Stuntman sets flight record over west of Ireland

A winged stuntman has completed a daring 17km unaided flight over the west coast of Ireland, beating local plane times.

Swiss flyer Ueli ’Sputnik’ Gegenschatz, donned a specially designed wingsuit and glided from above the Aran Islands over Galway Bay to Connemara regional airport.

The dare-devil completed the journey in 5.45mins beating the average flight time by more than a minute.

“I was fortunate to have very strong tailwinds on the day which increased my chances of making the long distance,” he said.

“It enabled me to reach an average speed of 250km/h and make the crossing. I was happy not to land in the ocean as I’ve heard the Irish waters are very cold.”

Sputnik jumped from a skydiving aircraft 4,500m high and helped by a strong tailwind flew over the Atlantic at an average speed of 250km/h.

An Aer Arann passenger plane, which travels the 17.6km route everyday with a top speed of 193km/h, took off from Inis Mor airstrip but landed at Inverin Airport, Connemara seven minutes later.

It is believed to be a new distance record for an unaided flight.

Sputnik has made a series of daring leaps in the winged-suit around the world including The Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps and Popocatepetl, the second highest peak in Mexico.