Latest news with #paragliding
CTV News
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
‘It feels great': B.C. man turns Superman dream into rescuing orphaned animals by air
Although his dogs are all different, Jayson Biggins says they have one thing in common. 'All rescues,' Jayson smiles after stopping to pet the trio of pups he was walking. 'As a kid, I always had a connection with an animal.' As a kid, Jayson also always dreamed of flying like a superhero. 'I could picture Superman saying, 'Up! Up! And away!'' Jayson smiles. 'And then free. He's gone.' But it wasn't until he was in university and tried paragliding for the first time that Jayson thought he'd found a way to realize that dream. 'You feel like a superhero. It feels magical,' Jayson describes the start of a paragliding flight when you run off a cliff and continuing taking steps in the air with falling. 'That just captivated me, and I was hooked for years.' For decades, Jayson taught paragliding around the world. During one of those trips, he and his wife rescued their first animal. 'A starving pup came out of the bush,' Jayson says. 'And we scooped that pup up and brought her back to health.' Jayson has his wife ended up living with nine rescue dogs, before someone suggested he combine his passion for animals with his passion for flying. 'It was an idea of service,' Jayson says. 'It seemed to fit.' So, when Jayson retired, he earned his pilot's licence, bought a family member's 70-year-old plane, and volunteered to pick up wildlife in far-flung places and transport them to animal rescue centres. Because airplanes can fly in a straight line fast, a rescue that might take a day by land and sea can be accomplished in less than an hour by air 'That can be a game-changer for animals that are injured orphaned,' Jayson says. Jayson started getting so many calls to help, he launched a charity called Big To The Rescue and began sharing the stories of his passengers on social media, racking up millions of views. The dozens of animals he's helped rescue include seal pups, bald eagles, and baby bears. 'It's pretty special that I can help little critters,' Jayson smiles. 'When I'm with an animal in the air, I feel like I'm doing what I'm meant to be doing and it feels great,' Because even better than learn to fly like a superhero, is wielding that power to help like one.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Wife shares final footage of Red Bull space jump icon Felix Baumgartner
The grieving partner of famed skydiver Felix Baumgartner shared tragic footage of the extreme athlete's final flight — just moments before he crashed and died. The 56-year-old — who was renowned as the first skydiver to fall faster than the speed of sound — died in a paragliding accident in the Italian town of Porto Sant'Elpidio. The Austrian daredevil reportedly fell ill and lost consciousness while flying a motorised paraglider. Video shared by Baumgartner's longtime partner shows him preparing his parachute and starting the propeller of his paraglider before taking off into the cloudless summer sky. 'I was filming him taking off not knowing that this will be his last flight of his extraordinary life,' Miha Schwartzenberg, 55, who was with Baumgartner since 2014, wrote in a social media post accompanying the video which you can watch above. 'For over 12y I was there for every take off and landing, from skydiving, paragliding, helicopter flights, paramotor to aerobatic shows,' she wrote, adding that he was 'going home now, up there, where he was the happiest ever.' In the short clip, the adrenaline junkie is seen wearing shorts and a crash helmet as he fires up his propeller pack and runs across the grass to get airborne. As his wing fills with air and lifts him up from the ground, he tucks in his legs. Baumgartner achieved global fame in 2012 when he successfully skydived 24 miles from the edge of space to the ground, becoming the first human to break the sound barrier with only his body. Schwartzenberg also recalled how when she hadn't been able to attend her partner's skydives, the couple had a 'WLC code,' or 'the Wifey Landing call,' when he got to the ground. 'Never missed one. Except … this one,' she added. The exact circumstances behind Baumgartner's death are still under investigation. The Red Bull-sponsored athlete is believed to have fallen ill midair which caused him to lose control and crash to the ground, into the side of a swimming pool, killing him instantly. A hotel employee on the ground was also injured in the fall when the paraglider struck them. Schwartzenberg, a Romanian-born TV presenter, also praised Baumgartner's fans who have reached out to her since her partner's tragic death. 'Thank you all for your support and for keeping his unique legacy high up. This man was truly special, in so many ways, and I'll make sure I'll keep telling his story,' she wrote. 'But now…., I have to deal with the shock, the pain, the sunrises where I get to make just one coffee, not two,' she said.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Watch: Last video of Felix Baumgartner as he sets off on fatal paraglider flight
