Bil Hardenberger Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 Live right now here: http://www.youtube.com/user/redbull This could be history, how could you miss it? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 Still a while before he makes the jump. I hope it comes off alright. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted October 14, 2012 Author Share Posted October 14, 2012 That was very cool. I can only imagine what was going through his mind when he stepped outside the capsule and saw the earth 128,000 feet below him. Think he was nervous? Wow, amazing feat. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmar Bijlsma Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 I'm not really getting the hype around this. So, this man is apparently really good at being pulled down by gravity? Big whoop. What Baumgartner did could have been achieved by a sack of potatoes. At least when Kittinger did it we did not really understand what he was in for. Show me the guys that did the engineering that got this fellow so very high. That is the really impressive thing. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 So speaketh Elmar the Cylon. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 I have to say that my hat's off to the guy. I think he's nuts and it is definitely not a job that I would want. But it takes some balls to perform a stunt like that. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 I'm not really getting the hype around this. So, this man is apparently really good at being pulled down by gravity? Big whoop. What Baumgartner did could have been achieved by a sack of potatoes. I know, right? And what about that Armstrong guy - climbs down one ladder and everyone thinks he's a hero. *pfft* My cat can climb ladders better than that guy. Don't even get me started on Columbus :mad: 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 I now know why I was hearing about Joseph Kittinger today on National Public Radio. In 1960, he set the still standing extreme height parachute record by jumping from a balloon at 102,800 feet (31 km). The story included an interview with someone who watched the event in real time. Details of the jump here under Project Excelsior III and in a linked Wiki. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kittinger Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 *WHOOOOSH* (the sound of a low flying aircraft, zooming over someone's head) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZPB II Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 Watched this live for several hours. Pretty amazing stuff. Goosebump-inducing. What also amazed me was the grumbling. A lot of criticism about how it's only about the money, ego and a good show. I guess there are people who have the opinion that every pioneer and badass did his or her stuff only to wave his or her massive dick around. You know. How science exists in a vacuum and is completely independent of money. And how money is actually somesort of evil entity instead of a function of time and effort. But I guess that's a whole another topic about psychology and sociology. I don't think anyone is undermining the engineering feats involved. But it certainly takes a special kind of person to undergo such preparations and stay calm and rational when theory becomes practice. Felix's resume is most impressive. The psychological stress involved is hard to comprehend. Mind-boggling amounts of theory, work and money all come together and depend on a single person to not **** it all up. Millions of people all over the world watch it live. "Talk the talk, walk the walk." (This is not aimed at Elmar and his sense of humour, I just had to listen to too many people today with a different perspective on reality than I personally have.) Oh, and JK. Kittinger was rather involved in this project. It was interesting to watch his emotional reactions. 52 years is such a long time. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmar Bijlsma Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 I know, right? And what about that Armstrong guy - climbs down one ladder and everyone thinks he's a hero. *pfft* My cat can climb ladders better than that guy. Don't even get me started on Columbus :mad: Neil Armstrong went where no man went before. A genuine milestone for humanity. And he went there strapped on top of a rocket at a time when the lauchpad frequently traveled further then the rocket. Baumgartner fell from a higher place and faster then the guy before him, kudos and his name in the Guiness book for that. But to say he broke new ground for humanity or did something fiendishly difficult? No. The difficult part was getting the balloon up there and he had very little to do with that. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Well, he did break Mach 1 without an airplane around him and live to tell about it. That is of some interest. