Video: Wingsuit Daredevil Jeb Corliss Will Fly Through a Mountain Cave in China

By Samantha Cook; Photograph courtesy Jeb Corliss

Professional wingsuit flyer Jeb Corliss hit the Web a couple weeks ago with a video in which he throws himself off a 7,000-foot cliff and tries to grab a pair of balloons held by a member of his crew on the ground, while flying at a speed of 122 miles per hour. Now he will attempt something even more outrageous. See the video below of his recent trial flight.

On Saturday (which works out to be 1 am EST on Friday) Jeb will jump from a helicopter hovering at around 6,000 feet and fly through a cave located on top of Tianmen Mountain in the Hunan Province, China (photo above). He will continue his flight through a narrow gorge over staircases covered with spectators for about a mile until he can finally open his parachute.

Jeb will be using a new wing suit that gives him more control than ever. However, the jump is still extremely risky. “This is by far the most challenging project of my life to date and the most committing,” he said.  The most dangerous part of the flight will be the gorge. “I will be in a no-pull zone with no outs of any kind for almost 40 seconds. I will literally have to fly to live.”

The pressure is on. It’s expected that over 300 million people will watch the event live and China Central Television will air it during prime time to a possible 1.2 billion Chinese viewers. Jeb has been training for five months to prepare himself and hopefully he will be able to execute his mission safely.

 Stay tuned for updates or watch live here at tonight, Friday, 9/23, at 1 am EST.