11/2: Flying Man

[tw]

Originally posted by dhamsaic
Balloon pilot Ian Ashpole sails through the sky near Chatteris, England, on Oct. 28. He broke his own world record for the highest flight using 600 toy balloons, rising to 11,000 feet before he cut himself loose and parachuted back down to earth.

Actually rather tame. The amazing part is that he did it with that equipment. From memory (I believe Scientific American), there are two parachute jumps planned that will skydive through the ozone layer. The trick is to first get that high. There are other unique engineering problems such as will the body burn if reentering too fast? Can the human body withstand Mach 1? Will the parachute deploy? Material - even kevlar is not sufficient. The body suit is a secret material for both challengers.

Can they land on target? One is a UK man. The other a US woman and US Air pilot. She estimates to land somewhere within a 100 mile radius. Of course, this is all from memory so the numbers may not be correct. But both will jump from the top of the stratosphere. Even air traffic controllers must divert commercial flights around the human flying obstructions. Do they have to carry transponders?