Mollie Venable's Key Influencer Blue Angel Flight-August 2024

At that point, the canopy is going to come down. Keep those arms in. Here we go. Coming down. Going to get a little steamy in here before we get the air conditioning running, but it is on the way. How are you feeling about the anti-G straining maneuver that Tamara walked you through with our legs and breathing? I think I'm okay with it because it's like a... Yeah. Yeah, and it's hard to tense your legs when you're just sitting here and kind of relaxed, but I kind of pretend I've got a volleyball in between my knees. Yeah, and with the foot pedals it helps. Yeah, exactly. You might have some light loss. No big deal. It's just your body telling you, hey, squeeze a little harder, and you can actually fight to get some of that light back even during a maneuver. Okay. Colorado Springs clearance. Good morning. Navy Blue Angel 7 IFR to Colorado Springs on request. Ready to copy. Navy Blue Angel 7 Springs clearance. You're cleared to the Colorado Springs airport via flight runway heading. Check radar vectors as filed. Climb and maintain 10000. You can slip on 6000. 10 minutes after departure. Departure frequency 10000. 10 minutes. 124.0. 5121. Navy Blue Angel 7 cleared to Colorado Springs airport via runway heading. Radar vectors then as filed. Climb and maintain 10000. Expect 16000. 10 minutes. 124.0. 5121. Navy Blue Angel 7, readback correct. Blue Angel 7, I'll put on request with ground also, but just looking for a high profile to 16000 if able. Roger. I'll pass that information along. We'll do a quick check of the flight controls. You'll feel the jet moving around just a bit. All right. We're going to go ahead and arm and maintain 1000. 35 left via Alpha 3 Alpha Blue Angel 7. Skyhawk 3306, Echo. Skyhawk 3306. Roger. I'll get moving here just a second. Just wait for that stuff to pass you. Okay. Skyhawk 3306, once that stuff has passed, you can taxi Gulf November to the ramp. Gulf November to the ramp, Skyhawk. All right. We are on our way. Sweet. Let's do this. That looks a little tight. That's the new helicopter. Here we go. Right. All right. For our first maneuver, our takeoff maneuver, we're going to do a high-performance climb. Sweet. For that one, it doesn't last long enough for you to be in any danger of passing out, but it is about 5.5 to 60. Okay. We'll accelerate to 350 up to 400 knots level at about 60 feet above the runway, and then pull straight up. For that one, I'll give you a cadence all day today. Anytime we're going over 3 Gs, it'll sound like this. Ready, hit it. Then we'll move the jet. The important part is you want to be braced and ready to go before you feel the Gs. That's why I'm going to give you that cadence, and then move the airplane. Okay. For this first one, we'll practice the cadence, but the most important part I'd like you to work on is, since your head is suddenly going to be six times heavier, you can strain those little stabilizer muscles in your neck. Okay. You just want to be nice and have your spine in alignment. Best way to do that is to just rest your head against the headrest. Got it. You don't need to do that the whole flight, just for this first one while you're getting used to the feeling. Okay. If at any point during this flight, you start to feel a little queasy, no big deal. I got airsick on my first flight, and it was in a little Navy trainer propeller plane, so I got nothing but respect for you signing up for this first one. Just let me know. It's the first step. We'll take it nice and easy. Then these vents right outside your knees, if you kind of angle them in, you blow that cold air on the inside of your wrist. Perfect. That's a great way to cool you down. Then, obviously, just looking outside, get yourself anchored with the horizon. That's the best way to do it. Before we do any maneuvers, I'll walk you through everything. What it's going to feel like, what you've got to do with your body, and then how you'll know it's over. Make sure you're cool with it, and then we'll go from there. No surprises on this one. I was just going to be so amazing. Even if I throw up, it'll be amazing. I hope I don't, though. Oh, I do, too. I like it when people have fun. Maintain VFR. Altitude at your discretion. Departure frequency 124.0. Squawk 5102. Flying in last night, Colorado Springs is just home. It just feels like home. How long did you live here? We were here three years. He went to the academy here, so he's been here longer. Oh, yeah. Just moved to Edwards. Nice. When did you do that? Six weeks ago. Wow. Okay, that's fresh. Yeah, so we flew back. We don't even have our household goods yet. Oh, no. He loves it. It's a fun base for him. Yeah, what