Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No... it's a man in a flying KAYAK: Daredevil claims to be world's first 'skyaker'
By Mail Foreign ServiceLast updated at 9:08 AM on 05th March 2010
Danger man Miles Daisher casts a bizarre image paddling across the sky - 13,000 feet up in a kayak.
The daredevil has turned extreme sport skydiving on its head after deciding to jump out of a plane in equipment normally used only in water - giving birth to 'skyaking'.
His spin on the risky hobby means anyone looking up will draw a blank when they ask: 'Is it a bird? Is it a plane?'
But the answer will become clear when Miles swoops in at 50mph and lands on the water in spectacular fashion.
Making a splash: Skyaker Miles Daisher is ready to launch out of the Caravan at 13,500 ft above the ground
His unbelievable antics are set to explode onto the worldwide silver screen in a sensational new 3D film on skydiving, base jumping, wingsuit flying and skyaking.The 40-year-old, from Twin Falls, Idaho, decided to put a twist into has favourite pastime when looking for new ideas to take it even more extreme.
And as these pictures 13,000 feet over beautiful Lake Tahoe show his efforts are both incredible and hilarious.
'It took us nearly a year before we could get our wish to come true as no-one was really looking to throw a kayak out of an aeroplane.
'To begin with we did it off a 600ft bridge on a static line, and landed in Feather River, California.'
Up a creek with no paddle: Miles uses his arms to get his ballance and keep the Skyak stable while falling towards Earth at 101 mph
Static lines connect the jumper to the point they are jumping from - such as a plane or in Miles' case the bridge - and automatically pulls their parachute as they fall away.
He continued: 'A year later I got permission to jump out of an aeroplane and so since that time I have jumped out of four different aircraft, including a helicopter.
'We have taken it all over the world from Mexico to Abu Dhabi and I have been skyaking for nearly eight years now.'
Over the years father-of-two Miles and his team have slowly perfected the art of skyaking.
'There are a lot of things that can go wrong in skyaking and so you have to be prepared,' he said.
The daredevil has turned extreme sport skydiving on its head after deciding to jump out of a plane in equipment normally used only in water
'That way I have a time to sort things out, get out of the boat and then pull the chute for the kayak.' And he has noted some strong differences in regular skydiving.
'The rate at which you fall is a lot different,' he said.
'Instead of falling flat on your belly you are sitting up right in an L position. I liken it to sitting on a space hopper, balancing front to back and side to side.
'It does take some decent balance skills. And because the boat has such a big surface area your fall rate is a lot slower.
'If you are lying on your belly, a normal sized human will fall at 120 mph.
'If you go into a stand up or a head down then you can build the speed up to 160-180 mph.
'But with this boat, that has so much surface area and weighs 35 lbs, meaning that I fall at only 98 mph.
The reduced rate of Miles' descent through the clouds means that cameramen wishing to film him need to wear special wingsuits to increase drag and reduce their own fall rate - so they don't just hurtle past skyaking Miles.
Wingsuits are specially adapted bodywear for skydivers and base jumpers. Flaps of material running across the gaps between arms and legs increase drag for jumpers and allow them to glide like a flying squirrel.
Danger-hungry Miles has completed more base jumps than anyone in the world with 2,570 and has completed a whopping 3,000 skydives since he quit his job and took up the sport in 1995.
Water landing: Miles Skyaks into the ditch for a perfect splashdown, water landing at Skydive Sebastian, Florida
MD Rocks
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