10 Februar 2010

Felix goes Stratosphere

When I went to Salzburg to Hangar 7 for an interview with Hannes Arch last September, base jump legend Felix Baumgartner walked past, saw me and turned around. So good to see him again - we have partied in Rio after his Christo jump, usually I meet him at Red Bull events, I was pleasantly surprised to meet him at the Ball of Sport in Cologne. Im always curious about Felix´ incredible projects, and it didnt take too much persuasion to get to know about his latest secret: Red Bull Stratos!
Top secret, he said. He wants to beat speed and height records, going up to the stratosphere with a balloon and jumping off, going supersonic. Heat, cold, friction, stability, weather, .... I must have had a million question marks in my face that made Felix laugh. Yes, another really big, difficult project.
A week later, I had standby at work. They sent me to Orlando, with a day off - choice! Our captain said he was going to visit the Fantasy of Flight museum (quite close to Quest Air and Wallaby Ranch), I reported on that trip earlier on. What I didnt tell you was that we got to know Kermit Weeks, the owner of Fantasy of Flight, and he introduced us to Captain Joseph Kittinger, the man who holds the record that Felix tries to break!!! I was speachless for a moment about this coincidence and then enjoyed the company of these extraordinary guys of aviation history.
Im happy that Felix and Joseph Kittinger work together on the new record, and I wonder if Felix gets the Captain to tell him some Roswell secrets that I couldn´t find out about... guess I have to get a flight to Los Angeles soon to interview Felix. And go for a heli flight ;)

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