Thomas Morgenstern was a world class ski-jumper before he swapped his skis for rotor-blades and took up flying helicopters. 

The Austrian is one of the most successful ski jumpers of the modern era and competed from 2002 to 2014. He has numerous competition wins to his name, including three gold medals at the Winter Olympics. 

However, a crash in 2014 ended his career as a professional ski jumper. Just weeks before the Sochi winter Olympics, he hurtled uncontrollably down the 200m landing slope until he came to a slumped stop.

Physically his injuries would heal, but psychologically the crash ended his career. "The fear level was just too high," said Morgenstern, who nevertheless went on to win one more Olympic medal - a silver - before he quit.

That resilience led him to start a new sporting career as a competitive helicopter pilot.

"There are some similarities with ski jumping," he said. "To the spectators it doesn't look very physical, but it requires the same psychological strength. You have to stay in the moment, let it run, be focused. Calmness."

Morgenstern took up flying helicopters in 2012, and went on to win the Junior World Championship in Poland for pilots with less than 250 hours of airtime.

"When I started I felt fear, during the first 30 hours, when it was windy or unpredictable situations. But my confidence has grown as I learnt what to do."

He finds the atmosphere of the sport very different to ski jumping. "In ski jumping, everyone just wants to win. But in this sport, it's like a family.”

In 2015 Morgenstern and his team mate Stefan Seer won a bronze medal at the FAI World Air Games Parallel Slalom and Fender competition in Dubai. 

Photo credit: Philip Platzer/Red Bull Content Pool