Felix Baumgartner's partner shared video of the extreme athlete setting off on his fatal paragliding flight. The 56-year-old Australian daredevil was flying over Porto Saint'Elpido in Italy on Thursday (17 July) when he lost control of his motorized paraglider. Witnesses said they heard a loud boom as the paraglider spun out of control and crashed next to a swimming pool. On Saturday, Miha Schwartzenberg posted a video to X of Baumgartner's taking off on his fatal journey. 'I was filming him taking off not knowing that this will be his last flight of his extraordinary life,' Schwartzenberg said in the caption. 'Felix Baumgartner is going home now, up there, where he was the happiest ever.' Baumgartner was best known for his record-breaking skydive from the edge of space in 2012.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Watch: Last video of Felix Baumgartner as he sets off on fatal paraglider flight
Felix Baumgartner's partner shared video of the extreme athlete setting off on his fatal paragliding flight. The 56-year-old Australian daredevil was flying over Porto Saint'Elpido in Italy on Thursday (17 July) when he lost control of his motorized paraglider. Witnesses said they heard a loud boom as the paraglider spun out of control and crashed next to a swimming pool. On Saturday, Miha Schwartzenberg posted a video to X of Baumgartner's taking off on his fatal journey. 'I was filming him taking off not knowing that this will be his last flight of his extraordinary life,' Schwartzenberg said in the caption. 'Felix Baumgartner is going home now, up there, where he was the happiest ever.' Baumgartner was best known for his record-breaking skydive from the edge of space in 2012.
The Sun
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Felix Baumgartner's widow shares footage of fatal paraglider flight as she pays tribute to ‘truly special' partner
FELIX Baumgartner's grieving partner has shared footage of the daredevil's doomed final paragliding flight. The Austrian athlete, 56, most famous for jumping to Earth from the edge of space 2012, tragically lost his life in an accident while on holiday in Porto Sant'Elpidio, Italy, last week. 5 5 5 5 His partner, Michela Radulescu, revealed how she held his hand in his dying moments - after he suffered a suspected cardiac arrest midair and crashed into a hotel swimming pool. A clip shared by his grieving wife shows the moment the adrenaline junkie took off from a field to begin the flight. Wearing shorts and a crash helmet, Felix fires up his propeller pack and runs across the grass - as he had done so many times. The sail fills with air and lifts him up from the ground. Felix soars high into the sky against a cloudless blue sky, getting smaller and smaller. Michela, 55, a Romanian TV presenter, said she watched him disappear, "not knowing that this would be his last flight of his extraordinary life". In a heartbreaking video posted to X, Michela says: "For over 12 years I was there for every take off and landing, from skydiving, paragliding, helicopter flights, paramotor to aerobatic shows. "And when I couldn't be there for some heli flights, we had the WLC code - 'the Wifey Landing Call'. Never missed one. Except …this one." She said that her "truly special" was "going home now, up there, where he was the happiest ever". Describing the moment she lost Felix, Michela said: "He died doing what he loved the most - flying - in a happy place we came for the third time, with me holding his hands and shouting at him to FIGHT. The first fight he lost… Skydiver famous for space jump dies in paragliding tragedy after crashing into pool "Keep telling his story, specially to your kids - in a world full of Dreamers, teach them about the Dreamer who made all his dreams come true, working damn hard for every single one of them." The Red Bull-sponsored athlete became a household name when he jumped to Earth from a space helium balloon in 2012. He set world records for skydiving an estimated 24 miles and reaching an estimated top speed of Mach 1.25 (843.6mph). The stunt also made him the first person ever to break the sound barrier without vehicular power. His own tragic final Instagram post also documented the preparation for the flight. Felix had been flying in a motored paraglider when he is believed to have suffered a "sudden onset of illness." This caused him to lose control, with Baumgartner's glider crashing to the ground and into a hotel swimming pool. He was reportedly killed instantly in the tragic accident. Meanwhile, a hotel employee was also injured during Baumgartner's fall. They were said to be struck by the paraglider as it hit the ground. 5
