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USAF Thunderbirds Flew High Over Daytona International Speedway

Daytona Beach, Fla. – In spite of the gloomy weather, the USAF Thunderbirds soared high over the Daytona International Speedway on Sunday to the delight of the damp crowd eagerly awaiting the start of the Daytona 500. Six Lockheed Martin F16 Fighting Falcon fighters participated in the flyover, soaring overhead at about 500 ft. and carrying a speed around 600 mph.

The Thunderbirds are accustomed to large crowds and since their inception in 1953, they have performed before 350 million people in the 50 states and in 61 countries. Headquartered at the Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, the squadron participates in about two dozen air shows annually in addition to a couple of flyovers.

Led by Lt. Col. Greg Moseley the flight team of 60 USAF personnel arrived in Daytona Beach earlier in the week, allowing the pilots to practice their routine and to prepare for their race-day performance. Also, they took drivers Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for demonstration flights. Bayne didn’t fare too well but he enjoyed the experience.

Carl Edwards also flew with them, and he was exhilarated with the experience. “It is truly amazing, and I made it through the flight without getting sick,” Edwards said. “First of all, you get all the training, and it is all about bailing out of the airplane and how to land in your parachute. They get you to think about jumping out of the airplane, so by the time I got into the plane, I hadn’t thought about the flight.

“When they throttle this thing up, you take off with full after-burner going and at end of runway, my pilot turned it (the plane) on its tail and we went vertical. I was slammed into the seat, and we went vertical to 12 or 15,000 ft. in about five seconds. It was insane but it was the most amazing ride. You had the big bubble canopy, and you could see the whole world.”

Being a pilot, Edwards was eager to fly the fighter plane, which he actually got to do for a short time. “I really enjoyed it,” he said with a grin on his face.

The Thunderbird squadron is an impressive group, and they adhere to a short but understandable mission statement: retain, recruit and represent the Air Force while underscoring their commitment to pride and performance.

Pilots go through a highly selective system recruitment process. For the last recruiting class, 60 pilots applied and after an intensive selection process, three were chosen for the two-year assignment.

As the Thunderbirds commander and leader, Moseley flies lead and near his right wing is Major Caroline Jensen, one of the newcomers to the squadron and the only female pilot. A Wisconsin native, the USAF Academy graduate comes from a military background and she has wanted to fly since attending an air show with her family as a young girl. Although quiet-spoken and seemingly laid-back, she wears the Thunderbird colors proudly and makes for an ideal USAF representative.

Flying three ft. apart and within touching distance of each other takes skill and coordination, but the combat veteran said she learned how to do it quickly. “The training kicks in and you just do your job,” she said. In her career, she has totaled 2,500 flying hours, including 200 hours in the immaculately prepared F16.

While practicing for Sunday’s flyover, the pilots made 20-mile circles over the greater Daytona area working on their timing for being over the speedway at the appropriate moment during the singing of the Star-Spangled Banner.

“Our leader guides us through and can speed us up or slow us down with a lot of help from those on the ground,” said Jensen. Each plane is numbered and Jensen’s plane carries the No. 3, a famous number in stock car racing, but she professes to be pulling for Edwards as did several of her fellow pilots.

Jensen calls herself the newest NASCAR fan, and she will get an up-close view of the speedway on Sunday morning and again after completing the flyover. Like Danica Patrick, who doesn’t like to be labeled as a female racer and Jensen only wants to be known as a fighter pilot.

While the Thunderbirds exited Daytona before the rain-delayed race started, they left a lasting impression on those who witnessed the flyover on Sunday.

To learn more about the Thunderbirds and their show schedule for 2012, visit the www.afthunderbirds.com web site.

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