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This stunt was conceived by UK Channel 5's Fifth Gear and Dunlop - Stunt Driver and show presenter Stuntman Steve Truglia.
It was by far the biggest and best car stunt of his career to date. At 12 metres diameter it is a new World Record and the first of it's kind at this size.
Watch a video of the TV show highlights by clicking HERE
Five's motoring magazine show returns for an action-packed one-off special. Stuntman Steve Truglia prepares to perform a toy-car trick in a life-size vehicle fitted with Dunlop SP30's. He will attempt to defy gravity and neck-breaking G-forces to loop-the-loop.
This stirring 'Fifth Gear' special follows Steve every step of the way to see how he prepares for this extraordinary stunt. He seeks advice from Finnish female stunt riders, a daredevil aerobatics pilot and a Cambridge University doctor of mechanical engineering, while training to withstand the incredible G-forces he will experience while driving in the loop.
Steve needs to hit the launch ramp at the perfect speed. If he is too slow, he will drop out of the sky as soon as he is upside down. If he is too quick, he will experience enough G-force to make him blackout. Steve has never failed to complete a stunt yet - but will he succeed this time? Will his Dunlop SP30's keep him on the track, even when he's upside down?
There are some nice press articles too:
Here from Sky News
And Here from The UK Dail Mail Newspaper
Like most busy people, I find it hard to keep a regular physical training regime whilst working. As a busy Stunt Coordinator I often travel the country and work long days with very early starts. Non filming days are filled with reading scripts, budgeting stunt sequences, writing risk assessments, traveling to recces and production meetings.
Staying fit, strong and supple enough to perform stunts is critical to helping physical coordination and avoiding injury. Many stunt people find these fitness levels decrease as they get more regular work and become generally busier. Fortunately experience and having a strong sports background often makes up the shortfall but it's not the ideal solution.
I've met many people in other walks of life who face the same challenge. We'd all like to be as fit as our schooldays or teenage years, have boundless energy and a feeling of well being. Sadly it seems many kids today are not as fit or as health as kids were years ago. I got to wondering how their health will fare as they become busy adults.
6 months ago a friend and mentor Wag Bennett died, (see earlier post). It somehow motivated me to get in the best shape of my life. This meant setting aside the 'I don't have the time' excuses once and for all. I remembered the words of a great personal development trainer, he said, "for things to change, you have to change; for things to get better, you have to get better". So I decided to change my habits, in terms of training and diet.
I set about a regular routine of weight training which rekindled a long running theme of bodybuilding and strength training which started when I first visited Wag's Gym in London when I was 15 years old.
I have since decided to compete in a bodybuilding contest, (when I'm ready), and produce a fitness DVD, as a way of setting a clear target to keep me on track.
This post is, in part, a way of making the goal public, and hopefully it may motivate others to commit to becoming fitter, stronger and healthier. I should emphasise that I am personally, totally against performance enhancing, (or any other), drugs and am training entirely naturally. Interestingly I'm still building muscle and am in my 40's with good food, training and rest.
These pics are after 6 months or regular training and good diet. Bodyfat about 17%.
The Sunday Telegraph Newspaper asked me to do an article on what takes to be fit enough to do movie stunts. I spent the day with journalist Alex Benady, who was a great sport, he was fit, strong and determined. A true example of someone with a busy full on deskbound career staying in very good shape.
Click here to read the article on Telegraph.co.uk's website.
Last week was the first opportunity to fly my new Russian custom made spacesuit. It's the only one of it's kind in the World, having been put through it's paces at the American company which makes suits for NASA, (company and manufacturers names witheld until after the jump).
Photo courtesy of Aikix. Geeking in on my pic is Andy Godbold, sky god!
The next tests will include the life support system and parachute container. Further tests will include flying the drogue chute in the tunnel to test stability. Then it's on to the hypobaric and cold temperature tests.
NB: THIS PROJECT URGENTLY NEEDS SPONSORSHIP, please help us break this exciting record which has stood since 1960!
The sad news reached me of the passing away of one of my seminal influences and one of bodybuilding's true legends, Wag Bennett last week.
Wag ran a bodybuilding gym in East London for around 50 years. He won some early bodybuilding titles, became the first person in Britain to bench press 500 lbs, (when he only weighed 150 lbs!!), in 1951, and was the President of the English Federation of Bodybuilders.
Wag inspired many people with his willingness to share his vast knowledge and passion for bodybuilding and strength training. We would sit for ages after my workout talking. He'd share dozen of stories of the bodybuilding legends he knew and trained. He was a fountain of knowledge and shared it willingly.
One of those bodybuilders was Arnold Schwartzenegger. When 'Arnie' was 19, he came to London. He met up with Wag who soon spotted his huge potential. Wag (and his wife Dianne), took Arnold into their home and Wag set about training (and feeding and housing), the young Austrian. Wag taught Arnold to pose for competitions, and introduced the idea of posing to music, which they pioneered together. Wag is on the left here.
As a skinny (8 and a half stone), 15 year old, back in the late 70's, I tentatively, and nervously stuck my head around the door of Wag's gym, to be greeted with a warm welcoming smile from Wag, and his gym manager Nick (Jeremiah) Tyler. "So you want to build some muscles eh?, well you've come to the right place lad", was the response I got. Nick set about writing me a beginner's routine and Wag began teaching me the basics of good exercise form, nutrition, sleeping, and positive thinking....what a revelation to a young mind.
One day Wag announced that Arnold would give a seminar in the gym. We sat about the benches and on the floor agog, listening to the most positive thinking human being I'd ever met. I left that seminar believing that almost anything was possible to achieve. Clearly that drive remains with him to this day.
