Digital Rodeo | your country community

Sat. August 30, 2008 Okay, so my other car is definitely an F-16! I had the time of my life! I LOVED IT! So we travelled to San Antonio for my F16 ride! What an amazing city!

We went to the Alamo! It's a must! So much history there! I love hearing about the history of our country and how it was formed! San Antonio is also known for its beautiful River Walk, restaurants, and shops! We had some very yummy food there! You can eat your way through this city! So for my ride we had a lot of preparation to do! We begin with a physical exam! Then we went to put on ALL my gear! I could barely stand up it was so heavy! First we put on my G suit! This goes on around the lower half of your body so that when you are "pulling Gs," the gravity force is pushing on you and the G suit expands, while you are pushing against it to allow oxygen to continue to flow throughout your body, so that you don't pass out or get vomitous! Not to be gross, but I thought I was going to have to go to the bathroom, I was pushing so hard! Sorry! Anyways, we move on to Life Support! The Life Support harness attaches to the seat when you get in so for an emergency you have a raft below your seat that will inflate and a parachute that will that will open up above you! Talk about safety! So here's the picture so far!

I got this heavy "G suit" on for pulling Gs and then this Life Support harness that attaches to you and the aircraft! I was quite a sight! You probably could have tapped me and I would have fallen over! Then we move on to my helmet and breathing! I had to have a huge helmet for my big head and large hair, although at this point it was a little smashed! Of course, I had to let them know that next time we need to have a leopard helmet, in PINK! They think I'm crazy! I am such a girl!

I told them you have to have a splash leopard! Fashion friendly! So then we try it all out! We sit in a mock cockpit and go over all the buttons, how everything attaches to the air craft, and what to do if there is an emergency! There are a lot of buttons! It's a little overwhelming, but believe it or not, they go over it so many times, you will remember it always. Then we tried a simulated emergency landing onto an aircraft carrier! So they suspend you in the air, picture this, me hanging from a parachute attached to the ceiling! Funny! The helmet for this part has a viewing screen that shows you trying to land on the carrier! TRYING being the operative word! I definitely need to work on my steering! After that we headed to have a LIGHT lunch and then off to our briefing. This is where they talk about their strategy for the flight and their opponents if they are practicing for combat! Now we were ready for the flight!

What a rush! What an honor to be able to be in the presence of these heroes, and even fly with them! So I have to tell you, they gave me a call-sign! I'm "Lil' Thunder!" I felt so hard core! They really made me feel a part of the team and showed me what they do on an everyday basis! These men and women work 24/7! They never stop so that we can live in freedom! It's pretty amazing, I have to say! So I was all ready to walk out to my plane! That's sounds really cool! My pilot was an incredible man named Lieutenant Colonel John Kane, and his call-sign was "Killer!"

We head out to the plane and I am so blown away because they put my name and call-sign on the side of the plane! That was awesome! So we climb up into the plane and get all strapped in our F-16 D model (two seater)! This is where you put all the knowledge you learned hours before, all together! It all makes so much sense! Oh, and last but not least, they handed me the two barf bags, in case we had a situation! And now it's time for the flight! This plane was so smooth, it was like riding on silk! We do a vertical take-off and away we went! We did all these loopy things, rolls, pulled 9gs, etc. It was the best! And then I had Killer show me all the things they do when they practice, like finding certain locations, different maneuvers, etc. I tell you what, it was so incredible to see the sky and clouds all around you!

I think I saw the Care Bears! This was the best view in the whole world! I completely understand why these men and women love what they do. I cried a little bit while I was in the air! The beauty of it all was just so breathtaking and overwhelming! The worst part was knowing that the ride was over! Poo! I totally did not want to get out of the plane! I could fly like that everyday! As soon as we pulled into the canopy with the other F-16s, I revealed my barf bags! "All clear!"

After we left the plane, we went into their John Wayne room where they presented me with some very special gifts: Twizzlers, Yum! Gotta love a good sugar product, a 9Gs pin, my certificate for my ride, a helmet bag with my name and my F-16 on it, AND an American flag in a military fold! I was unbelievably touched and blown away! I cried and told them how proud I was to be among such heroes who have have such an amazing amount of courage and that I am so blessed to be an American and to be a part of this family! Many of them were leaving the next day to help with the hurricane. That's the kind of selfless acts that these people do everyday! I hope all the people who have been threatened by these hurricanes are safe and please know that we are thinking and praying for you everyday!

Lots Of Love
Lil' Thunder

comments

This entry has no comments, be the first!