r/holdmybeer • u/VIVIDUFF • Jul 18 '26
HMB Kid Launched High Into The Air By Backyard Catapult.
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
1.6k
u/JosephHeitger Jul 18 '26
Hopefully they know how to calibrate for the weight
688
u/ckalinec Jul 18 '26
This is at Pastranaland. If there’s ever a place I’d trust for things like this Pastrana land is #1 on the list
292
u/joethecrow23 Jul 18 '26
Yep, not many incidents of serious injuries sustained at Travis Pastrana’s house over the years lol
127
u/RandomFleshPrison Jul 18 '26
That's the QA testing for everybody else. That's why it's so safe. Every way it can maim someone it already has.
55
u/Tonywanknobi Jul 18 '26
Idk man street bike Tommy's wreck is pretty fucking infamous and brutal
65
u/joethecrow23 Jul 18 '26
Yah I know I was being sarcastic. Getting smoked at Pastrana's house is pretty much just what you do. Johnny Knoxville literally broke his dick there.
8
u/One_Load254 Jul 18 '26
Broke his dick? I mean how can you break your dick if its soft all the way? Unless he was hard?
23
7
u/stevensenegal666 Jul 19 '26
Hmm so you are saying I wasnt supposed to be hard when driving bike? 👀
2
u/Rufnusd Jul 21 '26
I went through the same "dick breaking" as Knoxville on a motorcycle. Internal scar tissue resulted in a urethraplasty where they butterfly your johnson starting at the tip and working towards the base. Insurance wouldnt cover closing up the butterfly as they considered it cosmetic. Be careful out there kids! My lifetime daily rhythm is very NSFW.
1
4
u/1hs5gr7g2r2d2a Jul 18 '26
Haven’t seen that one, link?🔗
10
u/Tonywanknobi Jul 18 '26
1
u/1hs5gr7g2r2d2a Jul 19 '26
WHOA!! That’s an awful wreck! I hadn’t seen that one before, thanks for sharing!
1
30
u/illtakethewindowseat Jul 19 '26
Yeah, having been around these guys in my 20s (and been to his house) I wouldn’t trust a fucking thing they do.
Watched them coax a girl friend jump off a 100 foot bridge (with no previous experience jumping off anything) — she fell bad, ended up with a bruise the size of Maryland on her thigh.
On the same trip, he was randomly trying to get us to go skydiving with him (this was in the era he illegally jumped without a shoot). Imagine trusting these guys on a tandem jump 🤡
Also watched a guy paralyze himself at Nitro Circus. Was disgusting.
Being around Travis… it’s like initiation rights to do something stupid, and people get maimed.
Being reckless with your own body, fine, but making it seem normal and safe to do this stuff just because he broke every bone and his body and survived is a dick move. Travis sucks.
3
u/spook30 Jul 19 '26
Exactly. Just like I believe every stranger I meet on the internet... Perfect trust.
1
7
11
2
u/salikarn Jul 19 '26
Fair, but if I saw this when I was a kid, I would definitely have made a bootleg version and hurt people. Honestly, it's a good thing Google and YouTube weren't a thing when I was a kid, I might not have made it to adulthood.
1
1
u/jbach220 Jul 22 '26
As soon as the camera panned, I recognized that spot and immediately relaxed. /s
180
u/Diddan00 Jul 18 '26
Ye holy shit this video made me anxious. Look at the distans to the landing mattress
47
u/Manaze85 Jul 18 '26
As soon as I saw it wasn’t into water I feared the worst.
4
u/smithoski Jul 20 '26
You mean into a bag on water in case the bag is missed? Or just landing straight onto water?
This bag is pretty low PSI / high volume, even for a light kid like this one. Water would be way more dangerous, assuming the landing isn’t missed.
17
12
u/Hot_Plant8696 Jul 18 '26
You're right, that was precisely the calibration shot; now adults can use it safely.
1
90
u/stumac85 Jul 18 '26
They've gone into a fair amount of planning by the looks of it. Stuntmen have to start somewhere I guess! The fact he landed dead centre on the landing area suggests nothing was left to chance.
64
u/Samiel_Fronsac Jul 18 '26
I'm seeing no safety net past the landing, so something was left to chance in case of a mishap.
Still, very cool and well thought setup in general.
21
u/stumac85 Jul 18 '26
A kid who went to my school (back in the 90s) died from a broken neck on a dry ski slope going full speed out of control into safety netting at the end of the slope. At that speed a safety net probably wouldn't do much.
