My Flight with the Blue Angels

November 8, 2020 11:11am

25 years ago today, I flew with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels over the Gulf of Mexico south of NAS Pensacola.

During our 45 minute flight, we went through various maneuvers, pulled 7.1 Gs, and went supersonic as we broke the sound barrier (to Mach 1.06). I had the stick for some of it, but Lieutenant Ryan Scholl was in control for most of the flight. Scholl is now an Admiral who commands Carrier Strike Group Eight in Norfolk.

In this video where it looks like I'm holding my breath when pulling high Gs (which I sort of am), that's called the "hook." It is a taught technique that deliberately squeezes the chest muscles to force blood to remain in the brain to prevent passing out from a lack of oxygen.

My flight in the Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornet was the most fun I've had in the back seat since high school. Ha Ha. Of course, if you knew me in high school, you know that's a meaningless statement. Because the only thing I was doing in the back seat in high school was looking for loose change, so I could buy a Slurpee at the 7-Eleven.

The flight was an incredible once-in-a-lifetime experience.