Skydiving
Plane versus person, choose your player in Game of A.I.R.
It's skydiver against racing pilot, as Maja Kuczyńska takes on Łukasz Czepiela in a high altitude aerial version of the classic trick game that'll leave your stomach doing somersaults for hours.
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If even the slightest bit of airline turbulence leaves you reaching for the sick bag, consider yourself warned – Maja Kuczyńska and Łukasz Czepiela's Game of A.I.R. contains more aerial flips, twists and dives than your stomach might be able to cope with.
Game of A.I.R.?
That'll be skaters' favourite the Games of S.K.A.T.E. taken 3,000m up to the skies, where Indoor Skydiving vice-world champion Kuczyńska and renowned air racing pilot Czepiela dueled in an incredible aerial competition, simultaneously performing spectacular tricks in a bid to outdo each other. As per the rules of the game, every failed trick resulted in getting a letter, with the first one to get A.I.R. losing this high-stakes, high-altitude battle.
Poise and precision high in the sky
© Samo Vidic / Red Bull Content Pool
Ready for the competition to begin
© Samo Vidic / Red Bull Content Pool
Game on
© Samo Vidic / Red Bull Content Pool
Maja pulling out all the stops for victory
© Samo Vidic / Red Bull Content Pool
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The idea for the world's first Games of A.I.R came to the athletes' minds in 2020. "When I was thinking about what I could do in mid-air to resemble a plane's flight, I came up with Frontflips, Backflips and similar moves. Łukasz immediately thought of a Flatspin," says Kuczyńska. "When we met, we could only talking about how to do it and whether it would really work out."
Over skies of Slovenia, the Game of A.I.R. well and truly did work out and the aerial acrobats reeled off a truly amazing array of tricks, at times in uncomfortably close air space.
"The most difficult part was flying around Maja," recalls Czepiela. "My plane was flying almost vertically down. I was in a very deep spiral, plunging at a consistently growing speed. Considering the increasing G-forces, up to 8G, it was really hard physical work for me. When I started blacking out or experiencing tunnel vision, I had to quickly fly as far away as possible to avoid creating a dangerous situation. For me, above all, it was a very physically engaging project."
So who won the inaugural Game of A.I.R, silky smooth sky diver Maja Kuczyńska or inch-perfect pilot Łukasz Czepiela? Hit play on the video above and find out now.
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