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted October 16, 2012 Author Share Posted October 16, 2012 Neil Armstrong went where no man went before. A genuine milestone for humanity. And he went there strapped on top of a rocket at a time when the lauchpad frequently traveled further then the rocket. Baumgartner fell from a higher place and faster then the guy before him, kudos and his name in the Guiness book for that. But to say he broke new ground for humanity or did something fiendishly difficult? No. The difficult part was getting the balloon up there and he had very little to do with that. Did Yeager build the X-1 that first broke the sound barrier? Did Armstrong have any input into the design of the Saturn V that took him to the moon? Did Columbus build the ships that took him to the new world? There is always a human element to these sorts of accomplishments that I, unlike you, cannot overlook or downplay. Elmar, there is more to skydiving than falling like a stone... I have only jumped from as high as 12,000 feet so I can only imagine how tough it was for him to pull out of the spin he found himself in at the speeds he was travelling (over 800 mph at one point). So my hat is off to the guy, it was an incredible feat that took luck, guts, and incredible skill to pull off successfully. Bil 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmar Bijlsma Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 What he did was cool and all but that people here and in the media mention the guy in the same breath as Armstrong, Yeager, Colombus and indeed Kittinger is just plain lamentable. Are you all really that impressionable? PR compamies must just love you guys. Have another Red Bull! Yeah he went Mach 1. Usain Bolt does not even come near that, but impresses me a hell of a lot more. His jump and his spin recovery skillful? If you say so, I would not know. Personally I was more impressed by Jeb Corliss recovering and flying on after smacking into Table Mountain. Guts? Sure. The man has undoubted balls of steel. But when I see this much fawning over a guy and not nearly as much as for instance a MoH or VC recipient, yeah, I will happily point out that it is a hype. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dieseltaylor Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Grouch! But perhaps I have not watched lots of fawning hype so perhaps just seeing the video makes it more palatable. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZPB II Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Well, this is comedy. Now some old dude from Bulgaria is furious and almost wants to sue Red Bull and Felix for stealing his idea. It seems this guy is claiming he is the first guy in the world who had the brilliant idea of jumping from a really high altitude. He didn't explain if Kittinger & team stole his idea using a time machine or somesuch. Red Bull & Felix are commenting that his plan and calculations were flawed and lunatical. Well, in more diplomatic terms but that is the gist. But in the end nothing new under the sun, a newspaper wants to make money by digging up an unbalanced (?) individual and getting some wild statements (?) about current events. http://kurier.at/nachrichten/4515989-wiener-klagt-an-felix-verkauft-mein-projekt.php Here's the link, I used a mixture of Pig German and Google Translate to decipher the contents. Maybe I'm being too judgemental here and it will turn out that they actually stole and copied this guy's masterplan and implemented it without giving him a dime. Shrug. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noxnoctum Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 I think being the first man to break the speed of sound in free fall definitely puts him alongside Yeager etc. Anyways, this makes me excited for my first skydive in a month or so 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 Anyways, this makes me excited for my first skydive in a month or so Are you doing static line or tandem for your first dive? I would recommend going to a school that starts you off with static line jumps of increasing complexity then progressing to ever longer free falls (starting with hop and pops). You are going to have a ball. I remember my first jump well, had a lot of butterflies, but coming down and flying that square chute in for the first time to a less than perfect landing makes it all worthwhile. Hint, don't flare too high Let us know how it goes. Bil 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 What he did was cool and all but that people here and in the media mention the guy in the same breath as Armstrong, Yeager, Colombus and indeed Kittinger is just plain lamentable. Are you all really that impressionable? PR compamies must just love you guys. Have another Red Bull! Yeah he went Mach 1. Usain Bolt does not even come near that, but impresses me a hell of a lot more. His jump and his spin recovery skillful? If you say so, I would not know. Personally I was more impressed by Jeb Corliss recovering and flying on after smacking into Table Mountain. Guts? Sure. The man has undoubted balls of steel. But when I see this much fawning over a guy and not nearly as much as for instance a MoH or VC recipient, yeah, I will happily point out that it is a hype. Media hype is one thing. Hell the media can screw up a wet dream. Separate that out from just appreciating the situation itself. No reason to worry about comparing this to any other feat, it is just friggin amazing to see a guy jump from space. Then again it is friggin amazing we walk around with a handheld personal communication device that can play movies with far more clarity than the huge ridiculously heavy device that passed for television when I was young. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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