He landed in a net while traveling 120 miles per hour above the desert near Simi Valley, Calif. He calls the stunt Heaven Sent.
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Aikins, a self-described “member of the Red Bull Air Force, professional skydiver, BASE jumper, stuntman, pilot …”
The jump went about as ideal as it could’ve gone, but as Deadline reports, it nearly didn’t happen.
Aikins, who has been skydiving since he was 16 years old, was eventually allowed to attempt the stunt without wearing a parachute.
Like we said: Totally insane…
Skydiver Luke Aikins lands safely after jumping 25,000 feet.
If he had had to wear it, he said, he wouldn’t bother to pull the ripcord anyway.
“If I wasn’t nervous I would be stupid”, he said ahead of the jump Saturday, according to The Guardian. I was clean and I was gonna land on my back. A few minutes before the plunge, though, Aikins was informed that the requirement had been repealed and that he could perform the jump without the chute. He has previously completed 18,000 parachute jumps along the way, with a variety of other feats, some featured in movies such as “Iron Man 3”. Two years back when his friend Chris Talley approached him with the idea, Aikins had turned it down.
“I kind of laugh and I say, ‘Ok, that’s great”. I’ll help you find somebody to do it, ‘ ” he told The Associated Press as he trained for the jump last week.
Aikins began his dive at an altitude of 25,000 feet.
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Lights were set along the side of the net to serve as a guide for him to aim himself as he hurtled toward it. When he was on target, the lights shone white. Massive respect for the 42 year old who did what I probably wouldn’t do even if I had 42 lives.
