parachutes
Random Stuff
Skydiver Films 10,000 Foot Freefall Into Steel Shed
1:20PM Rosa Golijan
Somehow the thrill of skydiving is lost after you’ve jumped out of a plane, had both parachutes fail, passed out before hitting the roof of a steel shed, and walked away. With video of the fall. [YouTube]
Gadgets
The Parachute That Killed Its Inventor
10:00AM Adam Frucci | On February 4th 1912 Franz Reichelt attempted to test his latest invention — a parachute jacket — at the Eiffel Tower. He donned his apparatus and tentatively stepped to the edge of the viewing deck. More »
Online
First Person View of an Epic Parachute Fail
5:20AM Sean Fallon | Before you decide to hurl yourself out of an aeroplane to get an adrenaline fix, take a long hard look at what happened to Hans Lange on a recent base jump in Norway. As you will see, he managed to capture the entire jump in detail using some sort of wide-angle helmet cam. I will admit that flying around in that wing suit looks exhilarating, but smashing into the ground, breaking a leg then being dragged down the side of a mountain? Not so much. [ITN and BBC] More »
Random Stuff
NASA Tests Orion Parachute (Result: Spectacular Failure)
5:10AM John Mahoney | Filed under the “good thing we tried it out first” department is this recent test of Shuttle-replacement Orion’s parachute re-entry system. Based on the same system used for Apollo, the group of eight parachutes deploys after re-entry, ensuring the Orion capsule glides down back to terra firma for a pillow-soft landing. That’s what’s supposed to happen, anyway. More »
Weapons
British Doggie Paratroopers to Make High-Altitude Jumps With Cameras Attached To Their Heads
3:40AM John Mahoney | Not laser beams, but close. The Telegraph is reporting that German Shepherds are being trained by the elite British SAS to perform high-altitude high-opening (HAHO) parachute jumps over Iraq and Afghanistan harnessed to soldiers. Once on the ground, the dogs will charge ahead, rooting out dug-in enemies and sending back a live video feed from a tiny head-mounted camera. That is if their little doggie minds haven’t been blown by the 25,000-foot jump they just performed. More »
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