The New Highest Parachutist
Next month in the skies over Saskatchewan,? this man, 62-year-old retired French army colonel Michel Fournier,? plans to? ascend 130,000 feet into the stratosphere? in a balloon? and then leap. If all goes well, he will set four new world records, for highest altitude freefall (breaking Joe Kittinger’s 46-year-old freefall record, previously discussed in our Proceedings), highest altitude human balloon flight, longest time in freefall, and the human freefall speed record. We hope he brings a camera.
[Acknowledgements to Presurfer]
July 14th, 2006 at 10:19 pm
[...] 4 - The New Highest Parachutist Take a balloon to the stratosphere (wearing a spacesuit and parachute, natch) and then jump off, 130,000 feet above the Earth. This gentleman must have cast iron balls. (tags: speed Fournier Michel stratosphere freefall jump parachute record world) [...]
July 14th, 2006 at 10:19 pm
[...] 4 - The New Highest Parachutist Take a balloon to the stratosphere (wearing a spacesuit and parachute, natch) and then jump off, 130,000 feet above the Earth. This gentleman must have cast iron balls. (tags: speed Fournier Michel stratosphere freefall jump parachute record world) [...]
July 14th, 2006 at 10:28 pm
He’s NUTS!!!
Another crazy Frenchman.
July 14th, 2006 at 11:36 pm
Maybe he’s nuts, but plans come cheap, or at least cheaper than deeds. Maybe the linked story sounds familiar, dated 3/06/01 from National Geographic:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/03/0306_skydiver.html
I could not find an article which discussed three similar attempts, one by an American woman. They were planned for a couple years ago.
I truly appreciate the Kircher Society, but feel they should publish deeds, not plans, otherwise finding weird stories is too much like dynamiting clams in a barrel. This story is too much of a press release.
December 7th, 2006 at 3:51 pm
*takes*! “We hope he *takes* a camera”!
February 5th, 2007 at 5:32 am
At least put a question mark after it. Now the jump isn’t scheduled until August 2007.
February 25th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
takes.. brings… whatever. I just hope he takes PICTURES!