Air Force Thunderbird Museum: Behind The Scenes Tour with THUNDERBIRD PILOT! 

Thanks for taking us with you sir. Loved it. I can't do an aileron roll in the hospital while on duty, so I'll save it for after work!

That was a cool visit to the museum!! It’s hard to nail down any one point that I liked the most. Probably the nod to all the different jets the T-Birds have flown and everyone making up the team. The F-16 is still my favorite Thunderbird jet even though it dates a ways back. It was still pretty new when I was high school age! It says something about how great it is that they’re still using it today 40 plus years later.

Thanks for the commitment, consistency and your service!

Thank you for this. I have toured the USAF museum in Dayton and hope to get back someday. This would be cool 😎 as well!

This is great. I visited the museum several times in the 90s, and have some great photos. Is it open to the public again, I would like to take my kids to see it (one is going to helicopter school next year). Thanks for the video tour, and Ill be doing aileron rolls in my DCS F-16 ASAP!

Just discovered this channel and it’s blowing my mind - working on a movie about robin olds ?? DCS collabs w GS ?? Bring it !!

You just gave me my next vacation destination. Took my wife to see the thunderbirds here in Oklahoma city this year & she fell in love. So i don't believe it'll be a hard vacation sell. Love your content!

Nice tour, Thunderbirds are cool. I've seen them flying F-100, F-105, F-4, T-38 and F-16. One of the things that stands out to me with the older jets is how the slot guy's tail was black from the jet exhaust of the leader.

Thanks for the tour, been wanting to see it for years. Few things get me more jazzed than watching a Thunderbird show. My dad was a recruiter in the early 70's and arranged a show in our city. The F4's showed up and I've been hooked ever since. Major Steve Dwelle was so cool to me; still have an 8x10 of me and him.

A Thunderbird spec F-16 would probably beat an F1 car in a drag race. In terms of getting up to speed on F1 I would highly recommend watching an F1 race from this year or from years past, Also the Netflix series Drive to Survive is definitely worth a watch too if you want to get into F1.

Colonel Olds was my hero as a kid Major. And NOW I know why you said my comment reference your stache being a tribute to Colonel Olds got the “ best comment ever” from ya. Man I really hope you can make that movie come to life. His life is really a Hollywood movie. And his wife was in the business as well.

So a movie about Robin Olds? I would absolutely watch that. Mooch did a great summary of his career. I think every single flight sim that has the F-4 in it has some version of "Operation Bolo" to fly as a mission. Truly a legendary fighter pilot. If I am not mistaken, the F-4 is the only jet to have been a Thunderbird and a Blue Angel.

Needed this on my day off with a couple of brews 🍺. Shout out from El Paso, Tx home of the Thunderbird mountain. Seriously, there's a legend about the bird formation on the mountain. Fitting, being that I'm a hardcore fan.

My old man knew Robin pretty well. While my father was at Nellis going through FWIC his back seater was married to Robin's either niece or cousin, something like that. My Dad used to play golf with his brother Fred a couple times a year. Small world but at this point there aren't too terribly many Phantom pilots still kicking around. As far as you making a competitor to Top Gun, I'm all for it Max. In yet another weird twist of hilarious fate, my father's original callsign was Maverick. Now as you can imagine, after a certain movie came out no self respecting Air Force fighter pilot, let alone one who had been both a graduate of and instructor at Fighter Weapons School would let themselves keep that callsign. So when my father took over his first squadron (511th TFS at RAF Alconbury) he changed his callsign to Irish. Fast forward a few years later and we are at Osan and my old man was the OPS Group commander. Well who comes over to do the whole meet and greet but Tom Cruise. Naturally being the little shit I was at the time and not caring when I met him (with the entire 25th and 36th squadrons behind us) I very loudly proclaimed that he was an asshole for making my father change his callsign lol. Thankfully he found it hilarious, pleasantries were explained and he ended up getting a back seat ride with the 36th. He ended up buying them a massive popcorn machine for the squadron and still to this day still sends them popcorn, oil, and so on a couple times a year.

Thank you , really appreciated the tour .

Love the tour, that place looks so damn awesome. Be cool to visit. But must admit, love, I mean love how you push the Aileron Roll. Loved watching the F-16s and A-10s do one over the top of us when in the field doing training for CAS Missions. Such a beautiful thing to see.

