Two pilots will attempt to swap airplanes in flight in a made-for-TV stunt that will air live on April 24. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Red Bull Air Force member Luke Aikins and his cousin Andy Farrington will take a pair of Cessna 182s to 14,000 feet and push them into synchronized dives. The autopilots in the aircraft have been rigged to hold the aircraft in vertical dives with the help of custom air brakes that fold out from the belly, according to the showbiz publication. They will then cut the engines, exit their aircraft and maneuver to the other’s in time to restart the engines, recover from the dive and land. The stunt is called Plane Swap and will be covered live on Hulu in the U.S. and on Red Bull TV at 7 p.m. EDT on April 24.
“It’s the pinnacle of my career and my goal is to inspire the world and show that anything is possible,” said Aikins, whose name might ring a bell as the guy who did a freefall without a parachute into a big net for a live TV stunt in 2016. Farrington is also described as an experienced skydiver. “You can set your mind on something that at times seems wild, crazy and unattainable, but through ambition and creativity, you can make it happen,” Aikins told the publication.
“Careless and reckless” comes to mind.
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April Fool’s day approaching :), and if not, skip April.
People fighting and dying not too far away…
The big final firework looming in the distance…
What other futile and stupid stunt is the human being able to demonstrate?
I hope 14000 ft is enough.
Assuming autopilots and speedbrakes are set for a 500fpm descent… yawn.
500fpm? Not likely. They will be diving, not gliding.
If the speedbrakes keep the airplanes at Vne, then they’ll be diving at 15,000 fpm.
Pointless.
Just what we need. Another image of Aviation being used by idiots and in the end, helps to solidify an ignorant public impression of recklessness.
i wonder if they know that they aren’t making these airplanes anymore.
Actually, 182’s are still in production.
Hold my beer and watch this! You might be a redneck if you…..
I would love to see the paperwork approving this stunt by the FAA.
You can’t fix stupid, but you can watch it on Hulu.
Who is PIC when the two planes are abandoned? I would not want be the FAA inspector that signs their waivers.
OK, Who said that these planes are vacated??? May be assumed, but . . . .
And, with the pilots wearing chutes, what’s the big risk here???
I can still remember numerous times my dad saying “always think first, just because you CAN do something, doesn’t always mean you SHOULD”.
I’m tired of this “anything is possible” bs.
Maybe it is just me but a lot of the comments kind of disturb me. Yes this stunt may be a bad idea from a safety of the pilot standpoint but people do dangerous things all the time. Look at people who free hand rock climb or kayak rapids. They think it is fun and they are not putting other people in danger only themselves so what business is it of you or me or even the government to say they can’t do such things. The government does have a legitimate concern to make sure that they are doing it in such a way as not to endanger the public but beyond that it should be up to the people involved. if they want to take the risk both physical and financial it should be up to them. Think about this for a minute I have met people who say what most of the rest of us pilots do cruising around straight and level in a small aircraft is dangerous. If they became the majority should they be able to tell us we should not be able to fly? This is supposed to be one of the main advantages of the United States of America, that if you are not endangering someone else’s life or property and you have the funds to do something that you should be able to do it.
Welcome to AvWeb. 90% of the comments here are from people who just want to complain and criticize innovation and progress, so it comes as no surprise that the majority of comments regarding a planned stunt are negative. You will see it on any article even remotely related to electric aviation. and of course most poster’s will use it as an opportunity to display their own political affiliations and criticize the other side because it’s easier to be against something than it is to be for something so why not spew venom on a forum that was intended to be for aviation enthusiasts. It’s makes me embarrassed to be even remotely associated with this group.
Seriously though, for those who are not into stunts and air shows, no one is telling you that you have to be part of it. So long as the participants aren’t harming anyone else (either physically, emotionally, or financially) why do you have to criticize them? It may not be for you, ok, fine, but stop yucking someone else’s yum.
Airplanes and stunts have been joined at the hip since the Wright Brothers, so why this particular one is drawing so much venom is unclear to me. Someone should get a government grant to do a psychological profile on our group.
Even though I am mostly Libertarian, we will have to disagree a bit here.
If this were Evil Knievel “jumping” across the Grand Canyon by himself in a rocket ship, I would agree with you.
But in the stunt above, these pilots are not flying in a vacuum. (Pun intended.)
Specifically, because they are pilots, and because they are flying airplanes recognizable as such by the public, they represent General Aviation – whether they want to or not. (As do we all. Think about the (negative) image a drunk pilot leaves with the public.)
Now, if the public didn’t have a say in, for example, airport closures (“Those little airplanes make so much noise/are dangerous”), then it wouldn’t matter what negative public opinion might result from this stunt.
But the public does have a say in our hobby/vocation and we should be aware of this fact – and act accordingly, whether we like it or not.
(And so this is different from when the Blue Angels do stunts. The pubic expects bravado from their Military. And a crash does not affect the funding of the Military.)
When my airplane partner and I had our Glasair, we made it a point to fly to various small town Air Fairs in, and adjacent to, our state. We wanted to be Good Ambassadors for General Aviation. We wanted to meet and talk with the the general public to show them that not all “Experimental” Airplanes were intrinsically dangerous, as the label “Experimental” conjures in the minds of the public. (Open air cockpit Wright Flyer’s held together with bailing wire.)
It’s an interesting human foible that, after people meet pilots of small aircraft, pilots who are regular people too, the noise from our small aircraft doesn’t seem as objectionable anymore.
So while I understand your point from a narrow, rugged individualistic point of view, the view here is much wider. I hate to quote Hillary Clinton. But in GA it is a little true that it take a village. (Since many of our airports are subsidized.) Or at the least, we all live in the village and should try to get along with our neighbors. If this stunt goes wrong, it will only buttress the public’s mindset that small airplanes are dangerous and shouldn’t be allowed to fly.
We as pilots and the aviation industry just continue to appear as extravagant unnecessary idiots to the public. Last month it was some idiot intentionally jumping out of and crashing a vintage aircraft, and next month trying to swap pilots in mid air? Someone needs to have a talk with Red Bull and their ilk.
I saw this and the first word that popped into my head was, “Why?” Why do this, when aviation is thrilling enough without the glamor and glitz. Mr. Aikins claims it’s the pinnacle of his career – what’s wrong with devoting tens of thousands of hours of one’s life to an aviation career, perfecting one’s skills as an aviator, doing aviation things right the first time? He claims it’s worthwhile to attain the unattainable through “ambition and creativity.” I dunno, folks. Maybe I should salute Mr. Aikins and Mr. Farrington and wish them well for their derring-do. Me? I’m going to relegate myself to straight-and-level flight, real and simulated. I’m happy with that.
Yawn unless they don’t wear parachutes.
…and they are flying solo.
“It’s the pinnacle of my career and my goal is to inspire the world and show that anything is possible,”
The afflatus sounds a bit naive to me… Nevertheless, the average age of a Hulu viewer is 31, with 18 seconds as their average attention span. The antic will fit like a glove for its intended audience.. but I’ve been around too many blocks to think an outrageous aerial stunt will generate the discipline and perseverance needed to fight off cancer or build your own home, or fight off a Russian invasion. Categorize this into the same deluded bin as those who think the death penalty deters murder.
If they didn’t wear parachutes and used helicopters instead of 182’s, I’d certainly prepare a fresh batch of popcorn!