While it’s now possible to visit the pyramids at Giza from the comfort of your own home, there’s nothing like actually visiting the monuments. (We’re assuming.) In a new video a team of professional stunt people and skydivers kick touristing the attraction up a notch with a very close flyby of the pyramids. A flyby that shows just how huge the Wonders of the World really are.
Red Bull recently posted the wingsuit dive at the pyramids of Giza in Egypt to its YouTube channel. Unless you’ve been hiding underneath a half-pipe, you know this is the kind of stunt that the energy drink company loves to sponsor. Because Red Bull gives you wingsuits! And hopefully a monster “landing” bonus.
The energy drink company doesn’t offer a lot of context for the stunt, other than to say this is the closest-ever flyby of the pyramids by wingsuit pilots. The three pilots— Fred Fugen, Vincent Cotte, and Mike Swanson—all joined in on the stunt. Although it was Fugen who flew closer than anyone has ever before. Specifically flying close enough to the Pyramid of Khafre to “almost” touch it. Khafre is the second-tallest and second-largest of the three pyramids; it’s 448 feet tall and has a base of 706 cubic feet.
“I never even thought I would be able to make this flight one day. If this project has been possible, it is because flying techniques and materials have evolved a lot recently,” Fugen said in a press release. “I felt so small in front of such big monuments,” the professional skydiver added.
Sport Bible reports that Fugen and the other divers “dropped in” from a height of about 5,000 feet; from a plane or helicopter, we’re assuming. They then quickly reached speeds of up to 155 mph. Which sounds shockingly fast. Especially for a place aging so slowly.