:57 AM on August 1, 2016
I don't know the details of that swim, but adults who swim out that way (to and from Alcatraz for example) are always accompanied by a support boat. The boat also keeps you out of the path of those huge container ships.
posted by purpleclover at 7:57 AM on August 1, 2016
As I read elsewhere about this jump: There's sort of sure, pretty sure and absolutely damn sure.
posted by bz at 8:59 AM on August 1, 2016
posted by bz at 8:59 AM on August 1, 2016
It took a second net just to catch his giant testicles.
posted by Camofrog at 9:20 AM on August 1, 2016
posted by Camofrog at 9:20 AM on August 1, 2016
If it doesn't work perfectly, he should just die.
Without that as a potential consequence, this act is banal and meaningless.
posted by Flashman at 10:09 AM on August 1, 2016
Without that as a potential consequence, this act is banal and meaningless.
posted by Flashman at 10:09 AM on August 1, 2016
{Long paragraph of over-the-top non-examples deleted}
I hope Wordshore was being smart-alecky and I am being tone-deaf. Because otherwise.
A strange misinterpretation and I was not being "smart-alecky".
I'll put it another way: his performance is not as dangerous as is made out in the press coverage; or to quote the TV news report this lunchtime "one mistake and it's fatal", because for most of his descent - as pointed out elsewhere in this thread - he has other people very close to him for most of the descent.
Of course it is still dangerous, and no-one including me wants to see him "just die", especially for such a pointless act - at least Felix Baumgartner's jump had some scientific usefulness. It's just that this aim-for-the-net-with-your-team-on-hand thing is a magnitude less of a life-threatening action as is being widely quoted.
posted by Wordshore at 10:24 AM on August 1, 2016
I hope Wordshore was being smart-alecky and I am being tone-deaf. Because otherwise.
A strange misinterpretation and I was not being "smart-alecky".
I'll put it another way: his performance is not as dangerous as is made out in the press coverage; or to quote the TV news report this lunchtime "one mistake and it's fatal", because for most of his descent - as pointed out elsewhere in this thread - he has other people very close to him for most of the descent.
Of course it is still dangerous, and no-one including me wants to see him "just die", especially for such a pointless act - at least Felix Baumgartner's jump had some scientific usefulness. It's just that this aim-for-the-net-with-your-team-on-hand thing is a magnitude less of a life-threatening action as is being widely quoted.
posted by Wordshore at 10:24 AM on August 1, 2016
Slightly off-track but what are those contrail-looking-things coming from the feet of his support skydivers (you can see them pretty clearly from 0:39-46)? It looked like it was only coming from one foot per diver, and Aikens' feet don't seem to show them ... any idea?
posted by alleycat01 at 11:08 AM on August 1, 2016
posted by alleycat01 at 11:08 AM on August 1, 2016
what are those contrail-looking-things coming from the feet of his support skydivers
Smoke emitters. Skydiving teams use them frequently to make the jumpers more visible from the ground.
posted by backseatpilot at 11:54 AM on August 1, 2016
Smoke emitters. Skydiving teams use them frequently to make the jumpers more visible from the ground.
posted by backseatpilot at 11:54 AM on August 1, 2016
Thanks, @backseatpilot!
posted by alleycat01 at 2:07 PM on August 1, 2016
posted by alleycat01 at 2:07 PM on August 1, 2016
I was afraid to watch this then I did and saw he was wearing a helmet so all is good carry on.
posted by 4ster at 1:40 PM on August 2, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by 4ster at 1:40 PM on August 2, 2016 [3 favorites]
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