Adventurers in the air: engineer builds human catapult

If you're adventurous and not afraid of heights, have you ever wondered what it would feel like to be thrown into the air by a giant catapult? Well, according to the POPSCI website, US engineer Jason Bell has decided to create a gadget specially designed to shoot people. Check out the following video:

Bell built the human catapult in order to give BASE jumping enthusiasts an extra push, an extreme sport in which participants parachute and tackle from fixed points such as bridges, mountains, and towering buildings. The Bell machine has a 3.5 meter long lever made of steel tubing, which is attached to a reinforced base.

Capable of throwing people more than 15 meters away and 6 meters high, the lever is operated through a compressed air system. The contraption was thoroughly tested in the inventor's own backyard, which began by throwing objects such as stuffed animals, then moving on to bags full of clothes and finally sandbags weighing over 90 pounds.

Guinea pig

Only after conferring the power of the catapult in the background did Bell offer himself as the subject of his own invention, participating in a series of launches on a lake. By the way, thanks to the tests - which must have been the greatest fun in the world - the engineer found that the best position for the parachute launch is with the person sitting upside down, as during the jump the body rotates.

The human catapult was a big hit during its official debut on Bridge Day in 2012 - a famous annual BASE jumping festival in the US - and now the inventor intends to build an improved aluminum version capable of launching taller and farther people. so that they landed on a huge air mattress. And you, reader, if you had a chance to play with such a contraption, would you risk it?