Skip to content
Do you have adblock enabled?
 
If you can read this, either the style sheet didn't load or you have an older browser that doesn't support style sheets. Try clearing your browser cache and refreshing the page.

(ABC News) Hero Certified mega-badass Joe Kittinger has fallen at 94   (abcnews.go.com) divider line
30
    More: Hero, Joseph Kittinger, Vietnam War, Felix Baumgartner, Parachute, Project Excelsior, Vietnam, parachute jump, pressure suit  
•       •       •

3240 clicks; posted to Main » on 10 Dec 2022 at 3:05 AM (15 weeks ago)   |   Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook



30 Comments     (+0 »)
View Voting Results: Smartest and Funniest
 
johnny_vegas [TotalFark]
2022-12-09 9:38:22 PM  
No shiat, subby, bad-ass is right!

thumbs.gfycat.comView Full Size
 
cretinbob [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-12-09 10:04:53 PM  
The gondola is on display at the Air Force Museum in Dayton. It's a place worth putting up with Ohio to see.
media.defense.govView Full Size
 
gopher321 [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-12-09 10:10:19 PM  
Fark user imageView Full Size
 
cretinbob [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-12-09 10:12:53 PM  
my bad, that wasn Manhigh. I always forget they were separate , so it's a good thing people write things down.

Excelsior was the high alt jumps, and that capsule looked like this

upload.wikimedia.orgView Full Size


I'm not going 10 feet in the air in that.
 
BizarreMan [TotalFark]
2022-12-10 2:19:44 AM  
No way in hell I would do that?  Damn good for him though.
 
The_Sponge [TotalFark]
2022-12-10 3:16:10 AM  

gopher321: [Fark user image image 640x478]


Kitty!
 
LewDux [OhFark]
2022-12-10 3:17:40 AM  
Hello Kittingcat St Peter
 
The_Sponge [TotalFark]
2022-12-10 3:17:47 AM  
Wow.  Rest in peace, Colonel Mega-Badass.
 
thepeterd
2022-12-10 3:18:35 AM  

cretinbob: The gondola is on display at the Air Force Museum in Dayton. It's a place worth putting up with Ohio to see.
[media.defense.gov image 801x1200]


PAIGE NO
 
flamesfan [OhFark]
2022-12-10 3:28:36 AM  
Rest in Peace.  A true explorer and made of the right stuff.
 
Archie Goodwin
2022-12-10 3:37:21 AM  
Boards Of Canada - Dayvan Cowboy
Youtube w9IEw0dS6xk


RIP Sir.
 
The Dog Ate My Homework
2022-12-10 4:57:15 AM  
Did he just now hit the ground?
 
Mock26
2022-12-10 5:49:20 AM  
Fark user imageView Full Size
 
Mock26
2022-12-10 5:53:28 AM  
After three jumps from 74,700-102,800 feet he later went on to do three tours in Vietnam, flying nearly 500 combat missions. He was shot down and spent a year as a POW.
 
deadromanoff
2022-12-10 6:20:59 AM  
BSBD BADA$$
 
ChrisDe
2022-12-10 7:25:10 AM  
He lost consciousness as he went into a spin that was 22 times the force of gravity. He was saved when his automatic chute opened.
Four weeks later, Kittinger made his second jump...

No. Just no.
 
RaceDTruck [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-12-10 7:36:04 AM  
So he's only got a 6 foot jump left?

/s
//RIP jumping man
/// Three
 
AtlanticCoast63
2022-12-10 7:50:34 AM  

Mock26: After three jumps from 74,700-102,800 feet he later went on to do three tours in Vietnam, flying nearly 500 combat missions. He was shot down and spent a year as a POW.


...I remember going to the Air Force Museum just after he was shot down, but before they had confirmed he was a POW.  There was a picture of him on display next to the capsule with his name and the legend MIA, and even as young as I was I understood that something very, very bad had happened.
 
bighairyguy [TotalFark]
2022-12-10 7:53:39 AM  
Upon hearing the news, gravity grumbled and walked away.
 
