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http://www.msnbc.com/news/946434.asp?0si=-
Wings help with historic skydive
Felix Baumgartner celebrates after his successful freefall across the English Channel on Thursday.
July 31 -- Using wings of carbon, Felix Baumgartner set a record for crossing the English Channel.
Parachutist crosses English Channel in under 10 minutes
LONDON, July 31 — A skydiver known as “The Missile Man” on Thursday became the first person to cross the English Channel in an unpowered flight, free falling at up to 230 mph in the process. Wearing high-tech carbon wings, Felix Baumgartner jumped out of a plane at 30,000 feet above Dover, England, and flew to France, parachuting into hills above the port of Calais.
“IT’S PRETTY cold up there. I still can feel nothing,” the self-styled “God of the Skies” told reporters after a hard landing.
Baumgartner told reporters that he had a close call as soon as he jumped out of the plane. “I went directly into the opening with my legs,” he said, “so I had to cut my glider in pieces because it was hanging up on the lines, but I made it and that’s great.”
Setting off early to avoid commercial flights, Baumgartner used oxygen supplies during the 18-mile flight to survive the rarefied air that was as cold as 31 degrees below Fahrenheit.
WINGS OF CARBON
His team estimates that he attained a top speed of 230 mph during the fall, which took around 10 minutes.
In contrast, Louis Bleriot took 37 minutes to make his ground-breaking flight across the channel in 1909 and Matthew Webb took 22 hours to swim it for the first time in 1875.
Baumgartner’s wings, with a span of nearly 6 feet, are made of the same special lightweight carbon composite used in Formula One race cars. Baumgartner tested it by speeding around the tarmac of Salzburg Airport on the roof of a high-powered Porsche. He has also trained with the German air force.
Baumgartner, 34, set world records for the highest and lowest parachute dives in 1999 with daredevil jumps from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur and the statue of Christ in Rio de Janeiro.
ODDSMAKER AGAINST HIM
‘I flew into my own shadow, which the morning sun exposed on a cloud together with a rainbow. I don’t think anyone has experienced that before.’
— FELIX BAUMGARTNER
The Austrian started parachuting as a teenager before taking up the extreme sport of BASE jumping. BASE stands for Buildings, Antenna, Spans (Bridges) and the Earth (cliffs). Members of the club must jump from each of those before being allowed in.
One bookmaker had quoted odds of 3/20 for a successful jump and 7/2 against.
Baumgartner, who was equipped with cameras and high-tech tracking gear, said he had to follow his two planes over part of the channel when cloud cover blocked his view.
The flight was stressful but well worth it, he added. “I flew into my own shadow, which the morning sun exposed on a cloud together with a rainbow,” he said. “I don’t think anyone has experienced that before.”
also u should click on video and see what it look like ...
I think it is sooo dammmn cool and wannna to try it out for sure !!
Wings help with historic skydive
Felix Baumgartner celebrates after his successful freefall across the English Channel on Thursday.
July 31 -- Using wings of carbon, Felix Baumgartner set a record for crossing the English Channel.
Parachutist crosses English Channel in under 10 minutes
LONDON, July 31 — A skydiver known as “The Missile Man” on Thursday became the first person to cross the English Channel in an unpowered flight, free falling at up to 230 mph in the process. Wearing high-tech carbon wings, Felix Baumgartner jumped out of a plane at 30,000 feet above Dover, England, and flew to France, parachuting into hills above the port of Calais.
“IT’S PRETTY cold up there. I still can feel nothing,” the self-styled “God of the Skies” told reporters after a hard landing.
Baumgartner told reporters that he had a close call as soon as he jumped out of the plane. “I went directly into the opening with my legs,” he said, “so I had to cut my glider in pieces because it was hanging up on the lines, but I made it and that’s great.”
Setting off early to avoid commercial flights, Baumgartner used oxygen supplies during the 18-mile flight to survive the rarefied air that was as cold as 31 degrees below Fahrenheit.
WINGS OF CARBON
His team estimates that he attained a top speed of 230 mph during the fall, which took around 10 minutes.
In contrast, Louis Bleriot took 37 minutes to make his ground-breaking flight across the channel in 1909 and Matthew Webb took 22 hours to swim it for the first time in 1875.
Baumgartner’s wings, with a span of nearly 6 feet, are made of the same special lightweight carbon composite used in Formula One race cars. Baumgartner tested it by speeding around the tarmac of Salzburg Airport on the roof of a high-powered Porsche. He has also trained with the German air force.
Baumgartner, 34, set world records for the highest and lowest parachute dives in 1999 with daredevil jumps from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur and the statue of Christ in Rio de Janeiro.
ODDSMAKER AGAINST HIM
‘I flew into my own shadow, which the morning sun exposed on a cloud together with a rainbow. I don’t think anyone has experienced that before.’
— FELIX BAUMGARTNER
The Austrian started parachuting as a teenager before taking up the extreme sport of BASE jumping. BASE stands for Buildings, Antenna, Spans (Bridges) and the Earth (cliffs). Members of the club must jump from each of those before being allowed in.
One bookmaker had quoted odds of 3/20 for a successful jump and 7/2 against.
Baumgartner, who was equipped with cameras and high-tech tracking gear, said he had to follow his two planes over part of the channel when cloud cover blocked his view.
The flight was stressful but well worth it, he added. “I flew into my own shadow, which the morning sun exposed on a cloud together with a rainbow,” he said. “I don’t think anyone has experienced that before.”
also u should click on video and see what it look like ...
I think it is sooo dammmn cool and wannna to try it out for sure !!
