If skydiving isn’t giving you a rush anymore, then you should totally do it without a parachute – just make sure there’s a net to catch you.

That’s what Luke Aikins did over the weekend, plummeting from 25 000 feet (8 km) above the Earth after willingly jumping from a small plane. He landed on a 100×100 feet (30×30 m) two-tier net, set up to catch him. He was travelling 120 mph (192 kmh) (terminal velocity) when he came into contact with the net.

Aikins, 42, describes himself as a “member of the Red Bull Air Force, professional skydiver, BASE jumper, stuntman, pilot … (and) aviation expert.”

He titled the stunt “Heaven Sent” and it was broadcasted live on TV while his family and many supporters watched from below. He told reporters:

I’m here to show you that if we approach it the right way and we test it and we prove that it’s good to go, we can do things that we don’t think are possible.

While preparing for the jump, Aikin jumped a few times with a parachute, releasing the chord much later to test the various effects of landing in the desert area of Simi Valley, California.

The wind changes all the time at different altitudes

Whenever people attempt to push the limits of what’s considered humanly possible, they’re invariably described as crazy. But to me, this jump is simply the next logical step in a lifetime of extreme challenges.

My vision was always proper preparation and that if you train right you can make anything happen.

While this may get some of you giddy with excitement, I’m pretty keen to keep my feet on the ground for now.

[source:cnn]