Risk at high altitudes: two renowned paratroopers will exchange their planes in mid-flight

The day came when Luke Aikins and Andy Farrington will make history as the first pilots to take off on one plane and land on another after dropping their planes into a tailspin. In addition, they will abandon the ships for a few moments to carry out the risky maneuvers. The fact is that the Plane Swap is a risky challenge that will expose the talent of the protagonists.

To say that the renowned pilots were born on the air is an understatement. They are cousins and attribute their aeronautical heritage to their grandfather, Lenny, a World War II fighter pilot. His grandfather was shot down and, due to the freezing of his cabin, he was unable to evacuate his P47. When he returned to the United States, he wondered what it would have been like to jump out of a plane, so he set up a skydiving school.

Aikins and Farrington's parents also flew and jump, so it was obvious that the boys would do the same: Aikins was still in the womb when she first jumped out of a plane. They both grew up on an airfield and jumped as much as they could. They also flew and both made their first solo flights at the age of 16.

In addition to being familiar, the couple is very close, which is ideal for the challenge posed by the Plane Swap. They usually fly together in formation and have made more than 5,000 jumps together. That's why Aikins chose Farrington as his partner, since they both instinctively know what the other is going to do, which makes it a more predictable and therefore safer challenge.

The challenge has been preparing for a year. As with all previous flights in history, the two planes will take off separately and ascend to 14,000 feet (4,265 meters), where the protagonists will start training and carry out the final checks; this is the last point where the go-ahead will be given... or not.

Both Aikins and Farrington will place their Cessna 182 in a tandem tailspin. To achieve this, they'll need a tailor-made autopilot system to ensure they stay on the right track. Each aircraft has also been fitted with a speed brake and larger than normal wheels to help create more resistance and slow down the pace of descent, as well as to ensure that paratroopers can reach them. The autopilot will be activated once the paratroopilots have manually entered the dive fall and shut down the engines so that the planes stall in the air.

With the planes maintaining their free fall trajectory, Aikins and Farrington will then exit their planes and parachute to approximately 610 meters above sea level before boarding the other aircraft.

Once back in their new aircraft, they will turn off the autopilot, retract the speed brake and restart the engines, while leveling. They will then extinguish the smoke to show everyone that the mission was a success. The challenge will begin at 20 (Argentina time) and can be seen live.

KEEP READING