Luke Aikins is a stunt man and adrenaline junkie who will willingly jump out of a plane at 25,000 feet with no parachute, no wingsuit, and no one jumping out of the plane to save him. Instead, he’ll be relying on a net to stop his fall. And you’ll be able to watch the whole thing on live TV, courtesy of the Fox TV special Heaven Sent Presented by Stride Gum.
Thankfully this isn’t Luke’s first rodeo, otherwise there’s very little chance that he’d actually survive the stunt. Luke has a long history of skydiving with Team Red Bull and has even been involved in a few of their earlier ventures, including the Stratos Jump with Felix Baumgartner. Now Luke says it’s time to make a name for himself. “I’ve had key roles in history-making events, but for this to be one that I get to do, I’m really excited to show the world a different way to approach something,” he told IndieWire.
So let’s learn a little bit more about who he is and what he’ll be doing.
Who Is Luke Aikins?
Luke is a 42-year-old skydiver with around 18,000 jumps in his belt. Luke first got a taste for heights when he made a jump at 12. Four years later at 16 he completed his first solo jump. So what gave him the inspiration to do stuff like this?
“When I was little, I saw a picture of Joe Kittinger, who jumped from the edge of space back in 1960. I hope this just sparks imagination and that kids see the science behind it. That science project we all did in eighth grade, I get to do it on a massive scale, with other people helping to make it happen [source].”
Unsurprisingly, Luke comes from a family of jumpers and is still a huge part of the family business: a skydiving school. Since that solo jump at 16, Luke has pretty much devoted his life to skydiving, the sky, and teaching others to do the same. He’s a licensed commercial and helicopter pilot who’s also the owner of Para Tactics, a school that teaches advanced skydiving tactics to the special forces.
Luke is already the proud owner of three world records.
As far as his family life is concerned, Luke is also a father and a husband. Luke’s wife, Monica, has already told the world that although she won’t be watching the actual jump, she will be around for the preparation. She’ll also be a key part of the Heaven Sent special.
What Is Going To Happen?
On July 30th, 2016 at 8 PM EST, Luke is going to be part of Stride Gum Presents Heaven Sent–a stunt that will involve Luke jumping out of a plane at 25K feet and landing in a 100′ x 100′ net. If it sounds insane, that’s because it is. Although a ton of tests have been done safely, on one occasion one of the test dummies fell right through the netting.
“That was not a good thing to see,” Jimmy Smith, a veteran Hollywood PR man who originally had the idea of someone jumping out of a plane with no parachute.
But now all the experts are completely happy with the safety Jimmy will have around him. Still, he’s going to have to rely on air currents and body control to keep his body safe. We’ll see what happens this Sunday on Fox at 8 PM.
