Parachutes are for sissies: Stuntman descends 2400 feet in wingsuit, lands in cardboard boxes

British stuntman Gary Connery today jumped out of a helicopter 2,400 feet above the Oxford countryside in England. Not entirely unusual, except that Connery didn't take a parachute.

Instead, he strapped on a "wingsuit" and descended like a bird, knifing through the air at about 80 miles per hour until he hit terra firma less than a minute later. Well, not quite terra firma. Connery, 42, disappeared into a long stack of cardboard boxes - 18,600 of them, the BBC reports.

He emerged smiling.  Asked afterwards what he was thinking on the way down, he said, "Hit the spot."  This is what a guy does for fun when he's not working in movies like Die Another Day, Batman Begins, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - all part of his resume according to the BBC.

Take out the helicopter, and you have carbon free flying!

Connery's stunt is believed to be the first time anyone has landed safely after jumping from a helicopter with no parachute.  Wingsuits provide lift by adding surface area to the body. Wingsuit daredevils - known for jumping from cliffs or aircraft - normally land with a parachute.  A second wingsuited bird man joined Connery as the cameraman, but landed with a chute.

Seeing is believing:

YouTube video from Oxford Media Factory.

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com