Podcast Interview with Aman Shethna

Two years ago, I had the privilege of sitting down with a man whose life reads less like a career and more like a calling. A former Austrian Air Force pilot, a flight instructor who shaped the next generation of military aviators, and a man who has spent over two decades racing against time to save lives as an EMS rescue pilot — completing over 9,000 missions across some of the most unforgiving terrain in Europe. But when we last spoke, he was also on the cusp of something even more extraordinary — a private space mission that would take his lifelong relationship with the sky to its ultimate frontier. In the two years since that conversation, he hasn't slowed down for a single moment. He's pulled G-forces in an F-18 simulator, floated weightless over Bordeaux in a parabolic flight, done aerobatics with his commander Boris Otter over the Swiss Alps, and taken his story to television screens and classrooms across Austria — inspiring a whole new generation to think big and believe in themselves. Today he returns to the podcast, and I can promise you this conversation is going to be every bit as remarkable as the man himself. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my absolute honor to welcome back Mr. Klaus Rainer. On his EMS & Rescue Experience In 8,000 missions, have there been cases where weather or terrain forced you to abort a rescue mid-flight — and how do you make that call when a life is on the line? You mentioned staying by the helicopter during rescues to maintain emotional distance — has there ever been a mission where that boundary broke down for you? On the Space Mission 3. As someone who has spent 38 years mastering the feel of a helicopter, how does it feel to prepare for a vehicle you have zero physical control over once it launches? 4. Fundraising for a private space mission is clearly a major challenge — where does the project stand today, and have any significant sponsors come on board since we last spoke? On Aviation's Future 5. You expressed confidence that new pilots are still trained for autopilot failures — but given how rapidly AI and automation are advancing, do you think there will come a point where a human pilot in the cockpit is simply no longer necessary? 6. You flew without GPS for the first 15 years of your career. If GPS and all digital navigation failed tomorrow, how many active EMS pilots do you think could still navigate the Alps the old-fashioned way? Personal Reflections 7. You've now been selected three times in your life — for the Austrian Air Force, for the EMS service, and for Boris Otter's crew. Looking back, what's the one quality you think consistently got you through each of those selections? 8. Johannes Gruber went from rescue patient to flight instructor partly because of your mission — do you think about the ripple effect your work has on people beyond just saving their lives in the moment? On the Parabolic Flight Training You completed 16 parabolic flights giving you about 6 minutes of total weightlessness — what was the single biggest surprise about how your body responded, and did it change anything about how you're approaching your preparation mentally? Most of your 38-year career has been about maintaining absolute control of an aircraft — how disorienting was it to deliberately let go of that control instinct during weightlessness? On the F-18 Simulator Experience 3. The F-18 simulator was specifically for high-speed decision making — what concrete lessons from that experience are you carrying into your space mission preparation, given that a rocket launch is a very different kind of high-speed environment? 4. Having now experienced both the F-18 and F-35 simulators, how do you compare the decision-making demands of a supersonic fighter jet to those of a helicopter rescue mission? On the PC-7 Aerobatic Training with Boris Otter 5. Training alongside Boris Otter in Lausanne must have been a unique bonding experience — did flying together change the dynamic of your working relationship or your confidence in each other as a crew? On Public Outreach & Media 6. You've now done television interviews, newspaper features, school presentations and airfield talks — has all this public attention translated into any concrete sponsorship breakthroughs that could finally get the mission off the ground? 7. When you speak to students and young people at schools, what question do they ask you most often that genuinely catches you off guard? Klaus, from a young 18-year-old in Austria who almost became a motorcycle cop, to a decorated military pilot, to saving lives as an EMS rescue pilot for over two decades, and now standing on the threshold of space — if you had to distill everything this journey has taught you into one single message for someone who feels like their dream is just too big or too far out of reach, what would you tell them?

Fly me to the Top

A new Podcast Format by Dr. Frank Liemandt holds a leading position at the EHA (European Helicopter Association) and is significantly involved in organizing EUROPEAN ROTORS, the leading European trade fair for the helicopter industry. He represents the interests of the association and shapes the future of the industry, particularly with regard to the annual trade fair. Key aspects: Role: Dr. Frank Liemandt is a key contact person for the EHA. European Rotors: He is closely involved in organizing the fourth EUROPEAN ROTORS, which took place in Amsterdam in November 2024. Focus: His commitment is to strengthening the European helicopter industry and fostering the growing interest in the EHA trade fair.

Interview covering 40 years in the cockpit as a military pilot, rescue pilot and Swiss Space Tourism. The Podcast is available 05. 03.2026 publish on this page soon Spotify and Youtube.

«Fly me to the top» – Boarding for Episode 3: A Pilot, Two Horizons
He has saved thousands of lives, completed countless missions, and made the sky his home. In Episode 3 of «Fly me to the top», studio guest Klaus Rainer from the ÖAMTC air rescue talks about how emergencies become teachers, what it means to literally reach lives at the last second – and why his gaze is also directed toward the stars. Together with initiator and host Frank Liemandt, he explores how passion, precision, and courage in aviation link career, humanity, and inspiration. COCKPIT supports «Fly me to the top» as an official media partner and shares the weekly conversations on its channels.
03/05/2026
What drives people who spend their professional lives in the air? When does responsibility turn into passion – and experience into vision?
With «Fly me to the top», Frank Liemandt has created an acoustic interview format that presents personalities  puts aviation at the center. It's not the headline that counts, but the story behind it. Not the position, but the journey. Week after week, a new guest takes a seat in the virtual cockpit – open, reflective, and with a view of what has shaped him or her. On the way to space In episode 3, Klaus Rainer talks about a career driven by discipline, precision, and a passion for flying. As a pilot for the ÖAMTC air rescue, he completed thousands of missions and accumulated an enormous wealth of experience in the cockpit over decades. Before that, he served in the Air Force. The sky has always been more than a workplace for him. But Rainer's horizon does not end at the atmosphere. His declared goal: to reach space. As the first Carinthian. Parabolic flights and training have already familiarized him with weightlessness – the dream of space is not just a thought experiment for him, but a serious vision.