This SR-71 Pilot Free Fell from the Edge of Space

The fact that this man survived is nothing short of a miracle. I heard a former SR-71 pilot say once that "It was so fast, that it was almost a religious experience". Well I'm sure that was the case here.

a reply to: jaymp

I would have crapped myself, and/or fainted, without a doubt!

a reply to: jaymp

Amazing plane amazing that he lived.

The plane was secret in 1966 and it is a Buck Rogers style and performance plane. Wonder what is top secret right now and how it performs?

a reply to: seasonal

Well they say that civillian tech is 50 years behind military, so who knows? Whatever it is, I'm sure it's amazing.

a reply to: FamCore

This suit came with a piddle pack..

Convenient if you piss yourself.

Amazing story. Initially I thought you meant he freefell without a chute and survived, which would've broken this record of falling 33,000 feet without a chute and surviving. Truth be told, once you get above the altitude required to reach terminal velocity (about 1,500 feet according to Wikipedia), additional altitude is kind of irrelevant at least as far as surviving the impact is concerned. Whether you fall from 2,000 feet or 20,000 feet you're going to hit the ground at the same speed. The lack of pressure and breathable air the higher you go presents additional problems of course.

a reply to: jaymp

That is courage right there.
Incredible.
Thanks for sharing that,
as it added additional respect
to my day.
We should send that flyboy a
couple Cubans for Christmas .
S&F

a reply to: jaymp

I enjoyed that so much, thank you

a reply to: jaymp

It's more like 10 in some areas, and actually somewhat behind in others.

They were probably between 70-100K when the plane came apart and it is a miracle that he survived. To bad he didn't have a go pro to record his free fall and it would have been an adventure most could do without. I flew as an aerial photographer for the USAF a number of times and this is one I could do without. My best,

a reply to: seasonal

Even if they just changed the airframe of the SR-71 to a triangular stealthy shape to create more payload space, put baffles in front and behind the engines, used CFD to tune up the airflow of the engines, something like that would be the UFO's of today.

a reply to: jaymp

i talk to from time to time a SR-71 pilot, and they are all very humble and have great stories.

i can't imagine falling from space, it would be a fun ride minus the plane disintegrating around you and the devastating news your buddy is gone. those guys trained so much they could anticipate each other's actions so i bet it was a devastating loss for him on many levels

a reply to: seasonal

I think we all know the answer to that question.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Perhaps, but any company making anything worthwhile in the private sector is likely being contracted by the government/military.

a reply to: jaymp

There has been a massive drop in DoD Tier 1 contractors, which means there's been a huge drop in lower tier companies as well. I don't have the article handy right now, but there was a recent survey that showed thousands of contracting companies have left the Tier 1 level over the last 5-10 years. It's not clear if they've gone to lower tiers or have left completely, but it's not nearly as lucrative as it once was.

Amazing story, thanks for the link!