The wife of daredevil Nik Wallenda says she’s feeling “honoured and blessed” to be in Niagara Falls for her planned stunt to hang from a helicopter by her teeth as it flies over the Falls.
Erendira Wallenda, the trapeze-artist wife of the famed daredevil, spoke to reporters at a news conference Wednesday, a day before her stunt timed to coincide with the fifth anniversary of Nik Wallenda’s 550-metre tightrope walk from the New York side of Niagara Falls, into Canada.
With her husband by her side, Erendira told reporters that she’ll be wearing a special mouthpiece to complete the stunt.
“I’m actually using all the muscles in my jaw to keep me up there,” she said.
Nik Wallenda said, while his wife hangs below, he’ll be in the chopper communicating with her via hand and eye signals.
“We know each other’s body signals,” he said.
Erendira said, while her dentist doesn’t want her to make a habit of performing the stunt, he did make the customized mouthpiece she will use.
Calling it a “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity Erendira also said that she’ll “definitely be taking in the view” during her daring flyover.
A seventh-generation member of his family’s business, the famous Flying Wallendas, Nik Wallenda has performed high-wire stunts around the world, often without a safety net.
Nik told reporters on Wednesday that he’s looking to build a permanent attraction in Niagara Falls that would showcase his family business.
Nik Wallenda said the reason Erendira’s stunt is being performed at 8:30 a.m. is to maximize exposure for viewers and capitalize on a full day of media coverage to promote the Niagara region “to the world.”
“That really is what this event is about,” Nik Wallenda said, adding that “you can’t put a price tag on being on the front page of the Times of London, front page of papers in China and across the globe.”
