“Heaven Sent”: Engineering the Jump from 25,000 feet with No Parachute

See Luke Aikins Skydive from 25,000 feet with no parachute and only a net

Yet again the human race has raised the bar on craziness. It was only a few years ago when things like jetpacks, wing-suits and space jumps were unimaginable. All of those acts of madness had one thing in common…they all wore a parachute!

A man named Luke Aikins scoffs at their achievements, and their equipment. He has achieved something no human has ever done before, successfully jumping into a net from more than 25,000 feet.  On July 32, 1026 Luke Aikin’s jump went in to the record books as the “World’s highest complete jump without a parachute”.

How “Heaven Sent,” The World’s Highest Jump Without a Parachute Went Down:

Luke Aikins jumped from a fixed wing airplane at 25,000 feet, along with 3 other jumpers, all equipped with cameras and chutes of their own. Aikens plan was to safely land in a 100 ft. x 100 ft. (10,000 sq/ft) net, which was suspended more than 100 ft. above the ground. He used his hands and feet to aim his body towards his target, taking several practice flips in the process. After more than a minute of freefall, he turned his body so he was looking toward the sky and fell into the net like a speeding cannonball. Well, it wasn’t exactly a “cannonball” per se – more of a “back smacker” (to use terminology of a 9-year-old at the neighborhood pool) we figure the position was so he didn’t break his neck on impact. This was truly an amazing feat of engineering, skill and bravery (plus a little insanity).