I Flew With The Blue Angels (and Didn’t Throw Up)!

Many years ago, I flew with the Blue Angels. Or, more precisely, one Blue Angel. As you can see in the photo, my pilot, Lt. Dave Rottering, emerged from the flight cool and military pressed. I, on the other hand, crawled out of the cockpit with my hair matted with sweat. Butterflies churned in my stomach long after I donned my flight suit.

But I didn’t throw up.

Also, I did not pass out. Somehow. G force pressures in the 6 or 7 range will do that to you.

At the time, I was editor of the Anchorage Daily News. The Blue Angels were in Alaska to perform at Elmendorf Air Force Base, near Anchorage. Then, as now, the Blue Angels invite a few people to go for a ride before their shows—news people for the publicity, and usually teachers or other people in education to excite kids about the possibility of being military pilots. It’s a great recruiting tool.

I thought about my past encounter with the Blue Angels the other day when I read that on November 3 and 4, the team will be closing its 2023 schedule with a performance at its Pensacola, Florida base where the theme will be “Celebrating Women in Aviation.” The highlight will be honoring the first woman Blue Angel, Lt. Amanda Lee, who joined them this year.

Reading about the event recalled my hour or so in the cockpit.

It began while we were still on the runway. A pilot circling overhead radioed that he was preparing to land but could not verify that his landing gear was locked. My pilot helpfully replied that he would come up and “take a look.” In what seemed like seconds, we were flying underneath that landing gear. And when I say “underneath,” we were close enough to reach out and touch it.

After assuring the other pilot he was good to go, my pilot headed for nearby Cook Inlet.

“Do you always fly that close?” I asked.

“We fly closer in the show,” he replied. “But I kept a distance because I didn’t know the pilot.”

I learned later that in their classic Diamond 360 maneuver just 18 inches separate their

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wing tips.

Over the water, the action began with a few 360 rolls. This should not be equated to the old-fashioned aerial barrel roll. The 360 rolls are more like spinning in place on an out-of-control barbecue spit.

When we arrived at two oil drilling platforms in mid-inlet, pilot Rottering used them as pylons, executing tight turns around them like a driver at Daytona. A few steep climbs and screaming dives later, and we were on our way back to Elmendorf.

In mid-flight, because of extraordinary motion and G forces, many passengers throw up. It’s also not uncommon to pass out. I was amazed that a pilot could perform these maneuvers and remain in control. I’ve since learned that pilots are trained to keep blood flowing to their brains by, among other things, tensing their abdomens and leg muscles.

Remember that, next time you’re enlisted to join your kid on one of those upside down carnival rides.

The Blue Angels are a bit late in welcoming women pilots. The Thunderbirds, their Air Force equivalent, have had six, the first joining their team in 20005.

After shedding my flight suit, I returned to my office, wrote an article about the experience, and titled it, “Aerial Ballet Before Breakfast.” (One reason I didn’t throw up was that I avoided breakfast that morning). What they do IS aerial ballet. And if you’ve never seen it, the show is thrilling to watch. That’s why more than 10 million people do every year. After 77 straight years of performing, it never seems to get old. I’ve seen them perform many times in many places. And the memory of my flight remains fresh every time I see a story about the Blue Angels or happen to come upon my old photo.

Comments? Criticism? Contact Joe Rothstein at jrothstein@rothstein.net or at his web site, www.joerothstein.net.