does he do in the Air Force? He is a 13 Mike, so he's Airfield Operations. Nice. He's currently the DO of the 412 OSF. Okay. I don't know how to translate that. It's a baby. I don't either, but it sounds busy. He's the Deputy Commander of the Operations Support Squadron. Okay. That I know. His commander is stoked that I am here. Navy Blue Angel 7, Springs Tower. Good morning. Unrestricted climb 1-6000 approved. Runway 35L, 118.04. Takeoff, change to departure. Blue Angel 7, cleared for takeoff. Runway 35L, high performance climb to 1-6000 approved. Switch to departure. All right, we are out of here. Okay, let's do it. It's going to take us a little while to get up to speed, so no need to strain your legs until I let you know it's time. Okay. There's 80 knots. And there's 140. You all in flight? New Charlie 8, Delta. Just about up to speed. Make sure your head is nice and comfortable. Ready. Hit it. Nice work. All done. Holy cow. That was awesome. I can see my old house. It's beautiful. Blue Angel 7, is that south of here? Yes, sir. I can take direct buts to 5-0 for 9 at this time, if able. Blue Angel 7, roger. Turn left heading of 1-7-0. Left 1-7-0, Blue Angel 7. Go for roll. N390R, turn right heading 3-2-0, intercept the runway 35R, localizer. 3-2-0, intercept the 1-7-0. 35R, localizer. N390R, contact Denver, approach 128.45. That's 2 G's for you right there. Just for context, the takeoff maneuver was 4.8 is what we saw just for a moment. You can feel your arms get a little bit heavy, head feels a little weird. Once you get above 3, that's a good time to strain. For this one, you'll just kind of tire yourself out for no reason. Okay. We're about 20 miles away from our airspace once we get there. We'll knock out some warm-up turns just to get you comfortable. And then we've got about 30 minutes to show you what this jet can do. Okay. And for now, if you have your phone on you, I forgot to ask, you feel free to take some selfies just before we maneuver. We've got to make sure that thing's in a pocket and then also zipped so it doesn't come flying out. I do have it. I'll pull it out real fast. All ready. I've lived in Fairbanks for six years. Oh. And they've been going into work and my height peak is close enough. 128.37, Blue Angel 7. That's awesome. All right. It is zipped and back in my pocket. Okay. You already have your clearance from range? Negative. Blue Angel 7, I can contact them on a different radio if you'd like. Yeah. You've got to get your clearance from range. And, yeah, get your clearance from range and then head back to me. Are you going to do 29 and below or 23 and below? 23 and below is perfect for now. Can I get a right heading of about 270 so I don't enter this restricted range? Yes. So, yeah, hard right turn in this restricted area, 2601. Hard right turn is approved and maintain 1,600. 1,600, right turn, heading 260. All right. Just going to coordinate for some airspace. I'll be right back with you. Okay. Airburst range, Navy Blue Angel 7 on 126.2. How do you hear? Blue Angel 7, no joy on either of the revenue additional frequencies I could use. I have 25125 or 126.2. Standby. Play a little game of telephone. We'll get there eventually. Oh, it's so green here. It hadn't really turned green when we moved. Blue Angel 7, standby. We're checking on it. Blue Angel 7, thank you. Blue Angel 7, do you just want to do a present, as you say, clear a restricted area, 2601? Blue Angel 7, I'll just do right-hand turns for now. If that works for you, I just got a hold of range on my back radio. I'll be right back. Airburst Blue Angel 7, I have you loud and clear. Looking towards the airburst X-ray surface. Flight level 230 after the next 25 minutes. 3038. Airburst Blue Angel 7, how do you hear? Denver Center, Southwest 1120, 320 for 270. Aircraft picture at 1. Air 225. Denver Center, Blue Angel 7. Approved as requested, and verify you have 248 and below. Cleared to enter airburst. Flight level 225 and below. That's affirmative for Blue. Okay, and then when you're done there, say intentions. Are you going to need a clearance anywhere? Blue Angel 7 will be heading then back to Colorado Springs Airport. I'll contact you for an IFR clearance if able. It'll actually be with Springs Approach on that. 124.0, or do you have the UHF if you need it? 124.0 sounds great. Thank you, ma'am. Alright, we've got some busy airspace around here. We are cleared in. Alright, so we've already felt 2 G's in that turn that we did earlier, so we're going to start with a 3 G turn to the left once we get into the airspace, and then a 4 G turn. That's just to get the blood flowing, get you used to the feelings. And then we're going to take a few steps back and