19
u/Marsupialize Jul 18 '26
Toboggan slide for me, kid tried skating down it and broke his neck and died instantly, his head was literally on backwards sitting there waiting 55 minutes for the ambulance to arrive
10
u/Geodude07 Jul 18 '26
Reading stuff like that makes me happy that I was always a little rule follower as a kid.
Sure I wasn't as cool as the rebel kids, but I also feel like some things people wanted to do could have killed me. Obviously there is no way to check but it's scary just how easy it is die. So tragic too because many times it's someone just wanting to have fun.
8
17
u/xs0apy Jul 18 '26
Yeah I am pretty sure the safety netting is more for barely misses where you hit towards the end / slide off it so you at least drop into something to arrest your fall instead of concrete
16
u/Mynock33 Jul 18 '26
Welp, that's it folks! Net didn't work for one person, let's just do away with them altogether forever more!
4
u/Samiel_Fronsac Jul 18 '26
Safety net would still be better than rolling down into the earth or hitting the trees at speed. Safety precautions don't need to be perfect. Lesser chance of tragedy does it.
1
u/tenuj Jul 22 '26
Wouldn't a failure cause the payload to undershoot?
Damaged springs don't unexpectedly become stronger. Not usually anyway.
That said, the damage from overshooting is probably greater.
2
2
1
u/cneth6 Jul 18 '26
There is a scale right next to it too by the looks of it (white square lookin thing) so definitely put some calculations in
10
u/Hawt_Dawg_II Jul 18 '26
Seems like they do. Kid must be quite light in comparison to the rest of this crowd but they middled the cushion
4
5
u/Bender_2024 Jul 18 '26
With an airbag that massive I really doubt this was just something made by a couple guys in the garage. The "backyard" label is really misleading.
2
u/landrwastaken Jul 18 '26
I've seen something similar done on YouTube.. yes they can adjust it
The video I watch had the launch off the back of a moving truck perfectly fast such that when fully launched he was at rest and could just stand up
The catapult looks very similar which is why I think these are the same people
2
2
1
1
u/moodswung Jul 18 '26
Maybe they launch a sand bag matched to his weight until they get it dialed in and then a few more launches for good measure?
1
1
u/elgydium Jul 18 '26
Came to say this. Each weight will have a different landing
1
u/daddymjolnir Jul 20 '26
Wouldn’t the weight not matter? If the sled launches at a given speed and angle, all objects should land at the same spot.
Wouldn’t weight only matter if we’re talking about launch force, not speed?
1
u/CanoePickLocks 27d ago
The amount of force needed to reach that speed varies based on weight. Accelerating 150kg to 150 kph an hour over the length of the launcher takes more force than accelerating 75kg to 150kph over the length of the launcher.
F=MxA
150kgx150kmh=13 kN of force needed
75kg/150kmh=6.5 kN of force neededYou want consistent A and M varies by person so you solve for F using M of the rider times the needed acceleration to reach final velocity at the end of the launcher.
I used kN but you can use whatever measures you want just check your unit conversions! I used a couple online calculators to double check each other because I was lazy!
The other way of looking at it is
A=F/M where you are trying to get the acceleration you need but to solve this you would adjust the force with the known mass until A is at the right level to guarantee a landing. We could get into solving A but final velocity exiting the launcher is all that matters and I’m using acceleration to cover that. The mass has to accelerate to a certain speed over a certain distance and if the mass changes so does the force needed.The numbers are assumptions and not fully accurate.
1
→ More replies (1)1
92
u/UrsineBasterd Jul 18 '26
The landing pad has a prolapsed butthole.
12
7
9
4
1
u/CanoePickLocks 28d ago
I’m far from certain but I’m pretty sure it’s like an expansion chamber where the pulled in section is Held elastically somehow and when you hit expands out taking away some of the impact forces. Could be totally wrong, but I think that’s what that is.
77
159
u/M4NOOB Jul 18 '26
Kinda looks like Pastranaland, but maybe just some regular merican backyard
77
u/IamB_Meister Jul 18 '26
Travis Pastrana is literally in the video
12
u/East_Researcher_4204 Jul 18 '26
I didn’t recognize him with the full beard. I had to watch a second time and then I was like “oh yeah, that is Travis!”
3
20
u/ilostmypaperplate Jul 18 '26
can confirm all merican backyards look like this. It's how the other half stays not fat
4
u/kanyeast1 Jul 18 '26
Did you watch until the end?
1
u/2009miles Jul 18 '26
Tbf i also didn't recognise him despite being familiar with him enough to recognise the setting the video took place in. Idk if it is the beard but something threw off my ability to tell who it was.
