A daredevil has turned childhood fantasies into reality by soaring from mountain cliffs - on a flying carpet.

Freddy Montigny, 44, has spent years honing his skills in extreme sports to live out his dream of becoming a real-life Aladdin.

Freddy developed his unique stunt using expertise gained from paragliding, skydiving and hang gliding, which gave him the control needed to fly on a carpet.

Thrilling video shows Freddy's most daring jump from the Croix des Têtes, a 2400-meter-high mountain in the Vercors range in France.

He can be seen falling rapidly to 1,600 meters while riding a carpet.

Freddy, from Choranche, France, said "I've always wondered what part of the myths and legends we were told as kids was true."

"I started paragliding at 25, skydiving at 30, and hang gliding at 35. "

"All these activities helped me master the art of carpet flying," "

Freddy's carpet flights are made safe by years of experience, practice at Vercors Massif and a trusty parachute.

He said "The parachute is my main safety net. "

"If anything goes wrong, I just release the carpet and open it. "

"With the height I'm jumping from, I have plenty of time to correct any mistakes."

While Freddy admits that flying a magic carpet isn't quite like the legends, his dream is now a reality.

He said "With this flying carpet, I've learned that while you can't fly at any speed or to any destination, it's still an amazing way to defy reality."

"I wanted to play with reality and use the skills I've learned in life to chase this dream."

Freddy, who previously worked as a professional drummer and stage technician, now calls himself a "professional carpet rider."