Extremes jump without a parachute from great heights. How is it possible

Mankind is already mastering the airspace. Airplanes, balloons, drones and jetpacks – nowadays they are no longer a gimmick. But there are daredevils who do not need any attributes of flight. To be more precise, they almost don’t need them. Because of their love for extreme sports, adrenaline rush and desire to push the limits of what is possible, people started to try jumping from heights without a parachute.

How people jump without a parachute

Of all the variety of sports and activities, the following can be distinguished:

• diving (high-altitude jumps into a swimming pool, off cliffs, into mountain waters);
• snow jumps (they are performed by professional snowboarding and alpine skiing athletes during “backcountry” skiing);
• stunt jumping (jumping into pillows, boxes, nets).

stuntman

There’s nothing complicated about jumping “on your back” into boxes or a pillow, it’s just dangerous. If you land incorrectly, you’ll break your spine and legs. Performing acrobatics while jumping is even more difficult. Think of cushion jumping as the “little brother” of diving. They require good training. All such jumps are used in movies by stuntmen. Although in Europe there is already a separate sport discipline, which is called Street Dive.

What you need to know

First, it is impossible to jump from a height of more than five meters without health consequences. First, you will be affected by the laws of physics, and then the individual characteristics of the body will be connected to them. Any jump you want to make will require special training.

Secondly, you will need personal protective equipment, let’s call it that. Helmet, insurance, equipment (depending on the type of jump you want to make) and in some cases assistant observers. Their task will be to react urgently and do everything to save your life or minimize the consequences.

Thirdly, the place of landing. This is the most important condition, without which the jump will be impossible. The place must be soft and specially prepared.

5 incredible jumps without a parachute

Every jump from a height is a well thought out and rehearsed trick, in which more than one person participates. Let’s look at some examples.

We must warn you! All the tricks you will learn about below are performed by professionals. Do not try to repeat them yourself.

Waterfall jump

Laso Scholer jumped from a waterfall 58.8 meters high. His speed was 123 km/h. The video of this jump tells it all better. Interesting infographics, technical aspects and the condition of Laso himself can be seen in all colors.

Jump from a height of 8 km

In July 2016, American skydiver Luke Aikins made a historic jump without a parachute from a height of eight kilometers. Naturally, he landed not on the ground, but in a special net, which was stretched by two construction cranes at the height of a 20-story building. It should be noted that the size of the net was equivalent to half of a classic soccer field.

Jump from a balloon

A year earlier, a stuntman from Finland Antti Pendikainen performed a jump from a hot air balloon. Also without a parachute. He jumped from a height of four kilometers, flew through the clouds and caught on his partner, who had a parachute. He was in freefall for about 40 seconds. Something similar was done by Travis Pastrana and Scott Palman, also jumping without a parachute, but from an airplane.

Wingsuit jump with a box landing

One of the most daring landings was made in 2012 by 42-year-old Harry Connery. He became the first person on the planet to make a wingsuit jump with a landing without using a parachute. He jumped from a helicopter at a height of 730 meters and landed on a landing strip made of 18 thousand cardboard boxes. His flight lasted 35 seconds.

Jumping in a wingsuit and landing in a flying airplane

The real madness in 2017 was made by Frenchmen Fred Fugen and Vince Reffet. They jumped from the peak of a mountain over 4 thousand meters high in wingsuits and landed in a flying airplane. There’s not much to comment on. Let’s just watch it.

I’d like to summarize. Jumping from heights without a parachute exists, but they require long and hard years of training. Every such jump is calculated down to the smallest detail, because everything counts.

If you want to delve into the world of extreme sports a little more, read the interview with stuntman Terry Grant. There’s a lot of interesting stuff in there.