Daredevil Felix Baumgartner Gone Way Too Early At 56

Forbes

7 days ago

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 23: Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner meets with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the United Nations headquarters on October 23, 2012 in New York City. Baumgartner jumped out of a balloon from 128,000 feet above New Mexico, breaking the record for the highest ever freefall, and was the first skydiver to break the sound barrier. (Photo by) Getty Images
It came as a shock yesterday when I heard that Felix Baumgartner had died in Italy in a paragliding accident at age 56. The daredevil had done many things riskier, of course, including a BASE jump off of the Christ The Redeemer Statue in Brazil.
The riskiest stunt and probably best known, however, was his leap from over 128,000 feet from a helium balloon in 2012 to break the then-parachute record of 102,800 feet, set in 1960 by the late great USAF Col. Joe Kittinger. In fact, it was Kittinger who served as CAPCOM for Baumgartner's Red Bull Stratos jump, and Kittenger who ultimately introduced me to Baumgartner.
At the time, the Austrian was shunning press interviews, but Kittinger talked him into one with me. I got to know Baumgartner after that. In some respects he was a daredevil, in others he was risk-averse.
On the tenth anniversary of his big jump, I asked Baumgartner if he would take a comp'd flight all the way to suborbital space, 50 miles up, with Blue Origin or Virgin Galactic if it were comp'd. His surprising response? "Hell no, they'd have to pay me." "Why," I asked. "Because they don't wear space suits. If there were a sudden cabin depressurization on a flight, the passengers would be dead in a few seconds." He's correct.
What many people don't know, other than insiders on the Stratos project, is that the highly-publicized jump was delayed not because of balloon or capsule logistics, but because Baumgartner couldn't stand to be in the space suit he was required to wear for the duration of the jump. Simple claustrophobia is what got him.
It took more than a year with the help of sports psychologists and other mind doctors to convince Baumgartner that he could, indeed, wear the suit for the several hours required.
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - MARCH 11: Skydiver Felix Baumgartner receives his trophy for Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year from Laureus Academy Member Tony Hawk on stage during the awards show for the 2013 Laureus World Sports Awards at the Theatro Municipal Do Rio de Janeiro on March 11, 2013 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo byFor Laureus) getty
That is nothing to be ashamed of, by the way. When I took my U-2 edge-of-space flight above 70,000 feet last summer, I was required to wear a space suit in the event my cabin depressurized. The clunky suit was uncomfortable and yes, claustrophobic. After five hours, I couldn't wait to get out of it.
In fact, the folks at Beale AFB, where they train U-2 pilots, told me that some prospective pilots wash out because they can't handle suit claustrophobia. It happens more often than one might think, they said.
Many people are weighing in that Baumgartner died doing what he loved. Maybe, but no one wants to die. The idea that he wouldn't take the free suborbital flight without wearing a suit is proof. Oh, and his claustrophobia thing shows that a daredevil is human, like the rest of us.
Of the three parachutists who have jumped from above 100,000 feet, only one remains. Alan Eustace, a low-key former Google executive, leaped from above 135,000 feet in 2014, breaking Baumgartner's record, and is still with us. Let's keep it that way for awhile.
R.I.P. Felix. Say hi to Joe now that you're up there with him.