Published: March 27, 2008 01:05 am            

In the hands of an angel

Blue Angel flight a piece of heaven

How do you put into words one of the most exhilarating, awesome, and spectacular, experiences in your life?

The only adjective I can find in my feeble brain at this moment to convey my flight with Lt. Frank "Walleye" Weisser in the U.S. Navy's Blue Angle #7 Wednesday is heavenly.

For about 45 minutes I lived my dream.

I've got this list in my head of things I want to do or accomplish before my time ends on this earth and Wednesday at NAS Meridian I was able to mark flying in a high performance jet fighter, the F/A18 Hornet, off that list.

As part of the media, I was granted a seat in Walleye's jet. I and two other media people, Lindsey "Burger" Brown of WTOK in Meridian, and Farley "Dadoo" Shaw, of Supertalk Radio in Hattiesburg, were fortunate enough to pass two physicals and a final OK from the Blue Angels. Walleye, who comes early to prepare NAS Meridian for events such as the "Wings Over Meridian" air show this weekend, was our pilot in the #7 jet. There could not have been a better choice to be our guide in the sky.

But first, our callsigns.

Every military pilot has a callsign and while sitting around waiting for the flying to start it was decided we deserved callsigns as well. Brown's was easy. Prior to our briefing we went to the golf course to get a bite to eat. I was trying to play it conservative so as not to get sick in the jet so I chose a grilled cheese sandwich. Brown comes out with this massive hamburger, a mountain of fries and a big smile. Hence her callsign.

Shaw's was a little harder because what we kept coming up with we couldn't print in a family newspaper. After a little snooping I found out there was a "pet" name he was given by his son, Dadoo. Like it or not it stuck. Mine was easy, I'm an ardent Razorback fan so BossHogg was not up for discussion.

Austin Armstrong, the crew chief for Walleye's #7, was great as he gave us the briefing. Afterward we put on the blue jump suits with Blue Angels VIP over the left chest. It was sweet.

Burger had to fly and file her story for the 5 p.m. newscast so Dadoo and I, being the gentlemen we are, let ladies go first.

We did the "Wave," just Dadoo and I, as Walleye and Burger taxied out for her flight. About 45 minutes later they taxied in. Dadoo and I were on the ground, "Wayne's World" style, bowing, "We are not worthy."

She pulled a max of 7.3 gs. She didn't get sick and didn't black out once. Phenomenal! As Walleye got out of the jet he said, "She's set the standard you two have to live up to."

Can you say pressure?

Dadoo was next. We wanted to see the takeoff up close and personal for our video so the folks at NAS Meridian were fantastic about making that happen. We were transported to the end of the runway and watched as Walleye and Dadoo came roaring our way.

The takeoff sets the stage for the rest of the flight. With brakes locked, Walleye runs up the massive twin engines that create 16,000 pounds of thrust — each! He lets off the brakes and its like a mini catapult shot off a carrier. Halfway down the runway he kicks in the afterburners. Dodge Hemi engines don't have anything on these!

As he approaches 300 knots airspeed, he pulls up the landing gear and flaps, cleaning up the airframe. Then he pulls the stick into his belly button. Straight up you go pulling about 5 gs.

I swear I heard Dadoo say something unprintable over the roar of the engines!

The amazing thing about Dadoo is this was the first time he's ever been in any sort of aircraft. Period. What a way to start flying.

After setting back down and climbing down from the cockpit, Dadoo said I was in for the ride of my life. He was drained from the strain of pulling so many gs and he didn't break Burger's 7.3. I didn't know if I could.

I've been in a lot of different planes but they had props. My biggest concern was throwing up inside that pretty blue and gold jet, especially since neither of my flying mates had done so. I was putting a lot of pressure on myself.

Armstrong had briefed us how to combat the forces of gravity during the high-g maneuvers. But I wanted an edge and I thought he had it.

The little nugget he told me prior to takeoff I believe helped me if only for my confidence.

Understand, I've been dreaming of this sort of thing for many, many years. At 48 years old now I thought I might be so out of shape I wouldn't be able to enjoy the flight. Through Walleye's excellent encouragement I found all my fears were ungrounded.

I could not have picked a better aviator to take me through this flight to realize one of my lifelong goals. Walleye, a veteran of more than 30 combat missions and about a million carrier landings and takeoffs, was informative, humorous and so much more. It was like having my brother in the front seat. I will always be grateful to him for his understanding and professionalism. He was the best.

Like a good football coach, Walleye explained everything in terms I could understand.

The almost vertical takeoff was glorious. We shot through cotton candy clouds effortlessly. I was surprised I heard myself laughing all the way up. Walleye was somewhat surprised as well.

He coached me through the g-technique before he put the plane into rolls and dives progressively upping the ante on the g forces. I was having a blast and most importantly, staying coherent.

Immelemans. Split-Ss. High g turns. Inverted flight. Aileron rolls. We even did a couple of bombing runs on the target range the T-45s use. Walleye was well acquainted with the target area having received his wings at NAS Meridian. He was bestowed with the honor of becoming an instructor pilot after getting his wings of gold. He's that good!

The icing on the cake was when he said I had the stick. I just thought I was in heaven.

The Hornet is fly by wire meaning the controls are computer controlled and don't rely on the old hydraulic system of past aircraft. You even think about pulling to starboard and you are there. My first moves were a little jerky and after a slow aileron roll Walleye looked in the mirror at me and said, "C'mon, you can do better than that."

Oh, what a feeling!

I was doing almost 7 g turns on my own! Awesome! Putting that stick in your belly and feeling your body get pressed down in the seat while looking over your shoulder at the vapor trails coming off my plane was something I only had seen in my dreams.

Getting back to the air station Walleye said I had one more high g turn to experience. I'd already broken Burger's mark of 7.3 gs with a 7.6 so when Walleye announced, quite proudly I might add, that I'd just done 7.9 gs on the approach, well, that was the coupe de grace.

I just can't say enough about Walleye, Armstrong, Penny Randall and Susan Junkins with the Public Affairs Office at NAS Meridian and my boss lady, Crystal Dupre` who made my dream come true. All are great people and will forever have a special place in my heart for helping me reach this goal.

Someone asked me after I hit the ground what I might derive from this flight. After a minute, and Walleye and I discussed this in-flight, was the renewed respect I have for the men and women who fly for the U.S. Navy and Marines.

With all due respect to the fantastic pilots of the U.S. Air Force, and I have a special place in my heart for them because my dad was U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII, landing and fighting off a carrier is the ultimate measure of a pilot. You have to be fit as a fiddle, sharp in mind and eyesight and so many other things. It is just indescribable what these aviators must do to help defend America. They are the elite.

But most of all, thanks to the U.S. Navy Blue Angels for their professionalism, grace in dealing with civilians like me, and showing me a little piece of heaven.

        

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