How Felix Baumgartner pays a compliment

B.A.S.E. jumpers usually scale an object before parachuting off the top. But Felix Baumgartner took the unconventional approach to reaching his point of departure in Malmö, Sweden: by landing on it. In an interview, he tells the story behind his latest project.

Felix, the "Turning Torso" is Scandinavia's most spectacular building and is 57 storeys high. And judging by the pictures of your jump, it looks very, very elongated. How did you get the idea to jump onto its roof?

You could see it as a kind of compliment to the building's security. Six months ago, we looked in great detail at how you could get in and get up on to the roof - no chance. The security setup is just too good to be able to do it. You have to congratulate them for that.

But couldn't you have rented a business room, for example, opened the window, climbed up the face of the building...

That was one of our very first ideas, let's say one of the simplest. But the disadvantage is that the windows are sealed. So no chance.

Okay. So then there was the somewhat more complex idea with the helicopter.

Yes, but you can't just hire a pilot and tell him you want to jump onto the roof of the "Turning Torso". So we had to spin him the yarn that I'd be jumping onto a boat in the sea, the building is close to the beach, that was believable.

The jump from the helicopter was at 6.40am. What was most difficult about the first jump? Simply the small size of the landing area?

The roof is not actually that small. What made the whole thing complicated was the cylinder in the middle of the roof, which is a kind of outlet for the air conditioning system. So I had to land on the ring around it, and that was really narrow. You can see it best from the pictures I took - the camera was attached to my foot.

The pictures of the jump you actually took yourself?

Out of necessity. You can't turn up with a helicopter and a camera crew at six-thirty in the morning and take your time - it all has to happen quickly without attracting any unnecessary attention.

So the jump from the roof was actually comparatively easy, one would assume.

Theoretically, yes, but then again no, because of the weather. A cloudbank blew in over Malmö from the sea, which on the one hand was perfect, because the pictures have come out great - all of Malmö in the mist with just the tower visible - but on the other hand, the wind was really strong. The wind was so strong that if I'd had the choice, I wouldn't have jumped. But I didn't have any choice - there are motion detectors and cameras on the roof, so there was no time to think. I didn't jump onto the roof just to get picked up by security.

Then the jump from the roof and the escape by motorbike to the beach, where the boat to Denmark was waiting - in true James Bond style. How much time was there between landing and casting off in the boat?

40 seconds.

What is your next project?

We're probably going to the Middle East in 2007 - we're already making plans. But first my DVD "Born to Fly" will be coming out in the next few weeks, which contains the biggest projects from the last ten years, from the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro to the Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur and the flight over the English Channel.