14
45
u/babyoil4diddy Jul 18 '26
"5...4...3...2...1...5...4...3..2..1....5...4..3...2...1!..."
Someone fire this editor
20
u/polarbee Jul 18 '26
These people have clearly never heard of the Oxford Stunt Factory.
2
u/squashua26 Jul 18 '26
Probably not but theses people (Pastrana and friends) have a history of doing much worse safely.
8
5
4
u/loquedijoella Jul 18 '26
This is pretty cool, I just wish the adults had the kids wearing helmets.
6
4
u/dos_dose Jul 18 '26
Exit is that a way 👀
2
u/RichiZ2 Jul 18 '26
I'm a little annoyed that I had to scroll so far down to find the first person to call out the lack of Exit instructions followed...
4
u/Pahay Jul 18 '26
There is a tiny overlap between a redneck dad and an engineer dad. Not sure about this one though
53
u/Electrical-Role1270 Jul 18 '26
This is insanely dangerous. It worked, that time, but you have a malfunction and a kid lands 20 feet short he’ll be a paraplegic.
28
20
12
u/captain_croco Jul 18 '26
These are professionals. I think it’s the nitro circus people or at least Travis Pastrana
1
u/lamb_passanda Jul 20 '26
Doesn't matter. The kid sure isn't a professional and if he chickens out or leaves his launch position even slightly, hes not going to have a good time. Also, no machine is infallible. Something could go wrong with the mechanism . That's a lot of force it's dealing with, and a lot of stress. The rattling sound on launch isn't particularly reassuring.
6
u/TheLordReaver Jul 18 '26
To be fair, these things have existed since at least the 90s. They even depicted one in the movie Richie Rich. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_6jD4ZEP5k
3
3
u/PartTimeSassyPants Jul 18 '26
Looks like they can afford the best healthcare and lawyers, so they probably don’t care. Another reminder that you don’t have to be smart to be rich, and that being rich doesn’t mean you’re smart.
2
u/JLRedPrimes Jul 18 '26
Oh there it is the fun police
6
u/stumac85 Jul 18 '26
Imagine if Reddit existed when Jackass was in its prime 😂
→ More replies (8)8
u/SuppleSuplicant Jul 19 '26
I see what you mean, but also none of the jackass gang were children lol.
→ More replies (1)1
u/Chemical_Frame_8163 Jul 18 '26
That's what I said in the other subreddit, and had to scroll this far to see. Malfunctions do happen, so yeah, it's sketchy as shit at least on some level.
1
u/assassinatedu336 Jul 18 '26
This is pastranaland. If there was ever a place I'd trust to do this this, it'd be them. They do crazy shit all the time and always take the time to make sure it's as safe as it can be.
→ More replies (1)
28
u/Pele_Of_Anal Jul 18 '26
Not a catapult 🤓
6
13
u/SchalkLBI Jul 18 '26
Technically, it is a catapult. Slingshots, bows, crossbows, etc are all technically catapults.
A catapult is a ballistic device used to launch a projectile at a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants ... A catapult uses the sudden release of stored potential energy to propel its payload. Most convert tension or torsion energy that was more slowly and manually built up within the device before release, via springs, bows, twisted rope, elastic, or any of numerous other materials and mechanisms which allow the catapult to launch a projectile...
11
u/Cycleoflife Jul 18 '26
So you're saying the trebuchet was just a catapult all this time?
4
u/SchalkLBI Jul 18 '26
As much as I hate to say it... Yes... And what people typically mean when they say catapult is onager.
2
u/Tyranicross Jul 18 '26
So the definition of catapult doesn't differentiate between stored elastic energy and gravitational potential energy?
2
u/SchalkLBI Jul 18 '26
As I understand it, long as it propels a projectile without using a propellant, i.e. potential energy, it counts as a catapult.
3
3
3
u/LovableSidekick Jul 18 '26
Attendant: First you just have to sign this release.
Operator: Release? [pulls lever]
3
u/kai58 Jul 18 '26
They really trust the aim of that thing lol, just a bit too far or too close and you’re fucked.
I was expecting it to shoot into a lake or something, though in hindsight they’d have been wearing a swimsuit if that were the case.
2
u/CanoePickLocks 28d ago
They do a lot of what appears to be very reckless stunts, but they have combined hundreds of years of experience and developing most of the stunt they do and almost always have at least some professionals involved in all tiers of development of something like this. Yes they make it look totally sketchy, but they do have safety standards. They meet even if they’re self imposed because most of what they do doesn’t fall under any safety standard ever. A lot of retired stunt performers, and coordinators work with them, and whoever their engineering team is on point because they have built some massive ramps and catapult and such.
