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Austria’s Red Bull Skydive Team member reaches speeds of up to 200 km/h in Türkiye for wingsuit world-first.
Red Bull Skydive Team member Marco Waltenspiel transformed the iconic balloon-filled sky above the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Cappadocia into a high-altitude Fairy Slalom course. The project, created in collaboration with Philips OneBlade, saw the Red Bull athlete complete a world-first wingsuit flight, mastering windy conditions at speeds of up to 200 km/h and once again pushing the boundaries of human flight.
Here is all you need to know:
– Austrian Waltenspiel has been skydiving since he was 17 and excelled in competition before joining the Red Bull Skydive Team to create memorable projects such as Megaswing, the first-ever wingsuit flight through London’s Tower Bridge with Marco Fürst in 2024 and 2026’s Mont Blanc spectacular team flight.
– For this latest project, the 42-year-old headed to Türkiye and Cappadocia – known for its distinctive tall, cone-shaped rock formations called “fairy chimneys” – where the sky is filled with hot-air balloons after rising up at dawn from April through until November.
– Extensive meteorological analyses were carried out beforehand to identify the most suitable weather conditions for each jump, with Waltenspiel accompanied by Red Bull Skydive Team colleague and compatriot Fürst – the two athletes each bringing a wealth of experience from around 13,000 flights.
– Jumping from a hot-air balloon at an altitude of approximately 2,800 metres above Cappadocia, Waltenspiel flew through hot-air balloons positioned at different altitudes to transform the sky into a mesmerising slalom course while reaching speeds of up to 200 km/h.
– Constantly changing wind conditions presented the greatest obstacle, making every single manoeuvre a test of exceptional skill, perfect timing and precise control as Waltenspiel continuously descended while he drifted between balloons approximately 400 metres apart.
-This was the third internationally acclaimed aerial sports project brought to life in the region by Red Bull athletes, following Valentin Delluc’s 2022 Fairy Flight and the 2015 Triple Infinity Tumbling World Record by Petar Lončar, Veselin Ovcharov and Ondrej Prochazka – something that was not lost on Waltenspiel after completing Fairy Slalom.
– He revealed: “In wingsuit flying, you are always working with nature, but on this project we encountered different winds at every altitude. Each time I approached a balloon, I had to recalculate my line and make the right decision within seconds. Completing this flight in Cappadocia’s unique atmosphere made it one of the most memorable experiences of my career.”
– Trusted colleague Fürst added: “This project demanded not only speed, but flawless coordination. We had to keep track of one another while also responding to constantly changing weather conditions. The preparation behind the scenes was every bit as impressive as the footage we created.”
Watch Waltenspiel and Fürst in Mont Blanc team flight HERE.
Explore more Wingsuit content HERE
