I always feel the danger because you might always be subject to an unexpected or emergency event.

You have seen on TV how hard it is to go up 129,000 feet and how hard it is to come down.

When I was standing there on top of the world, you become so humble, you do not think about breaking records anymore, you do not think about gaining scientific data. The only thing you want is to come back alive

The stratosphere is a hostile place.

If you want to do something extraordinary, there's always risk involved. I was always willing to take that risk.

I like to challenge myself.

I feel at home up in the air, just like sailors do at sea and climbers do in the mountains.