Gary Connery, a stuntman who calls himself "The Wingman," jumped from a helicopter at an altitude of 2,400 feet wearing only a wing-suit Wednesday afternoon in England. Moments later, he landed prostrate (and without injury) into an expansive "cushion" of carboard boxes. It was the first time anyone had attempted a drop like that without the safety of a parachute.
"I feel absolutely wonderful, I am overwhelmed," he told reporters, afterwards. "I am in a strange zone at the moment. It is an amazing feeling. I feel incredible, just completely elated."
The 42-year-old Brit, who has performed stunts on dozens of movies and television shows, boarded a helicopter in Henley-on-Thames, and dressed in a blue wing-suit, he jumped shortly after 3:30 p.m. He reached a speed of 75 mph and fell for 40 seconds before appearing to belly-flop into a construction of cardboard boxes.
Moments later, he emerged to a pool of reporters and onlookers.
“It’s one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen in my life,” Jeb Corliss, the most renowned wing-suit diver, told The New York Times.
“Because of movies," Corliss added, "people don’t really understand what they witnessed. It’s monumental for a human to land at those speeds. It took an enormous amount of courage.”
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