RED BULL has finally revealed what was going on with the hot air balloon stunt that caused quite a stir when members of the public saw it floating above Wiltshire earlier this year.
The Red Bull-branded hot air balloon was spotted in the skies above the county in February, carrying a strange object underneath it, but the energy drink company refused to say what was going on.
Now it has been revealed that what everyone saw was the world's first floating skate park, three years in the making - the latest in a long line of incredible sporting stunts produced by energy drinks company.
In the aerial contraption, suspended 2,100ft above the ground, BMX pro Kriss Kyle literally took his sport to new heights by performing tricks for his latest film.
Kyle, who is known as one of the world's most daring riders, performed a number of hair-raising manoeuvres that saw him getting very close to the edge of the bowl on several occasions.
The Red Bull athlete, who incredibly has a fear of heights, said: “I’ve been dreaming of this project for so long, but the height factor has always felt like a massive weight on my mind.
"I’ve had to push past my fears several times before on Red Bull projects, but nothing has compared to this. Having to climb over the edge of the basket to get down to the skatepark underneath was such a crazy experience.
"I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the help and encouragement of my friend Summertime who helped me down. At 2,100FT you’re so high up it almost doesn’t feel real anymore.”
The engineering feat saw Kyle work with Red Bull Advanced Technologies (RBAT), the technological arm of the Oracle Red Bull Racing Formula One Team to design and develop the one-of-a-kind carbon fibre BMX bowl.
This was combined with the record-breaking capabilities of Cameron Balloons, to design and create one of the world’s largest operating hot-air balloons alongside a group of Kriss’ close friends who have been riding BMX and building ramps together since they were kids, bringing together an unlikely and multi-faceted project team capable of allowing Kriss to fulfil his vision of riding his bike in the sky.
A rare combination of high atmospheric pressure, cold and dry conditions, along with surface wind speeds of less than 3 mph were needed to get a balloon six times larger than a standard hot air balloon and capable of carrying a 1.7-ton BMX bowl in the sky.
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