ENID, OK – This is a story about a journey, an adventure, a bucket list item, a dream and a once in a lifetime opportunity. I’m a guy that likes adventure and pushing the limits but I don’t actively seek it out. When it comes my way I’m usually ready to roll.
In recent years I’ve ridden some pretty good roller coasters, I still skateboard down gnarly hills, I’ve hopped in a bi-plane and chased hot air balloons, I’ve zipped around the skies in a helicopter, I’ve ghost hunted in a haunted building, I’ve shot aerial photographs from the roof edge of a 14 story building, I’ve been deep sea fishing and I agreed to be a Honorary Commander at Vance, AFB hoping I might get to ride in a jet.
All of these were great experiences but nothing that really pushed my comfort level. Unfortunately I was unable to ride in the jet due to budget cuts and other factors which left me with a fun ride in a training simulator. The sims were fun but nothing like I knew an Air Force jet would be. I kept my fingers crossed hoping one day I’d get a call that past Honorary Commanders would get to fly.
Imagine my delight on February 22, 2016, a day that started out just like any other. I have this thing about numbers and lucky days and my lucky numbers are 2, 20 and 22. That date was the 22nd day of the 2nd month of a year beginning with 20, something good was bound to happen!
While working in my office I received an email from someone at Vance, AFB. I think I had to read the email multiple times to make sure I was reading it correctly. In a nutshell, it said, “When the Thunderbirds come for Vance’s Open House in July, they are inviting one local media representative to ride in one of their F-16s on Thursday, July 21. If you are interested and available, we would like you to be that person.” Wuh?! Are you kidding? If I’m interested!
After getting all giddy and jumping around like a school boy, I calmly replied that I would be available that day, I hadn’t even checked my calendar, and I would be interested. I pushed send and thought to myself, “What have I just done?”
The first thing you do when you get an invite to fly with the Thunderbirds is let every living soul within texting range know what just transpired. You contact your wife, your best friends, your mom, your co-workers and you look for strangers on the street. Family members and close friends are totally excited and can’t believe they picked YOU.
Telling your other friends that you get to ride with the Thunderbirds elicits a completely different response. Mostly you get responses like, “Take a barf bag, you’re going to throw up,” and, “You’ll never do 9 G’s, you’re going to pass out.” My response was always, “Not everybody throws up and passes out.” But of course that set the bar and now I have to fly without throwing up and passing out.
When you agree to be the once in a lifetime F-16 rider you start receiving emails with lots of forms. The first set of forms instruct you to get a physical within an exact time frame before your ride. So I immediately scheduled a physical which was almost exactly two months before the ride. The forms include lots of questions about your health history, a measurement guide and the form for the physician to fill out and sign. Then there’s that Hold Harmless Agreement which talks about death and discharging the government from any claims my family might have.
Air Force standards for a grueling Thunderbirds ride in tight quarters mean you can’t be taller than 6 feet 5 inches or older than 55 (I’m 53, whew!), must weigh between 110 and 220 lbs. and have a chest size between 34 and 48 inches and can’t have a waist larger than 38 inches. Even your shoe size matters; it has to fall between a man’s size 5 and 12.
While waiting on the date for my physical to arrive I spent countless hours watching YouTube videos of other F-16 adventurers. I can safely say that some throw up, some pass out and some don’t. I was looking for nuggets of information of how to prevent both.
It seems that throwing up is pretty common, even for first time pilots. Motion sickness typically occurs when the eyes disagree with the vestibular organ; in other words, when the movement you feel is different from the movement you see. Pilots build up a resistance to motion sickness over time plus the fact that they know what’s coming next while in flight and have time to prepare.
If you search these videos you quickly learn about G-LOC. G-force induced loss of consciousness (abbreviated as G-LOC, pronounced ‘JEE-lock’) is a term generally used in aerospace physiology to describe a loss of consciousness occurring from excessive and sustained g-forces draining blood away from the brain causing cerebral hypoxia. The Thunderbirds will try to get you to 9 G’s which is 9 times the force of gravity. So, if you weigh 150 lbs. you would feel like you weigh 1350 lbs. at 9 G’s.
With all of this information spinning in my head I’ve decided on four main goals for this flight. Avoid getting sick, don’t pass out, have loads of fun and get at least one good selfie. I passed my physical and have all forms signed and turned in. At this point its time to wait for the big day to arrive.
Getting Selected For A Ride With The Thunderbirds
You may be wondering why certain people are asked to take a flight with the Thunderbirds. It comes down to media and marketing. While exciting, Thunderbirds media flights are not offered as a means of entertainment. Media flights are not offered as rewards/prizes, nor are they offered as (re)payment for other services.
Local media professionals are specifically nominated to fly with the Thunderbirds based on their potential to communicate about the Air Force to a wide audience. The offer to fly is coupled with the expectation that significant media coverage will be generated shortly after the flight.
One of the forms that you fill out pre-flight has to do with the intent to broadcast/publish coverage of your Thunderbirds experience. You are asked many questions about where and when the coverage will be broadcast and how large your audience is expected to be.
As part of my experience I have decided to write this journal on the Enid Buzz blog throughout the process, I will also produce a professional video which will be seen on Facebook, YouTube, the mobile app and the website. In addition there will be lots of photos and hopefully an interview with my pilot.
Thanks for coming along for the ride! We’ll soon be off into the wild blue yonder!
Contact the Thunderbirds directly if you have questions about an invitation or other opportunities. Write to USAFADS, 4445 Tyndall Ave., Nellis AFB, NV 89191. Fax (702) 662-6367 or email usaf.thunderbirds@nellis.af.mil.
Read more about my journey in Flying With The Thunderbirds Part II.
