Luke Aikins


Luke Aikins is an American professional skydiver, BASE jumper, pilot, and aerial photographer. He is the first person to intentionally dive from mid-tropospheric altitude and land safely without a parachute or a wingsuit and the second skydiver to intentionally and safely land without using a parachute.

Biography

Aikins has coached United States Navy SEALs and NASCAR's Brian Vickers, and has advised the military on skydiving techniques. He is also a safety and training advisor for the United States Parachute Association. He is also an aerial photographer and his photos have been published in major magazines and newspapers. He has completed more than 18,000 jumps since he started skydiving at age 12.
In 2012, he helped skydiver Felix Baumgartner jump from a helium balloon in the stratosphere at. Aikins also worked on stunts in the film Iron Man 3.

July 2016 jump

On July 30, 2016, Aikins jumped from an aircraft without any parachute or wingsuit at an altitude of above Simi Valley, California, watched by a live audience. After about two minutes of free fall he successfully landed in a net just outside of Simi Valley, California. Aikins reached a terminal velocity of during the fall. The net was made from Spectra, a high-density polyethylene cord. It had four compressed air cylinders designed to gently slow him down after impact.
Although several news articles headlines describe Aikins achievement by focusing on the fact that he jumped and went to freefall without parachute, many others have jumped from aircraft without having a parachute when they departed the plane - they were either handed a parachute by a fellow jumper while in freefall or maneuvered to a container carrying a parachute, with first successes dating back to 1965. Others have jumped out of an aircraft and returned to the same or another aircraft without making use of parachute.