Luke Aikins has dropped from a plane 16,000 times. But he never got as much attention as Saturday’s free fall in Simi Valley without a parachute. What’s his backstory?
“He’s an expert at the precision skydiving discipline of swooping; he’s one of the pioneers of combining a canopy with skis to fly vertically down mountain sides; and he’s an adept BASE jumper and airplane pilot. … He is one of the designated Safety and Training Advisors for the United States Parachute Association.”
In 2012, he lent his expertise to skydiver Felix Baumgartner, who jumped from a hot air balloon at 120,000 feet.
Aikins, 42, thinks he reached 125 mph during Saturday’s dive into a net.
Others think he’s a hero, or a madman.
Congrats @LukeAikins for being first to jump from 25k ft w/o parachute and land safely. Legendary. #StrideHeavenSent pic.twitter.com/yJ9xpVAJfU
— Heaven Sent – 7/30 (@HeavenSentAPE) July 31, 2016
TODAY @lukeaikins makes history. He’ll jump from 25K ft w/o a parachute or wingsuit & land safely. #StrideHeavenSent pic.twitter.com/ra9T1tQK1e
— Heaven Sent – 7/30 (@HeavenSentAPE) July 30, 2016
