Posted on 04/20/2022 2:38:40 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The pilots will attempt to skydive into each other's planes live on Sunday. All eyes will be up to the skies above California on Sunday as two cousins dare to accomplish a never-before-seen air stunt.
Luke Aikins and Andy Farrington -- longtime pilots, skydivers and members of the Red Bull Air Force aviation crew -- will attempt the first "plane swap," where they will fly their planes close together, put them into a nosedive and then skydive into each other's aircraft before making a safe landing.
Aikins said in a statement he was inspired to do the stunt 22 years ago after seeing a photo in an aviation magazine and has spent a long time preparing for this moment.
It’s the pinnacle of my career, and my goal is to inspire the world and show that anything is possible. You can set your mind on something that at times seems wild, crazy and unattainable, but through ambition and creativity, you can make it happen,” he said.
Pilots preform a test dive during training on March 6, 2022, in San Luis Obispo, Calif., in...Read More The stunt, which will be livestreamed on Hulu on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET., includes multiple parts that have been planned out between Aikins, Farrington and their team of engineers.
The pair will take off in their own Cessna 182 single-seat aircrafts and fly to an elevation of 14,000 feet.
They will then pitch their planes into a synchronized nosedive, stop the engines and use a custom airbrake that will hold the planes in a controlled descent as they exit their own aircraft.
Aikins and Farrington will freefly skydive toward each other’s planes, catch up to the aircrafts, enter the cockpits, disengage the airbrake systems, restart the engines and take control of the planes.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
It is, but that won’t stop them.
Sounds like the documentary on Dragons, and how they mated while diving from a high altitude. Probably one reason why the breed died out.
This will not end well.
Gravity will.
better than flap pole sitting
I always think “You are married and have kids...you don’t get to do stuff like this anymore”.
Seriously. He even refers to that in the video.
Double that. Why rush?
It must be difficult to practice a stunt like this. I pray they both survive this ridiculous maneuver. :-)
Have two coffins ready.
It’s not the fall that kills you; it’s the sudden stop at the end.
This will not end well.
______________________
Oh, really? What could go wrong?
Their poor families.
What could possibly go wrong?
“before making a safe landing”
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves...
Which one is holding the other’s beer?
This is actually how a lot of insects, like ants, breed in real life (though the altitude is only high relative to their size).
Fortunately for them, almost all animals can complete the act in a second or two. Humans are about the only ones who take our time about it.
Or two squeegees.
They'll lose two aircraft.
I'm sure they will both be wearing a 'chute, hence if the join up doesn't work, they say good bye to the planes and descend under canopy.
I just hope they do it over the ocean so if both fail, the empty aircraft aren't a danger to anyone on the ground...
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