06 Oktober 2012

Countdown for Stratos!

In only two days, my crazy friend Felix Baumgartner is going ballistic from outer space, trying to go head down supersonic in a space suit. The mega-base-jump Red Bull Stratos! I have always admired him for his professional approach to the most incredible jumps.
Felix loves to plan his adventures minutely, everything has to be perfect - I think that is why he is still alive! He picks the best pros available to help him.
Only a few days after he told me about his "secret project" (when I met him in Salzburg at Hangar 7 accidentally some years ago), I had a work flight to Orlando, went to the Fantasy of Flight museum with my cockpit crew and got to know Colonel Joe Kittinger (read his book "Come up and get me!") who currently holds the height record that Felix tries to break... sometimes the world is small! Joe is a supernice guy with a great humour, really smart and always very positive (he reminded me of Bill Moyes straight away, tough and rough and enthusiastic to try things nobody else ever dared) , so I was really happy when I got to know that Felix and Joe work together on the project (sure I was scared for Felix when he told me about it - how would he stabilize when he falls at such a high speed? What about the friction, the cold, the heat, and the difference? I had a bezillion questions when Kermit Weeks, owner of "Fantasy of Flight", introduced me to his mate Colonel Joe...)
I sooooo wish I could just fly over to Roswell for Felix´ jump. A front is moving through, and he had to postpone it to Tuesday 9th. Lucky for me, I will have just returned from Luanda and I will be able to watch his jump live online - but I can´t make it in time to go to New Mexico...
Going up in a balloon to 120,000 ft and then free fall - Felix knows that this could be his last adventure. Everything has to work out just right for him. I can´t wait to meet him again in Salzburg after his jump - that adrenaline rush will last for a while ;)

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