PREVIEW

Extreme big-air kitesurfer Lasse Walker achieved a stunning world-first on Thursday, 16 January, as he jumped over a low-flying plane piloted by Red Bull Air Race star Łukasz 'Luke' Czepiela at Dolphin Beach, Cape Town.

Dutchman Walker, 29, who grew up on the Netherlands coast inspired by local kitesurfing legends, turned professional in 2015 and has built a reputation for daring feats, including jumping over a freighter, a pier, and even a whale.

This latest achievement, two years in the making, took place at his favourite South African kitesurfing spot.

Polish pilot Czepiela, 41, a Red Bull Air Race winner with victories in the USA and Japan, is no stranger to incredible stunts, including landing a plane on Dubai’s Burj Al Arab helipad. For this challenge, he and Walker collaborated closely to ensure safety and precision.

Of his stunning feat, Walker said, "I was flying back from America and we had headwinds during the flight, and I actually came up with the idea: if a slow plane is now flying against the wind, I can jump over it."

Preparations involved thousands of jumps with measurement devices to guarantee consistent clearance. On the day, perfect conditions saw Walker use a well-placed wave to jump 15 metres above the water, soaring over Czepiela's low-altitude plane in a flawless display of skill and timing.

Walker exclaimed, "We had the perfect kicker and timing. Luke was flying low, I jumped over, did the loop with my kite, and looked straight down into the cockpit. Everything came together."

Czepiela, battling wind gusts of over 50kph, held the plane steady despite challenging headwinds, commenting, "You're trying not to stall it, and the aircraft is not very manoeuvrable. Then I look to the front, and there's a dude on the water with a kite above him. He pulls and flies over the plane. It was very surreal."