The man who jumped from space wants to fly helicopters next

Last Sunday, we witnessed history being created as Felix Baumgartner broke three world records— maximum speed defying the sound barrier, highest free fall and the highest manned balloon flight.  After rising to an altitude of 39,045 metres (128,100 feet) in a helium-filled balloon, Felix became the first man to break the speed of sound by hitting a maximum speed of 1,342.8 km/hour in a freefall from the stratosphere. Following the great space jump, Baumgartner talked about how he felt during and after the jump, as well as what he planned to do in the future. As you could imagine, these still involve heights and flying! Edited Excerpts: Q: How do you feel now that you’ve had a couple of days since your jump on 14 October to think about your achievements? [caption id=“attachment_498402” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Felix Baumgartner prepares to jump in this AP photo.[/caption] A: It’s still too much to fully comprehend. Besides the physical exhaustion and mental exhilaration, the huge response from people from around the world has been humbling. I am still taking it all in, and I truly appreciate all the good wishes and congratulations that have come my way. It’s been incredible. Q: What are your plans for the future in the long run? A: Helicopters! You can’t keep me out of the air. I have already been flying as a commercial helicopter pilot in Europe, and now I will have the time to take that aspect of my career to the next level. I’m really looking forward to it**.** Q: How does it feel for a man who has just accomplished the dream of a lifetime? A: I feel like 20 tonnes of ballast have just dropped off my shoulders, that’s how it feels after seven years of preparation and after you’ve played through this moment in your mind so many times before. It was an incredible up and down, just like it’s been with the whole project. First we got off with a beautiful launch and then we had a bit of drama with the chest pack. We were close to aborting the mission because the heater for my visor wasn’t working properly. I thought ’this can’t be happening’. It didn’t get any better and it was very draining. But we decided to go ahead anyhow. As you can see that was the right decision. Q: Our hearts all stood still as you started to spin. It looked like about 30 times. Were you counting yourself? A: The exit was actually perfect. I felt like I came away very well. But then I started spinning slowly. I thought I’d just spin a few times and that would be that, but then I started to speed up. It was really brutal at times. I thought for a few seconds that I’d lose consciousness. I didn’t feel a sonic boom because I was so busy just trying to stabilize myself.