Kitesurfing history made: Lasse Walker jumps over a flying plane!
Kitesurfer Lasse Walker achieved perfect timing with Red Bull Air Race pilot Łukasz Czepiela, launching his kiteboard over a flying plane in a world-first feat that's set a new benchmark.
Big-air kitesurfer Lasse Walker pulled off a world-first feat just off the beach in Cape Town, South Africa, when he completed a stunning jump over the low-flying plane of masterful Red Bull Air Race pilot Łukasz Czepiela.
How can one jump over a plane with a kite?
The jump required an extraordinary degree of precision from both Walker and Czepiela. While the Polish pilot kept the plane hanging almost still in the air by flying head-on into the wind, Walker searched for the perfect wave to launch his jump. With an impressive jump of a height of 15m, he flew right over the plane's propeller, a manoeuvre that was only possible thanks to perfect timing and coordination between the two athletes.
Lasse Walker is no stranger to the world of big air kitesurfing and is known for his spectacular jumps over unusual obstacles. He's previously jumped over a freighter ship, a pier and even a whale however the collaboration with Czepiela brought a new challenge.
"The idea arose a few years ago," Lasse explains. "I was in a plane with headwinds and thought. 'if a slow plane flies against the wind, can I jump over it?'" With this goal in mind, Walker worked over the past few years to perfect his jumps, where consistency in height and distance were crucial.
By flying the nose of the plane straight into the wind as slowly as possible, Czepiela allowed the plane to almost hover – an incredibly difficult feat with such a light aircraft in the conditions faced. In his preparations, he flew as slowly as possible on windy days without falling out of the sky.
Hanging the plane still
Czepiela has never flown like he had to for this jump
"You're flying a plane, you're trying not to drop out of the sky, you look forward and see a guy on the water with a kite above him. He jumps and flies over the plane. It was very surreal," says Czepiela.
All the info on Lasse's kitesurfing jump over Luke's plane
