We've all heard the saying, "You've got your head in the clouds." Well Col. Joe Kittinger does, and he makes no apologies for it. He's set some records high above.
The 85-year-old is quite famous not only here in Central Florida, but around the world for his feats in the sky.
His passion was fueled right here in Orlando.
"I grew up in Orlando and when I was a small boy, that’s all I thought about was flying airplanes, being a fighter pilot and I used to go out to Orlando Executive Airport and watch airplanes take off, and fly and that was my field of dreams," Kittinger said.
He continued to fly for the Air Force during three tours in Vietnam. He was also a POW for 11 months. He flew B-26s and A-26s and the last tour, the plane that holds a special plane in his heart, the F-4.
"The airplane was used for close air support, for Army and Marine when they would get into a problem they would call the Air Force. We would send in F-4s and get the enemy off their back. It was also used to destroy targets in Laos and Vietnam and North Vietnam as directed."
The former career military officer is most famous for his participation in Project Manhigh and Project Excelsior in 1960, setting the record for longest skydive from a height greater than 19 miles.
He was also the first man to make a solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in a gas balloon and the first man to witness the curvature of the Earth!
"Well it was an Air Force research project Excelsior,” Kittinger said. “It was information we needed for the space program, which was coming, and I worked for a visionary that gave me the tools and the opportunity to do research that we needed for the space program. When the space program finally started, information we had obtained on my project was used. The information we obtained on escape altitude is still being used today. Every jet you see in the world has a small drog shoot on it that we developed on my excelsior program back in 1959 , 1960."
After the Air Force, Kittinger fondly remembers his time at Church Street Station with owner Bob Snow of Rosie O'Grady's Flying Circus in downtown Orlando.
"So I started working for Bob Snow back in 1982 and I worked with him for 14 years at Rosie’s flying banners, skywriting every day and it was a wonderful, wonderful job, the best job I ever had in my life. Also flew balloons, gas balloons, hot air balloons all over the world so Bob and I had a lot of fun flying airplanes and balloons together.”
But at age 85 Kittinger isn't done. Not only is he an author, he still flies and remember the guy who broke his skydiving record. Well, it took five years but he helped him do it! Bottom line, he could have chosen to live anywhere.
"I was always dreaming of coming back here to Central Florida because I love the people, I love the area and the community’s been very nice to me,” Kittinger said. “It gave me great honors and great awards and recognition and I’m very humble about what I owe to Central Florida and to the veterans that I served with.”
Currently Kittinger is working to raise money to display an historic F-4 Phantom Jet at Col. Joe Kittinger Park in Orlando to honor Vietnam vets. Three hundred thirty seven Central Floridians lost their lives.