Well, the first clue that these aren't the Blue Angels is probably their color.And, the fact that there's 10 of them. They're the Canadian Snowbirds, Canada's elite military performance troupe.
These 10 2-seat trainer jets fly Canadian and American air shows and other events, and, like the Blue Angels, they give media rides.
Many years ago, on a fluke, I was lucky enough to get one of those rides.
The snowbirds were in Arlington for the annual fly-in, and media types from the Greater Seattle Area had applied weeks in advance to get to take part in the precision press ride.
Not me. I was sent up to Arlington by KMPS to do a number of interviews with the pilots, but when I arrived, they were in the safety briefing for the lucky 10 media fliers. So I sat in on the meeting.
The late Paul Brendle of KIRO 710 Traffic was supposed to be flying in the lead plane with Commander Yogi Hugebert, and take command of the media flight. For some reason, he didn't show up.
Guess who got to ride in the lead plane instead of Paul?
Yup. Me.
I quickly signed away my life on legal forms, and was fitted in my flightsuit. I was given a quick lesson in safety procedures, including how to fire the ejection seat.
They strapped on a parachute, fitted me in the right-hand seat, and off we went!
All ten of us, flying in formation, took off from Arlington, circled around Mt. Baker in the formation you see above, and performed numerous maneuvers.
Since we were in the lead plane, my pilot's eyes were forward. But because precision flying requires each plane to stay tight on the left, right or rear of the other planes, the other pilots eyes were on us.
It was a thrilling, yet surreal experience. We pulled about 3 G's, got close to 4, and each jet broke away for a short time to do solo maneuvers. It was THRILLING. I loved every minute of it.
I remember watching a climbing crew on Mt. Baker, wondering what we looked like from their perspective, and wondering what story they would tell of our sudden appearance.
I also was able to put my Electrovoice 635A microphone inside my helmet, to pick up some of the sound of the pilots talking to each other, and my voice chatting with Commander Hugebert.
As we continued our solo maneuvers, I noticed that many of the other planes had disappeared. Where had they gone? Would we re-appear in formation to land?
I found out about 30 minutes later, when we finally did land. After giving my Commander a HUGE hug of thanks, he told me that 7 of the 10 planes landed early because their media passengers were feeling ill.
Ironically, the 7 members of the media who landed early were all males.
The three who completed the entire flight were female.
I remember thinking, as I was flying up there, that it would be OK if something terrible happened and I died at that moment, because I had seen THIS. Because I had done THIS. THIS was the be-all and end-all of my life's experiences at that time.
And I also remember driving home in a terrible traffic jam on S-5, and not minding one bit. The whole world was fine, because I had been THERE.
It was the singularly most thrilling moment of my life.
All thanks to Paul Brendle.
