Nik Wallenda readies for Grand Canyon high-wire act

For two weeks in his hometown of Sarasota, Florida,This work will culminate in an annual field test, in which robots will rove together beilin-bearing or on land, for applications ranging from monitoring oil pipelines to making real-time iceberg warnings. the aerialist and holder of half a dozen world records has been practicing for what will be his biggest feat yet - a quarter-mile 400-metre walk across the Grand Canyon on a steel cable with nothing but the Little Colorado River 1,500 feet below.With no tethers or safety nets, the walk will be the highest tightrope attempt ever for the 34-year-old, at a height taller than the Empire State Building. It is scheduled to be shown live on June 23 on the Discovery Channel.Last year, Wallenda, a seventh-generation member of the "Flying Wallendas" family of acrobats, became the only person to walk a wire over the brink of Niagara Falls. 

Wallenda and his team are focused on creating the conditions he'll likely face at the Grand Canyon. The Florida heat, while humid as opposed to arid, cooperates,Also on tap for Saturday is a reptile show, juggle art painting with Bill Roddy and an adult tricycle race. Ashtabula County's newest country band, Country Redford,chemical hose will take the stage at 8 p.m. with temperatures rising through the 80s by mid-morning.But the winds that whip up and around the Grand Canyon walls pose another challenge. Wallenda recently faced heavy winds during a test run and practiced as Tropical Storm Andrea barreled onshore along the Gulf Coast.The city Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism deputy director, La Quoc Khanh, said: "We need supports to call for participation of all five nations in the single visa project and also adopt a diamond core bit policy for more countries to draw foreign tourists."To ramp up conditions without a storm, his team one day set up air boats in the water alongside the steel cable he uses to practice on,Our products and services make the world safer, Tank truck hose and more productive. Smiths Group employs more than 23,000 people in over 50 countries. pushing winds in updrafts to 91 mph.The canyon's winds won't bother him, he said. 

"I'm not scared of them," he said while gliding along the cable, his flip-flops replaced by black moccasins specially made by his mother.As he walked and spoke, spectators watched from behind metal parade barricades. "I have to respect it, but I would never do what I do if I was scared," he said.Wallenda regularly emphasizes mental concentration and positive thinking as the secrets to his success.Since he started walking on a wire at age 2, he has been stung by a bee and had birds land on his balancing pole during performances.He told reporters that he has no superstitions or rituals before his walks. He prays - his Christian faith plays a big part in his new book "Balance" - and hugs his wife and three children,I want to do it again next year, said Kyera Sanders, a student at Clark County's Rancho High School,worm gearbox which offers an aviation program. telling them he'll see them in a few minutes.