Video: A World-Record 164-Person Skydive

Setting up and pulling off a world record skydive attempt isn't easy. There is a lot of preparation and coordination that goes into such an event. This video not only gives us a behind the scenes look at how something like that comes together, but it also takes us into the air to join 164 skydivers as they link-up mid-flight to set a new world record. As you can probably imagine, it is a pretty spectacular sight.

Video: 33,000 Feet Above Mont Blanc

The Soul Flyers are a team of skydivers, BASE jumpers, and wingsuit pilots who make precision jumps all over the world. In the case of this video, three members of the squad jumped out of a plane at 33,000 feet (10058 meters) over Mont Blanc in Europe. Their descent was captured on GoPro cameras, with some beautiful scenery of both the sky, and the mountains below, making an appearance throughout the clip. This is high altitude sky diving over an iconic mountain, and thanks to their tiny action cameras, we get to go along for the ride.

Video: "Jetmen" Make Dramatic Flight Over Dubai

We've featured "Jetman" Yves Rossy, and his impressive looking jetpack, here on the Adventure Blog before. But now he's back, and he's brought a friend along for the ride. In this video, Rossy is joined by his protege Hetman Vince Reffet on an impressive flight over the city of Dubai. The two men fly in formation while the "City of Dreams" makes for a dramatic backdrop. The personal aircraft the two men use during their flight looking incredibly fun to fly, and while I'm not ready to give it a go just yet, it sure makes for a fun video.

Thanks to my friend Rick for sharing!

Skydiver Will Attempt 25,000-foot Drop Without a Parachute

Luke Aikins is no stranger to skydiving. After all, he has made more than 16,000 jumps in his career. He even played a role in helping Felix Baumgartner make his historic free-fall from the edge of space back in 2012. But now, Aikins is preparing for a daring jump of his own, and it just might be more dangerous than the one that made Baumgartner a household name.

According to this article from Dropzone.com, Aikins is preparing to make a jump from 25,000 feet (7620 meters) without using a parachute at all. Instead, he'll use a wingsuit to control his descent as he attempts to land on a 100x100 foot (30x30 meter) net which will stop his fall.

This event, which will take place at an undermined date later this year, will leave little room for error on the part of Aikins  He'll be traveling at a tremendous speed as he nears the net, and even the slightest error in his flight path could result in disaster. Of course, the jump is set to be aired on television, although it is unclear as to which network will actually show it live.

As Dropzone points out, this won't be the first time a skydiver has jumped out of a plane with out a chute, but in most other cases they had others with them that were able to either grab them on the way down, or hand them a parachute to don as they descended. In this case, Aikins will be all alone, and won't have safety net of carrying a parachute with him. If something goes wrong, he's on his own, and it isn't likely to end well.

The video below is a teaser for the project, which has been dubbed "Heaven Sent." Lets hope that name isn't somehow portentous of the outcome. I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more about this in the weeks ahead.

Video: GoPro Camera Falls 3000 Meters While Recording

This video was actually found on a GoPro camera that someone stumbled across in their backyard in Sweden. When they took it inside they found the memory card was undamaged, so they examined the footage. Apparently it was dropped by a skydiver from about 3000 meters (9842 ft). The camera then plunged to Earth, recording the whole time. It also began to spin at ever increasing speeds until the ground looks like a mesmerizing pattern without any distinguishable features. That is, until it smacks into the ground, and continues to record while sitting in blades of grass. I guess this clip is a testament to how tough the cameras are, but be warned. Some may find the long drop to the ground to be a bit dizzying.

Video: 100-Year Old Grandma Goes Skydiving

Who says that just because you get a few birthdays under you belt you need to stop pursuing a life of adventure? Take Georgina Harwood for example. This South African grandmother celebrated her 100th birthday this past weekend by going skydiving, something she first did when she turned 92. And if jumping out of a perfectly good airplane isn't wild enough for you, next she intends to go diving with great white sharks near Cape Town. She's a good inspiration to us all, and we should all be so luck to reach 100 and still enjoy these pursuits.