On July 30, 2016, skydiver Luke Aikins made history by becoming the first person to jump from an airplane at 25,000 feet without a parachute and land safely in a specially designed net. This incredible feat set a new world record and showcased Aikins’ exceptional skills and bravery.
Aikins, 42 at the time of the jump, comes from a family of skydivers, being a third-generation practitioner of the sport. He began skydiving at the age of 16 and has since completed more than 18,000 parachute deployments throughout his career as a skydiver and BASE jumper. In addition to his personal achievements, Aikins serves as a safety and training adviser for the United States Parachute Association, where he provides advanced skydiving training to elite military special forces.à
For this record-breaking jump, Aikins leaped from a Cessna airplane at an altitude of 25,000 feet. He quickly reached a terminal velocity of 120 miles per hour, using only his GPS and the air currents around him to guide his fall towards the center of a specialized 100-by-100-foot net. The net was designed to stop Aikins’ fall as gently as if he were standing on a trampoline and simply dropping onto his back.
The entire journey, from jumping out of the plane to landing safely in the net, took approximately two minutes.
However, for Aikins, falling from such a great height and aiming for a net that was virtually invisible from his starting point must have felt like a lifetime.
This remarkable achievement demonstrates Luke Aikins’ exceptional skill, precision, and courage, solidifying his place in the annals of skydiving history.
