Flight of a Lifetime
By: Leslie Draffin
Updated: April 23, 2012
When you get the catch to ride with the Thunderbirds, you take it. And that's just what I did this past week, flying with the elite crew of airmen Thursday afternoon. After hours of training and a pre-flight checkup, they deemed be ready to fly and it truly was the flight of a lifetime. I went through several skills and tricks the Thunderbirds perform during their shows as well as in combat, getting up to 8 Gs, a fairly painful experience. My favorite part was flying upside down and getting my own "call sign" which is Belle.
