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Where Eagles Fly
A flight on the F15:
As a boy I always dreamed of soaring where eagles fly,
fast and free, and now I would get the chance.
May 22, 2007:
I
arrived at the Wyndham in New Orleans yesterday and was met by
Colonel Pat Griffin. We were joined by Elaine Rogers from the U.S.O. in
Washington. We got a short tour of the devastated area affected by
Katrina and then met General Villon, Mary and “Deacon” the F-15 fighter
pilots we were to become friends with over the next 48 hours. We
strolled over to the French Quarter and stopped to take in some of the
local color along the way. Bourbon Street reminded me of Amsterdam with
tourists wandering around taking pictures of the strip clubs. It made me
laugh. We stopped in a Karaoke club called “The Cat’s Meow” and at the
insistence of the General, I sang Billy Joel's “Piano Man.” The crowd
was very enthusiastic, and I was having a great time. Dinner was
authentic New Orleans cuisine, I had crawdads and gumbo. It was great.
An early start the next morning. Elaine and I were picked up by Colonel
Michael Lop, (call sign “Lo”). The pilot that would be taking
Elaine and I up was Colonel Gregory O’Conner, (call sign
“Yuppie”). We got to the Coast Guard base and were fitted for flight
suits and G pants. The G pants leggings inflate when the
aircraft goes into G-turns. This prevents the blood from rushing to your
feet and may cause black out if the G-force is maintained for any
length of time. We were then fitted for helmets and oxygen masks and
finally given a briefing of the controls we were going to be responsible
for and how to operate them. It really was a wonderful experience to go
through, in a much diluted way, the preparation routing of our fighter
pilots, and to be a part of that world if only for a little while. We
were escorted to a ready room and given some last minute instruction and
then out to the aircraft we went.
The F-15 Eagle is a fighter jet with two supersonic engines that can run at nearly 3x the speed of sound and pull up to 9 G’s. We were going to experience its full potential this day. Elaine was already being strapped into her jet as I approached the F-15. It was beautiful. As a boy I always dreamed of soaring where eagles fly, fast and free, and now I would get the chance.
I
climbed the ladder and stepped into the back of the cockpit. It was not
as snug as I thought it would be and I was very comfortable. Put on my
helmet and mask, gave the ground crew a thumbs up and we were on our
way. On the runway I armed my ejection seat and “yuppie” comes over the
intercom and says “There's No turning back now, are you ready?” “Let’s
fry some asphalt” was my reply.
The
engines roared with life and we were off. Quickly getting up to takeoff
speed, I felt the engines kick into high gear and I was on a rocket ride
of a life time. We pulled a 3 G vertical climb and in seconds were
looking down at the cloud. It was amazing. In a fighter you are
surrounded by glass from your mid chest up and the view is tremendous.
“We're going to pull 5-G’s on this next turn, are you up for it?” I
heard on the intercom. “Go For it” I said, and next thing I know I am
being squeezed by my leggings, and as trained I begin short breaths into
the turn to prevent my chest from expanding too far. This helps keep
the blood in your upper body. It sounds worse than it is and I loved
every second of it. After a few more maneuvers and a run at Mach 1.5, we
were headed back to base and even as I write this entry on solid
ground, my head is still up there in the clouds “Where Eagles Fly.”
~Daniel
See slide show video: "On Eagles Wings"
