Cheers erupted from the crowed after Mr Aikins safely landed in the net where he was met by his wife Monica who had been watching with their four-year-old son Logan. After months of training, this elite skydiver says he’s ready to leave his chute in the plane when he bails out 25,000 feet above Simi Valley on Saturday, July 30.
Advertisement
According to KTLA, Aikins, who worked as a stuntman on Iron Man 3 has made close to 20,000 parachute jumps, which sounds like a lot!
He later handed the mask to one of the other jumpers mid-air.
While the event involved nearly two years of planning and preparation, Aikins was nearly forced to wear a parachute by the Screen Actors Guild out of concerns for his safety.
As you’d expect, Aikins is an extremely experienced skydiver, having notched up more than 18,000 jumps – all with parachutes – over an exhilarating 26-year career.
Asked if he was nervous before his jump, he said: “If I wasn’t nervous, I would be stupid”.
Luke Aikins on Saturday became the first skydiver to jump from a plane without a parachute or wingsuit and live to tell the story.
Just before climbing into the plane, Aikins said the Screen Actors Guilt required him to wear a parachute but he indicated he wouldn’t open it. After two minutes of free falling, you must position yourself to land on a net less than half the size of a football field, spread out 200 feet above the earth. “I’ll just have to deal with the consequences when I land of wearing the parachute on my back and what it’s going to do to my body”.
If you’ve ever skydived, you’ll know that it’s an incredible experience.
His wife is a skydiver and his family owns a skydiving outfit in the state of Washington.
Advertisement
He spends some of his time as a safety and training adviser for the United States Parachute Association and sometimes trains Navy Seals on how to perform the unsafe task.