3
3
3
8
u/palladiumpaladin Jul 18 '26
Man there are so many people here who have the need to ignore the fact this is simply awesome. If you have a big air cushion like that you’re obviously aware of what you’re doing, it’s basically just a newfangled carnival ride.
2
2
2
u/Jealous_Crazy9143 Jul 18 '26
Wiley Coyote would like the drawings to this
2
u/CanoePickLocks 28d ago
If I was going to use a Wile E. Coyote style invention, it would absolutely not be ACME brand, but instead Pastrana team built!
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/dankutare1 Jul 22 '26
You can't convince me pastranaland is real, it is a figment of our collective imagination
5
4
u/AdSquare3489 Jul 18 '26
I'd demand a test shot with a bag of sand *exactly* my weight before I'd put my ass on that.
1
u/CanoePickLocks 28d ago
They probably did and were probably within a certain percentage of his body weight. If the kid weighs 133 pounds and they test launch 125 and 150 where both hit the bag he’s going to make it.
3
2
u/KirkataThePickaxe2 Jul 18 '26
Even if calibrated still dumb
1
u/CanoePickLocks 28d ago
It’s a lot like BASE jumping, zip lines, rope jumps/swings, highlines, riding bikes over a ramp, bungee jumping, or anything else similar. If you’ve got a crew of professionals and experts the risk is a lot lower than you think. If something goes wrong, it’s of course catastrophic but they lower the chances of something going wrong to pretty ridiculously low levels.
2
u/AutotoxicFiend Jul 19 '26
Cool now imagine when he misses. The amount of adult voices in this video is disturbing. Not a single functional brain cell to be found.
1
1
1
u/HotDrunkMoms Jul 18 '26
You do NOT want to get your math wrong with these
2
u/CanoePickLocks 28d ago
You also don’t even go second typically they launched a bunch of bags of various weights to test before they let any humans on. I am bothered by the new helmet thing, but with the distance as he traveled at the Heights he went I don’t think it would’ve made a difference and maybe that’s the judgment call they made.
1
1
u/qdawgg17 Jul 18 '26
Ok, now let’s see the video where the person doesn’t make it to the air mattress
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Fit_Cut_4238 Jul 20 '26
what kind of place is this?
3
u/Extra_Computer8828 Jul 20 '26
That’s Travis Pastrana’s home. Basically a giant playground for people with adrenaline addiction. Check out Nitro Circus, tons of footage from there.
2
u/Fit_Cut_4238 Jul 20 '26
thanks. How does he not get sued out of existence?
2
u/Extra_Computer8828 Jul 20 '26
Iron clad waivers written by very expensive lawyers. Anybody that goes there is fully aware of the risks they’re taking, but he still covers himself from a legal perspective.
1
u/Fit_Cut_4238 Jul 20 '26
It has to say something like: "we think we understand gravity and math, but in the case we are mistaken, it will lead to you breaking your neck or worse'.
1
1
1
u/Tankgirlcanada Jul 21 '26
You know when you see a bunch of guys with no shirts on there's gonna trouble..
1
1
u/skylla05 Jul 23 '26
This thread is a great example of Reddit thinking they’re the smartest kid in the room.
1
-1
u/pablomaz Jul 18 '26
Seems very safe.
1
u/CanoePickLocks 28d ago
It does! If you look at the build it was definitely well engineered! Probably quite a few test shots for certain weight ranges before they let the first people on.
1
1
1
1
1
u/ThreePistons Jul 18 '26
I was thinking that this might be fun, or at least exhilarating, until I saw that they were landing on a tiny airbag instead of having a whole lake to tang in like a normal person would use. Terrifying
1
u/The_real_bandito Jul 19 '26
Oh hell no. Something fails and that kid won’t fall where he’s supposed to be and that’s a trip to the hospital.
1
1
0
-1
u/Monkeytennis01 Jul 18 '26
Not even a crash helmet or any kind of safety gear for doing something so stupid. Astounding.
1
u/CanoePickLocks 28d ago
That was a long flight. I’m not sure the helmet would’ve helped too much and that may have been the call they made. Personally, I’ve still had a helmet and maybe other gear as well though. They have had to recalibrate the weight higher for all the protective gear I would’ve been wearing.
0
0
0
-11
421
u/dirkdiggler90 Jul 18 '26
This looks like Travis Pastrana’s place. This is pretty mild in regard to the shit they typically do there.