Skydivers to swap planes in mid-air stunt engineered by Cal Poly professor. Here’s how to watch

Two skydivers will swap airplanes in mid-air Sunday afternoon in a “physics-defying” stunt engineered by a Cal Poly professor.

The skydivers, cousins Luke Aikins and Andy Farrington, first plan to pilot their planes to 14,000 feet in the skies over Arizona. Then they’ll point the aircraft at the ground, jump out and swap planes before landing each plane safely, according to Red Bull, which is hosting the event.

The plane swap stunt will be livestreamed at 4 p.m. Sunday on Red Bull TV and Hulu.

In a Instagram story posted on Saturday, Aikins said the stunt, which is 10 years in the making, is “still unbelievable.”

“Like most of my projects, I’m fortunate enough to have such an amazing team behind me to help make this thing happen,” Aikins said.

More than 200 people were involved in the project, including Cal Poly aerospace engineering professors Leo Torres and Paulo Iscold.

Iscold, who engineered the plan, noted that skydivers don’t typically pilot the planes they’re jumping out of.

“Luke has this vision that’s a little bit different,” Iscold said.

Iscold and Torres developed an auto-pilot system that would fly planes pointing to the ground instead of keeping them level — the first of its kind.

“We have to rely on that system 100% — that’s what makes me nervous,” Iscold said.

After training in San Luis Obispo, the crew spent the past week in Arizona to prepare for the plan swap stunt.

Sunday will mark the first time the stunt will be done in its entirety, since pilots were in the planes during rehearsals in case anything went wrong.

Iscold said this influenced the planes’ weight and center of gravity, something he’s accounting for when it’s time for the real deal.

The engineer said he’s experiencing “a mix of anxiety and excitement.” “If everything goes right today, it’s gonna be a pretty cool project,” he said.

Although Iscold didn’t involve any students in the project due to the high risk involved, he’s been sharing his findings with his classes.

During winter quarter, Iscold taught a class at the San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport, where his students could watch the crew’s training. Aikins has also spoken to one of Iscold’s classes.

“A project like this is very relevant to students going to the market,” Iscold said.

Iscold said his students will be getting together to watch Sunday’s plane swap via livestream video. The presentation by Honda’s 3D virtual production will include the skydivers’ perspectives during the jump and a step-by-step explanation of the science behind the attempt.

“You will never see this happening again,” Iscold said. “It’s a difficult problem to solve, which for me particularly is a way to I believe make me sharper as an engineer.”

To watch the plane swap stunt live, go to redbull.com/us-en/events/plane-swap.

This story was originally published April 24, 2022 at 3:15 PM.