Thu, Sep 03, 2015
Holds World Record For Highest-Altitude Free Fall Skydive
Alan Eustace, who set the world record for the highest-altitude free fall jump, is the 2015 recipient of the Crystal Eagle Award presented by the Aero Club of Northern California (ACNC).
Eustace worked with Paragon Space Development Corporation for three years to create the self-contained pressure suit and life-support system he wore while setting the record. On October 24, 2014, he began his balloon-powered ascent from Roswell, NM, reaching 135,889 feet, before his free fall to Earth, which lasted 15 minutes and reached a speed of more than 821 miles per hour. Eustace, who recently retired as a vice president of Google, is a pilot and flies a Citation jet and an AirCam on floats.
The Crystal Eagle is awarded annually to “an individual(s) whose lifetime achievements have significantly contributed to the advancement of aviation or aerospace technology." Eustace joins a list of aviation legends who’ve received the award, including Jimmy Doolittle, Chuck Yeager, Burt Rutan, and Steve Fossett.
“We had a number of nominations for the award, which reflects the strength and depth of contributions being made today by many people in the aviation and aerospace world,” said Max Trescott, president of the Aero Club of Northern California. “Alan’s innovative approach to setting his world record stood out, and we congratulate him on the winning the award.”
The award will be formally presented at the annual Crystal Eagle Dinner on November 14, 2015 at the Hiller Aviation Museum at the San Carlos Airport in San Carlos, CA.
(Images provided by the Aero Club of Northern CA)
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