This influence got me to change my scrawny body into an 11 stone athletic, strong physique within a few months, gave me the confidence I lacked previously, and taught me about the power of positive thoughts. I developed an interest in other sports, like boxing, fencing, martial arts, canoeing, running and climbing. A new life opened up before me. Some years later I got very carried away and rose to 14 stone 10 lbs with 16 3/4 inch biceps, squatting over 400 lbs and benching over 350 lbs in training. This was bodybuilding the old fashioned way, 18 eggs a day washed down with 4 pints of milk. Protein drinks, chicken and enough vitamins to sink a boat. Training so hard you couldn't walk home in a straight line. Contributing to more ozone damage than a field full of cows!!!
Without Wag's seminal influence, kindness, training, positive attitude and that gym, I would never have joined UK Special Forces, never have had the life of adventurous sports which I've enjoyed, and would never have become a Stuntman and Stunt Coordinator.
I owe a great deal to the man who helped so many to live a stronger, healthier, fitter and more positive life. I'll miss popping into his old gym for the odd workout, and I'll miss sitting with him afterwards, telling him stories of my stunt exploits, which he always asked about.
Hi folks,
I've had lots of messages regarding the status of the jump so here's the update, and answers to many of the questions received:
Just about everything is now in place to perform the jump as soon as the last bit of sponsorship is in. The spacesuit is in great shape and passed all it's basic tests at the American company that makes suits for NASA. It will undergo the final proof pressure tests as soon as we start the battery of pre launch testing.
The specially 'designed for purpose' parachute rig is now with me, as is the spacesuit.
Launch site(s) have been established and permissions are to be sought shortly.
A slight delay in the Life Support System has meant a switch to an alternative supplier who supply the NASA systems. They will be building a special system for my suit.
We have put the documentary on hold until the funds are in and will start filming shortly after that occurs.
The French team now have to wait until next May, and it seems unlikely they will launch even then. This gives us a comfortable breathing space of at least eight months. With no other serious attempts out there, things are looking great and we can still launch this year or early 2009.
To answer the many questions regarding the spacesuit, balloon, scientific team, launch crew and strategy, please be patient. You may have noticed a couple of people who jumped on the 'I'll have a go at that' bandwagon, with clearly no idea of what something like this entails, and without the skills or background, (one isn't even a skydiver!!). For this reason, and because there is still a serious threat from the French, my team and scientific support are not being publicised. They are an incredible group of world leading specialists and will be fully credited and revealed in the book and documentary.
The photo below was taken at the headquarters of the US spacesuit company who have helped me so much, and will be rebuilding the suit after the test jumps, ready for the big one. This is a current NASA suit which they manufacture.
It's been a long road; 15 years of research and planning, 24 years of parachuting and extreme sports experience and 12 years of specialist stunts and risk assessing .... and we could be launching in a few months. Exciting times indeed.
Thanks for all your support and interest thus far,
Steve
Things are progressing very well at this end. UK's Channel 5 have agreed to make the documentary which will be distributed internationally. A book deal is being planned to coincide with that.
The Space Jump Project still needs some sponsorship to get the record jump done this year.
There are huge advertising benefits available for companies, in terms of the worldwide media which will report on this event, inclusion in the documentary and book, and many other corporate benefits including presentations after the event and future advertising opportunities.
Philanthropists out there who support this event can rely on a 'return' on their financial support in the form of fund raising activities after the jump for their chosen charities.
If you have any ideas, contacts or want to be involved in helping us make this happen in any way, get in touch. Project Space Jump 2008 needs your help.
Black Skies
Steve Truglia
The Smithsonian Institute's Air and Space Magazine have kindly written a very nice article which can be viewed on their website here:
Those great guys at Soldier Magazine have published a nice update on the SpaceJump project in this month's (June) edition.
Many thanks to Soldier Magazine.
Click on the picture to read the article.
Well the great news is that my new suit has been delivered, having been tested and adjusted in the USA at the company that makes the NASA space station suits. The suit itself was designed and built by one of the world's leading space suit designers in Russia. This incredible collaboration is driving a new breed of spacesuit designed to service the new emerging space tourism market.
I am both proud and excited about my part in driving this development, and ultimately, test flying the suits as we modify them for sub orbital stratospheric flights.
The full pressure suit is designed to keep the wearer in a fully pressurised environment. This is the only safe way to survive in a near vacuum. The life support system for the suit is at the final design stage and will be ready for testing within two weeks.
A barrage of cold chamber, hypobaric chamber and skydiving tests will then follow. Some initial test flights will be made at the Airkix indoor skydiving tunnel in Milton Keynes, UK, before real time tests and balloon jumps from my gondola, which has just been built.
Things are still well on track for a late July launch attempt at the world record.
Wow everyone, what a week!!!
Thanks for all the kind messages. It's looking very, very likely now that I'll launch my attempt before the French team get their weather window in August. Very exciting times.
Just a quick update for all of you who have sent messages regarding what my plans are if the French attempt this week is successful.
After several years, the French team are indeed in Canada and preparing to attempt a launch this coming week. This is fantastic news for me because IF he does it I'll have a clear target to beat this Summer and bring the World Record to the UK. It really couldn't have worked out better.
The timing is great as we are just about to build the balloon envelope for my jump. As soon as we know what happens in Canada, we'll build a balloon to go higher and carry on as planned.
In the spirit of true sportsmanship I genuinely wish him good luck and, above all, safety.
The gondola is nearly finished and I am now ready to give the go ahead for the balloon envelope build. We will decide on balloon size and therefore altitude in two weeks time. We may well be launching a much higher attempt than previously announced. (No prizes for guessing why;-) Exciting times.
My space suit final testing and life support systems test reports are coming soon. The suit is with me now.
The parachute container has been made and awaits canopies. I should be jumping it in the next couple of weeks thanks to the help of a great many people.
All systems go!
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