Ok, so, he jumped out of a plane "sky diver" fashion. Extra points for style, but the trick is not very impressive from an aerodynamic standpoint. I'm a hang glider pilot. Even my low performance hang glider gets an 8:1 glide. State of the art "Rigid Wing" hang gliders like the ATOS or Stalker get a 19:1 glide. People have, in the past, done what is called a "ballon drop" where they get thier ride up on a ballon, cut loose, and then glide. You can cover a LOT of ground with a 19:1 glide and a tailwind. But you don't even need to get a lift to 30,000 to make impressive flights.
The world record hang glider flight is over 430 miles, and he started at like 2000 feet agl.
The BBC article put it nicely "Falling with style" just like Buzz Lightyear.
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The world record hang glider flight is over 430 miles, and he started at like 2000 feet agl.
The BBC article put it nicely "Falling with style" just like Buzz Lightyear.
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Make your own! They've been doing it in the south and apalachia for years. (And it's actually legal in New Zealand )