Great video! The Thunderbirds helmet scheme is the coolest.

Such an awesome video! Loved the tour, thank you so much for taking the time to make this amazing video. Keep it up!

Former Rocket, Eagle, and Lancer AFE here, WFFFFR!

I was entering high school when the T38s hit the desert floor. I was crushed to hear the news being i'm a huge aviation buff & have a deep love for the Thunderbirds. My girlfriend at the time introduced me to her grandmother who witnessed that tragic day & explained to me what she saw while tears weld up in her eyes & mine as well. I'll never forget that.

Great tour definitely do a video on the Robin ols! I never get tired of hearing about

Make a video interviewing former Thunderbird pilots! Like FiFi or others!

My greatgrandson who is 13 has shown great interest about the "Thunderbirds"! We went to the naval museum in Hickory,N.C.So his mom is taking him to see "Blue Angels"in S C.this April.Of course Nana is going too😅!

Gotta love this guy's energy and enthusiasm

Sir, you are EPIC!

That mural is amazing. The Air Force ought to take a page out of Doctor Who's book and have a current Thunderbird fly with a previous one. There's got to be a few Phantoms or Super Sabres that could be restored to flight condition.

Cool video!

Hi. I have a question, probably a stupid one but going to ask anyway. When civilians fly with the Thunderbirds or Blue Angels they often pass out for a few seconds. What keeps the pilots from doing that? As they are doing all those amazing stunts it seems they would be affected the same way. Thanks. Love your channel❤️👍

The virtual visit isn't enough for me, surely someday I would love to visit the museum in person, its always a refreshing, inspiring & enthralling experience to visit places like these where so much heritage, history & motivation is bred into people with equal pedigree if not more. Loved the video ❤

I like fine wine and fine cars--I drink and drive Thunderbird!!

Interesting video. 👍 I think the Robin Olds movie 🎥 will be a hit, there’s certainly demand out there for it 😉

Will the thunderbirds ever change planes again in the future?

Ryan, in your days in the F-15, did you ever fly the Mach Loop in Wales or Star Wars Canyon? If so, would love to hear about the experience.

What about the hangar with the Thunderbird logo and the goldfish? Or the bathroom with the Blue Angels photo over the urinal?

Thunderbirds are go! (You may not be old enough to know that reference)

I met Fig Newton!!! Awesome guy!

Why come y’all don’t do shows at the Chicago air show? The Blue Angels always come but no Thunderbirds. Also do you think the Thunderbirds will switch over to the F16V model? Is also true that in an extreme emergency Thunderbird pilots get given F22s for combat?

Awesome insight into the museum!! Do you think they will ever switch the planes to the F22 jets?

I met fifi a few years ago at an airshow entirely by accident!

So do the Presidents & Fighting Falcons meet mainly at the AFA Graduations? I'm a couple miles north in PL born & raised with these guys turning around over my house before I can remember.

The race with F1 and f16 and typhoon was done years ago

Where are the props for the enlisted and ground personnel that keep them flying? And the Museum displays?

Will the F-22 be next? The F-16 is such a beautiful jet.

Ryan, is the museum at Nellis open to anyone who can get on base? My wife is thinking of us retiring for good in Las Vegas as my one requirement is we are near a base. Also, a Naval Aviator Ward Carroll did a video of Robin Olds. I read the book by his daughter. When I was in high school Chappie James was my hero.

could we have gone in the museum at aviation nation?

Actually, Ryan, the Sky Blazers were not the predecessors of the Thunderbirds, they were around at the same time as the 'Birds, and did not transfer to Luke, as the Stardusters. The Stardusters name refers the Thunderbirds's tail motif. The Thunderbirds were stood up at Luke in 1953, and then, after transitioning to the F-100C, they moved to Nellie, where they still are to this day.

FAA: Can you please explain why you keep doing aileron rolls??? Me: Ryan told me to always do an aileron roll. FAA: Fair enough. Carry on.

I did an aileron roll in the frogfoot. It tried to crash. Didn't like it at all lol

6:39 Yeah I think the F-16 is going to win because It's Pratt and Whitney F-100 And it's a super sonic fighter

First

Why is the F16 called the Viper? Looks more like a Screaming Chicken.

If just 1/4 mile, F1 will win. If 2 miles, the length of the runway, your F-16 will win probably as early as 1 mile mark!