UP Reality Version: Illusionist David Blaine flies live over the skies of Arizona holding only 52 balloons • He soared to a height of nearly 24,000 feet
Live on the Edge: Illusionist David Blaine is known for liking to provoke fate in extreme stunts, and after a relative silence on his part recently he again stars today (Wednesday) in the headlines with a crazy stunt in which he hovers in the sky using only 52 balloons.
Many defined it as the real-life version of the balloon scene in the UP movie.
David Blaine hovers in the sky with balloons // From the YouTube channel David Blaine
The stunt, which he says he has been planning for a decade, was broadcast live on YouTube, which also funded the event.
According to the original plan, Blaine, 47, was to take off at 18,000 feet above the Hudson River from New Jersey to New York while holding 52 balloons.
Due to logistical issues he was eventually forced to change the route and the location was moved to Arizona.
As part of the preparations for the dangerous stunt, Blaine became a certified balloon operator, performed dozens of parachutes and learned to operate various types of balloons.
Throughout the ascent to the heights, Blaine kept in touch with the crew waiting for him on the ground and also included his 9-year-old daughter Desa.
In order to reach the height target he set, Blaine slowly released excess charges, until he finally released the balloons as well, opened the parachute to which he attached himself and landed safely to the cheers of the crowd.
His house shouted at him excitedly, "You did it."
Blaine, formerly the partner of Lake Rodberg, has often been called the modern Houdini because of his love of extreme stunts.
His famous stunts over the years include a live underground burial in a coffin for nearly a week, a 63-hour stay in an ice cube in Times Square and the reverse man stunt (sponsored by Donald Trump in the days when he was still just a businessman ....), in which Hanged upside down over Center Park for 60 hours.