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Co Armagh daredevil looking to set world record at 30,000ft

Marc Daly (centre) from Co Armagh and his team-mates David and Stephen Duffy from Co Kildare who will be attempting to set a new world record
Marc Daly (centre) from Co Armagh and his team-mates David and Stephen Duffy from Co Kildare who will be attempting to set a new world record Marc Daly (centre) from Co Armagh and his team-mates David and Stephen Duffy from Co Kildare who will be attempting to set a new world record

A CO Armagh man will attempt to go where no-one has gone before in a world record high altitude jump next month.

Marc Daly (46), from near Caledon, and team-mates David and Stephen Duffy from Clane, Co Kildare are members of the the Irish 'Wingsuit Team'.

They were winners of an intermediate gold medal in the UK performance wingsuit skydiving competition in England at the end of May.

Now they will reach new heights with a 30,000 feet jump and attempt to travel more than 20 miles in a wingsuit before returning to ground.

Wingsuit flying is the sport of gliding through the air using a special suit which adds surface area to the body to enable a significant increase in lift.

Unlike a standard sky dive where you will free-fall before deploying a parachute after around one minute, a wingsuit allows you to effectively fly for miles in the air.

The greatest horizontal distance flown is 16.7 miles, while the greatest absolute distance travelled in a wingsuit is 17.8 miles.

These are just two of the world records the Armagh man will try to break

Mr Daly has been skydiving for eight years and wingsuiting for four of those, competing across Europe and America.

The latest challenge is not without its dangers.

Due to the high speeds and height the team members will jump from they will be required to wear oxygen masks, with pressurised tanks built into their suits.

The location is also still being finalised, with difficulties staging the attempt in Ireland because of unpredictable weather.

"There is a fair bit of danger with it. We're all experienced pilots, but there's a lot can go wrong," he said.

"But if you do the thing half decent we will do well, we will set a world record."