Comments on: Skydiving from Space Part II: Nick Piantanida’s “Magnificent Failure”

By: Jackie McCall Davenport

Jackie McCall Davenport — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 21:29:12 +0000

Mrs. Janice. I am Jackie McCall Davenport… My father was Marvin Kenneth McCall. He was personally picked by Nick to fit him in his pressure suit for that special day. My father thought the world of him. I have several things, letters, articles, a magazine and keep sakes to my dad, along with a thank you note from yourself, my dad has kept and treasured these items all his life. I was so excited to see your post. Please email me back. Thank you. Jackie

By: Norman

Norman — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 06:02:32 +0000

Thanks for that article was very interesting, also I have to say didn´t know so much from Nick Piantanida.
That he did die is great lost, his life tells us he was a special kind of person we all need more of people like him. When doing something new like a strato jump or going up to space it is always a risk. I think everyone does understand why he did try, there is no step forward for mankind without people like him, nothing new and we all would still living in stone age. R.I.P. Nick Piantanida, still standing on the edge of the world and watching down on us.

By: don faruolo

don faruolo — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 17:43:55 +0000

What an amazing pioneer Nick was. Despite his bullheadedness, he risked it all and paid the ultimate price. I would have been honored to know the man. Thanks to Baumgartner and Kittinger, people are finally learning of Nick and his exploits. Godspeed Nick.

By: Janice Piantanida Post

Janice Piantanida Post — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 15:42:12 +0000

It stills haunts me .
Nick shared with me that heat would be put into the helmet for the first time . His face got very cold on the second attempt. Felix had a problem with moisture building up on the face seal. Could Nick’s face seal have blown open and he lost pressure at that time?
Donna ,Diane, Debbie and I still grieve and miss him dearly.

By: giani

giani — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 05:41:02 +0000

thank you guys for this info about my paisano! today the records were broken but nobody mention this “MAN”! RIP my hoomie buonanotte Nick

By: larry sargeant

larry sargeant — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 15:39:52 +0000

I was pleased to find this article, Though I didn’t personally know him, I followed with interest and excitement Nick’s attempts from 1965 to 1966. It has been disappointing that more recent aspirers seem to be unaware of his ill-fated attempts to achieve what is now being planned with sponsors’ millions. It would be gratifying to hear some acknowledgent of Nick Piantanida’s “Magnificent Failure,” a movie-worthy series of efforts. Many active and experienced skydivers, including me, dreamed of pursuing his goal. It was in research related to such an attempt that I learned the magnitude of the challenges he bravely confronted. Thank you Brett and Kate McKay.

By: Chris Mallow

Chris Mallow — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 15:21:45 +0000

“Did he prepare enough? He did the best an ordinary civilian could have but inevitably lacked the opportunities for rigorous testing and the access to the very best and most experienced minds in the field.

What are we to make of a man like Nick?”

What are we also to make of men like Orville and Wilbur Wright, the Montgolfier brothers, Robert Goddard, or Ferdinand Magellan? You can test and you can train and you can speculate and theorize, but some things you just can’t resolve until you get there. THAT is true courage, and while we may talk about motive, the key is always that you’re doing what has not been done. I see the commercial space race we have today in the same vein. I fully expect that perhaps in the next 10-20 years, we’ll see a man like Nick come along with some “cockamamie” idea about putting himself into orbit with no prior experience and on a shoestring budget. And I wouldn’t be astonished to see that man succeed.

By: Days and Adventures

Days and Adventures — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 23:29:53 +0000

Wow! Thanks for this story. His persistence and dedication to his dream are hugely inspiring. What a way to go! Doing what you love :)

Marc

By: Matthew Wright

Matthew Wright — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 17:00:17 +0000

I have seen the Kittinger video many times, but never knew someone had tried to surpass his record. A month ago I did see on the news that some man in Europe will be trying this feat soon.

By: Jason O'Hagan

Jason O'Hagan — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 01:26:20 +0000

If they are skydiving from space, shouldn’t it be called space-diving? Just a thought