Madman drummers bummers [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-12-10 9:13:44 AM  
See? I knew it! I told you: you'll die if you jump out of an airplane.

Okay, so you'll also die if you don't. Technicalities.
 
BizarreMan [TotalFark]
2022-12-10 9:29:20 AM  
My brain cannot comprehend the thought of traveling at over 600mph without having a hard structure surrounding me.
 
kb7rky
2022-12-10 10:22:15 AM  
Soar with the eagles, Colonel Kittinger, and rest well, sir.
 
indy_kid
2022-12-10 11:25:24 AM  
The badass few people have heard about:  Nick Piantanida.  His gondola reached 120,000', but he didn't make the jump that day for technical reasons.

Done mostly without government support, just friends and sponsors.
 
fatalvenom
2022-12-10 2:50:01 PM  
Every year until about 8 years ago when they went off the air, a local talk-show, The Love Doctors would have him on once a year. The host, Dr. Rich, was fascinated by what Joe did.

I remember being about 17yo and hearing him come on the first time to tell the story. I was riveted.

/Godspeed, Jump Man
 
Sasquach
2022-12-10 4:17:15 PM  
CSB: My dad was the lead engineer on the ground crew for these jumps (GE gave him the suits...they needed some fool who was willing to test them)
/CSB
 
Sasquach
2022-12-10 4:19:11 PM  

Sasquach: CSB: My dad was the lead engineer on the ground crew for these jumps (GE gave him the suits...they needed some fool who was willing to test them)
/CSB


I also have a box of large photographs and engineering test plans from these jumps....can't find a museum to take them (about half are marked as declassified)
 
AtlanticCoast63
2022-12-10 4:54:07 PM  

Sasquach: Sasquach: CSB: My dad was the lead engineer on the ground crew for these jumps (GE gave him the suits...they needed some fool who was willing to test them)
/CSB

I also have a box of large photographs and engineering test plans from these jumps....can't find a museum to take them (about half are marked as declassified)


....NMUSAF or NASM doesn't want them?
 
BizarreMan [TotalFark]
2022-12-10 5:08:50 PM  

Sasquach: Sasquach: CSB: My dad was the lead engineer on the ground crew for these jumps (GE gave him the suits...they needed some fool who was willing to test them)
/CSB

I also have a box of large photographs and engineering test plans from these jumps....can't find a museum to take them (about half are marked as declassified)


Are the other half marked classified?
 
Sasquach
2022-12-10 5:32:56 PM  

AtlanticCoast63: Sasquach: Sasquach: CSB: My dad was the lead engineer on the ground crew for these jumps (GE gave him the suits...they needed some fool who was willing to test them)
/CSB

I also have a box of large photographs and engineering test plans from these jumps....can't find a museum to take them (about half are marked as declassified)

....NMUSAF or NASM doesn't want them?


Never gotten a response to inquiries....even the Smithsonian "submit things of historical importance for our research library" never responded.

I'm mostly invisible in this life...
 
Sasquach
2022-12-10 5:34:20 PM  

BizarreMan: Sasquach: Sasquach: CSB: My dad was the lead engineer on the ground crew for these jumps (GE gave him the suits...they needed some fool who was willing to test them)
/CSB

I also have a box of large photographs and engineering test plans from these jumps....can't find a museum to take them (about half are marked as declassified)

Are the other half marked classified?


Oddly, none of them were marked classified....just a red stamp on some saying that it has been declassified.
 
Displayed 30 of 30 comments

View Voting Results: Smartest and Funniest

Redisplay/refresh comments
This thread is closed to new comments.

Continue Farking

If you like these links, you'll love

TotalFark

Come for the Total, stay for the Farking.

learn more | sign up
On Twitter

  1. Links are submitted by members of the Fark community.

  2. When community members submit a link, they also write a custom headline for the story.

  3. Other Farkers comment on the links. This is the number of comments. Click here to read them.

  4. Click here to submit a link.