Multicopters are growing more powerful by the day, and Latvian company Aerones specializes in creating industrial drones that can carry loads of up to 100 kg (220 lb). To demonstrate the lifting power of its drones, the company has used a custom unit to carry a skydiver aloft, before he drops and deploys his parachute.
We've seen a few exciting drone stunts over the past year highlighting the increasing payload potential of modern multicopter systems. Seattle-based Freefly systems introduced the world to dronesurfing last year using its Alta 8 octocopter, which was built to carry camera equipment weighing up to 12 kg (26 lb).
More excitingly, we saw YouTube daredevil Casey Neistat, dressed as Santa Claus, snowboard through the snowy surrounds of Finland propelled by a custom-built, 16-rotor multicopter. The Neistat stunt highlighted several moments where he madly dangled in the air as the super-powered drone thrust him well into the sky.
The Aerones team has been pulling similar stunts demonstrating the payload capacity of its drone, but the company's latest video takes things to a new level... literally.
Their 28-propeller drone lifts skydiver Ingus Augstkalns off a radio-tower and elevates him 330 m (1,083 ft) into the air before he lets go and freefalls for a couple of seconds before releasing his parachute. The stunt could redefining the future of base-jumping, with thrillseekers now able to consider a whole new world of locations for short-drop dives without the need for tall buildings or cliffs.
Take a look at the drone jump stunt in the video below.
Source: Aerones
