 Bear Grylls breaks another Guinness World Record with the Longest Indoor Freefall at 97 minutes
18th July 2008, 8.48am: Bear Grylls, a Guinness World Record holder as the youngest Briton to climb Everest at 23, today broke another World Record with the longest indoor freefall at 97 minutes. Bear and his indoor flying team of double amputee Al Hodgson and Scotsman Freddy MacDonald grabbed back the World Record from the Americans in a nail-biting indoor skydive at the Airkix wind tunnel in Milton Keynes.
The new time of 97 minutes sets a new Guinness World Record and puts the Airkix team back firmly in the number one spot. Each minute of indoor bodyflying is the equivalent of one skydive, and the whole 97 minutes is the same as falling 242 miles continuously or the distance from Milton Keynes to Newcastle.
Bear Grylls, commenting on the achievement said, “I have never had to concentrate so much in my whole life. It required digging a lot deeper than I expected and has been one of the most intense records I have ever broken. I am really proud to have done this and to set a new World Record.”
 The Participants
Bear Grylls
An experienced skydiver and already in the Guinness World Records as the youngest Briton to climb Everest at 23. This well known adventurer has previously broken his back in three places in a parachuting accident when he was 21 so the indoor skydiving is a massive personal achievement.
Bear's passion and enthusiasm for the outdoors are now shared and enjoyed through his TV programmes in over 150 different countries, reaching over one billion people worldwide. And he is a well known author and presenter.
Al Hodgson
Double Amputee Al Hodgson lost both legs in a terrorist attack in Northern Ireland. He is a medal winning skydiver who runs his own skydiving school specializing in freeflying and is delighted to set his own record for indoor skydiving. Al is representing the UK with his wife at the World Skydiving Championships this August in France.
Scott ‘Freddy’ Macdonald
A European and National skydiving medal winner, Freddy has been with Airkix as an instructor since March 2006. Although well practised in the Airkix tunnel, the attempt was a prove a huge physical challenge for the Freddy after breaking his back in a base jumping accident last year.
About Airkix
The first Airkix wind tunnel opened at Xscape Centre Milton Keynes in October 2005.
All details on the flying package available, related costs and to book your flights go to www.airkix.com
The Airkix tunnel is manufactured by SkyVenture LLC in America. SkyVenture LLC has a decade of operational experience. The first wind tunnel in Orlando has been operating safely and successfully since 1998.
The Record
The Guinness World Record for the longest indoor freefall was set by Brit Andy Scott in the Airkix wind tunnel in 2006, when Andy flew non-stop for 1 hour 18 minutes.
The record was then taken by an American brother and sister duo earlier this year (in May), who flew for a total of 1 hour 36 minutes.
A Few Statistics
Flying in a wind tunnel for this amount of time is no small feat and when put into context, this can be seen:
- 1 hour 37 minutes (97 minutes) of freefalling is the same as 97 consecutive sky dives
- It’s also the equivalent of falling for 242 miles
- Or the same as traveling from Milton Keynes to Newcastle as the crow flies!
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