just start with some basic aerobatic maneuvers, but it's important to get that warm-up knocked out early just so you get comfortable. Sounds great. Alright, we are establishing our airspace, so here comes a 3 G turn to the left. Get the legs engaged on this one. Ready, hit it. There's 3 G's right there. More challenging than 2 for sure. We're rolling out. We're going to resume with 4 G's to the right. Ready, hit it. There's 4. Squeeze the legs, push into those pedals. Nice work. We're rolling out. Alright, our first maneuver, you feeling okay, body-wise? Yeah, I feel great. Nice. We're going to do what's called a delta roll. This is what our boss, our number one pilot, will do about halfway through the demo. He does it with 5 wingmen. I can't show you what that looks like, but I can show you what it looks like, at least the profile. It's basically a barrel roll, 1.8 G's, no need to squeeze the legs. Just enjoy the view and stay outside as much as you can with your eyes. Alright, here it comes. Nice work. Here comes a little more pull. Alright, maneuver complete. The next step, we've got a loop, which I know you know what a loop is. I'll just walk you through what you're going to feel. So it's 3.5 to 4 G's at the beginning of the maneuver, coming easy, right? As we pull through vertical, over the top while we're upside down, it's a nice opportunity to relax. And then as we scoop out the bottom of the loop, that's when we want to squeeze the legs again. So I'll let you know when to tighten, when to relax, when to tighten down again. And we will go from there. Alright, here comes the loop. Ready? And it's up. There's your 4 G's. That's the most you'll feel. Nice work. Good opportunity to relax. Nice work. Maneuver complete. How'd that one feel? Awesome. We're going to take a break from the higher G maneuvers. We'll get right back to it. But for just a second, I'm going to show you what it's like to fly upside down. Okay. So for this one, just make sure you've got at least a fist width, it looks like you're good to go, between your helmet and the canopy. Okay. And then make sure your lap belt hasn't loosened too much on you. So go ahead and give that a tug. As long as the lap belt's kind of snug against your hips, you should be good to go. Okay. Does that feel alright for you? Yeah. Alright, so we're going to roll upside down to the left. At that point, we'll be at negative 1 G because we're upside down. Not much you can do to make yourself feel a little more comfortable. You don't want to squeeze your legs, that'll only make it worse. Just stay nice and relaxed. And we'll spend about 10 seconds upside down. Alright, here we go, rolling into the left. There you go, that's negative 1 G. Definitely an interesting perspective. Rolling out to the right. And coming right. Nice work. But now we're going to get back after some positive G. So this next one's called the minimum radius turn. It's what our five pilot will do about halfway through the demo. Okay. It shows how fast we can do a level 360 degree circle. Which sounds boring, but I promise you it's not. It's just like this, except we're going to be turning to the left. And we'll be at about 5 to 6 G's for the whole 360 degree turn. Okay. At the very end of that turn, that we're fighting with our legs all the way around, I'm going to pull straight up until the nose is pointed towards the sky. And then push forward on the stick. So when we push forward, you're going to feel light in your seat, like we did when we were upside down. And that's a good time to relax. So it's going to be fight, fight, fight. I'm going to tell you, here comes the push, relax. At that point, just get totally loose and enjoy the pushover. Sound good? Sound good. Alright, we'll get set up for this. And this is going to be a turn to the left. Here comes the minimum radius turn. Get the legs engaged. Ready, hit it. Nice work. We're going to hold about 4 to 5 G's for the rest of this turn. Keep fighting with the legs, work parts over. Here comes that last pull, so keep fighting for me. Here comes the push, relax. Maneuver complete. Nice work. That's definitely a worker. And we'll take a nice break. Just easy left-hand turns for a bit. You'll get that cold air on your wrist. And a nice deep breath. While we're catching our breaths, most people ask us how fast these jets can fly. No one really cares how slow we can fly. But I'm going to show you anyway because it's pretty impressive. Is your stomach feeling okay? Yeah, it's still feeling okay. Alright. So we're going to get nice and slow here. No G's, no need to tense. Okay, direct VALOR down to 133,000. And expect a 3-5 right. Southwest 1120. Engine number 342, Tango. It's going to be a few minutes before we can accommodate an approach. 342, Tango. As we slow down, you'll feel the nose move higher and higher. ...before the visual approach runway 35R. Southwest 1120, descend and maintain 8,000. Say the altitude again, Southwest 1120. Southwest 1120, descend and maintain 8,000. Descend to 8,000, Southwest 1120. Approach, Skyhawk 294.9V. There you have it. It's tough to tell how fast we're going, but it's not very quick. But it's still fully controllable. And when we're done, we just power out. Skyhawk 294.9V, springs approach. Roger, just orbit in that general vicinity. I'll have an instruction for you momentarily. Alright, have an easy ride. So that's the low end of our speed. We unfortunately have a speed limit over the continental United States of just below the sound barrier. But for our next maneuver, this is the highest G maneuver that we're going to do together today. That's about 7.5 Gs. And it's just like our takeoff maneuver. We get low, we get fast, we pull straight up. Except we're going to be going just about twice as fast. So what that means for us is more G and G for longer. So it'll be about 7.5 for 10 seconds. That's when you really want to get the legs engaged. And we'll go from about whatever 500 feet over the ground is to 22,000 feet. And not very long at all. Have an easy ride. You've got plenty of time to set up for this one. Alright, are you ready for this one? It's called the sneak to vertical rolls. Do a little more pull. We're going to get established going east. That's when we'll accelerate and I'll give you the cadence before we go up. Alright, here come the sneak to vertical rolls. Molly, are you ready to go? Go. Alright, ready? Hit it. Nice work, maneuver complete. We'll take it nice and easy here. Get your bearings. Sometimes that microphone will move away from your mouth. So just make sure that's right there if you need to grab me. Oh, yeah. There you go. No worries. That was 7.5 G's and you felt it for about 10 seconds. Wow. Envoy 3827, reduce speed to 210 knots. Speed 210 knots, Envoy 3827. Did you ever make it out into this mountain range while you lived here, Molly? Yes, we did. Oh, yeah. Oh, that's awesome. Pretty cool looking house down there to the right. I don't know how you get there. Carefully. Oh, yeah. Not in the winter, I imagine. I really just have one maneuver left. One wing? It's the horizontal roll. So it's like what we did to go upside down, that half roll, except we just continue it. Now, sometimes that can trigger folks to feeling a little bit queasy. So we'll only do it if you'd like to. But it's an aileron roll is what it's called. And we'll roll once, see how it feels. And if you like it, we can pair together two of them in any direction. Okay. Do you want to give it a shot? Yeah, let's give it a shot. No need to tighten the legs on this one. Just make sure your core is nice and tight because it can kind of jerk you around as we start to roll. Here's one aileron roll to the left. There it is. That was sweet. We've got a little more time on here. Is there anything you'd like to see or at least repeat from what you've seen? No, I'm good. I love a runner. Oh, yeah. I know where we can find one of those for you. Definitely a really cool part of the country to be able to fly in. All right, well, I'm going to grab weather back at our home field and then start coordinating our return. Sounds great. Right turn heading 050. Oh, say that one more time for me. Yeah, the wings aren't very big. That helps. You don't really get turbulence. This is really bad. 35 right. Airburst range. Blue Angel 7 is complete. How do you hear? 32.75. Airburst copies. Thanks for the help. We'll see you in about two hours, Blue Angel 7. See you soon. Maintain 10,000 on Voice 3827. And we'll resist a 110 over the ground. We'll establish a 12 o'clock. SCOTUS 5634 on that heading. Join Venture 389 northbound. Maintain 250 knots. On heading. Join Venture 389 northbound. 250 knots. SCOTUS 5634. Springton Approach, Blue Angel 7 is complete. Any airbursts? Follow-up? Request RCB. Colorado Springs for the information. Quebec? SCOTUS 503 Yankee. Contact Tower 119.9. 909.2. SCOTUS 503 Yankee. November 8 Delta Foxtrot. Contact Tower 119.9. If you can, start slowing down to your final approach speed. Over to 119.9. We'll slow down to final approach at Delta Foxtrot. Over to 119.9. Delta Foxtrot. N6AV, fly heading 170. 170, 6AV. Envoy 3827, turn right heading 300. Colorado Springs Airport, 2 o'clock and 1 8 miles. 300 fieldside, Envoy 3827. Envoy 3827, fly that heading to join final. Clear visual approach. Runway 35R. 300 heading, join final. On that heading, clear visual 35R, Envoy 3827. 490, Victor. Turn right.