It's all a matter of connections. Sadly lots of people who aren't even true aviation enthusiasts get ride alongs while the rest of the community just dreams. Look into MiGFlug, a company that not only takes you up, but also gives you stick time. Cheers!
@@xpandaplague9651 these aren’t just random joes that get these. Fam flights are usually given to airmen who work supporting the unit on the ground wether that be in maintaining the aircraft or in the weather briefing office. It gives them an award for working hard so the pilots can do pilot stuff.
@@melvinelder3587 I think he's referring to people like news anchors that do it for a story or famous people outside of people that have spent their livelihood near aviation like Mike Goulian
Not an f-16 pilot but very aware that an f-16 thats already off the ground would not be slowly accelerating from 100 to 125 to 150 to 160... after I saw this I was like "No way they're going that slow." JK 450. "Ah, that sounds more like it."
@@ginaordonez8725 I wouldnt say careful at all.. Professional, she got an A+++ ride to the edge of what she was comfortable with and I am jealous of the experience for sure.
@@firebpm4977: Yeah the ego was showing. He didn't seem to try to make her puke, but he didn't ease into the Gs or maneuvers either. Kudos to her! Sad she had to cut it short, though.
She is a trooper! I did my fam flight in an F15 which isn't near as nimble and aggressive with the G's and I was sweating after 7G's. Much respect to the pilots after that experience!
@@nimaside The F-16's "offical" name is "The fighting Falcon" but no one uses that name. Its called "Viper" as in a viper from Battlestar Galactica which first aired on TV when the F-16 came into service.
Literally one of the best vids out there imo. Really get to see the raw speed and bsb on the low ground passes.... super amazing what these machines and the people who fly them are capable of doing
You're a beast Katie! 99% of "normal" people would have tapped out about 5 mins in. You got the FULL Monty! You had a hell of a good and personable pilot to take you on the journey and explain all the little details. Some just let you sit back there an puke while beating you up.
He was friendly, but showed her no mercy. Sad she had to cut short rather than flying for a bit. It would've perfected the memory and given top bragging rights,
@@KutWrite yeah, but i think she felt just a bit too queasy at that moment. I imagine it’s very different being a passenger where you can just feel disoriented at the back but that would have no impact on the flight whatsoever vs being a “pilot.” But kudos to her, 9.6Gs! Wow! Bit envious too cuz flying in a fighter jet is my absolute dreaaammmm
That was so much more visual due to the clouds. Really captured the sense of speed.. stunning video.. and OMG .. she did great. Very brave and persevered right to the end !!👏👏
When he told her to pull a lever just after she said her helmet wasn't working I figured she'd be taking the quickest route back to the hangar to get a refit via ejector seat 😅
As a civilian, I took a ride out of Shaw AFB, Sumter, SC with the 79th FS, tail 91-468, a Block 50. In fact, it could have been in this same jet as I keep hearing references to Shaw, and Shaw has a Runway 22, which was the departing runway. In order to fly in the F-16, I was given a training course the day before to include Ingress/Egress, Life Support and Hang and Harness. This training included the complete outfitting of a G-suit and a custom fitting for the helmet and oxygen mask. In this video, for the first couple of minutes she is fighting with her oxygen mask and seemed unprepared to arm the ejection seat, both suggesting that she somehow skipped the training. Anyhow, it was great flight and brought memories of my flight. BTW, I did a similar departure to 15,000 ft with an Immelmann, then offshore where we went supersonic, pulled a few G's and flew low and fast. A couple of years later, I flew a KC-135 refueling mission out of Seymour Johnson AFB, which included the refueling of F-15E Strike Eagles. That was awesome as well. These pilots are all great!
@@antimonyparadox6996 I understand, but I also understand that maintainers also qualify for an incentive flight. My pilot flew twice that day, me in the morning and a maintainer in the afternoon. I talked to my pilot a couple of days later and he said the maintenance man handled it like a champ.
well, technically the seat would not be jettisoned since it was not armed at that point. however, if she had mixed up the levers when disarming after landing, they would have made the news.. :)
The the fastest she will ever get to 10k ft in her life. Props to her for not blowing chunks or G-locking. Hope she knows she physically has what it takes and not everyone does.
G-loc. Loss of consciousness. Nothing locks. And yeah absolutely. She seems high energy so its pretty clear she's in an excellent state of physical health which probably contributing to her performance. She also has a short neck, which is another good characteristic of someone who can handle their G's.
Vigilance of the pitot towards the end of the video is impressive 'looking for concrete' etc I mean that was an experience watching that I can't even imagine what it felt like. Fantastic work all around including just superb engineering and production.
What a great video, she did great taking the G's... Her mask seemed to be in-correctly sized, (bayonet clips were bottomed out ),very loose shoulder straps and lap restaint. Flight equipment person really didn't do their job...there could have been a very bad outcome. Watch those yellow handles...what a great pilot, who gave her memories to last a lifetime. USMC E-4 1980-86 flight equipment / parachute rigger. Semper Fidelis. Take care, Be safe.
And it's still a childhood dream to be a jet pilot... I'm so happy for everyone who made it, they can be so proud of themselves to have one of the most exciting jobs on this Planet!
Awesome 👏🏻. I had an incentive flight in a T37 as a cadet. It was awesome! I can only imagine how much more fun a Viper must be. Aim High baby!!! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
I never got a ride at Shaw but I got one at Luke. We flew the length of the Grand Canyon (above, not in it). I was not ready to go home and if we could have hit a tanker I would have kept going. Don't know who "Katie" is but not knowing how to arm the seat tells me she is not in maintenance. Rain mentioned neverending concern about the engine quitting. We had a pilot in the 79th that punched out with a crewchief in the back seat off the coast of Korea. He always told us he would never do another incentive ride. I miss my days in the greatest Air Force in the world.
"What does that mean?" Somebody didn't get Egress training before their flight. Several flights at Shaw myself. I was aircrew at 9th AF Stan/Eval. A Herc guy. In the mid 90's.
"Those don't sound very friendly..." LOL! She did good. I had the great fortune to do 3 (or was it four, been too long)...worst was as chase (#2) on a LANTIRN sortie (our job was to watch lead so they didn't smack terrain - he was under the hood). Puked my guts out; hot day, negative-G. Ugh. But I STILL went back for more. On that first Viper ride, even with 2 bags of gas and 2 AGM-65's, the takeoff planted a smile on my face so hard it still hurts (40-some years later). People have no idea how physical this is. Good video.
@@danielh1708 That's not true whatsoever. Men are taller which is where the old tale of women can handle vertical Gs better fable came out of. That's why the F-16 has a 30 degree slant backward in the seat. Further, men have more muscle mass in the abdomen to pressure hold blood. I hope you are not a physician.
In more than capable hands with Maj Waters. Katie you are in top shape for sure. It's something you have to experience for yourself to understand how the strain just exhausts you so quickly. Major Waters, vous êtes un Chasseur pour sûr. Merci pour la balade. Continuez à atteindre les étoiles. 🇫🇷 ⚓ 🤙🏼
Woooooow!!! How amazing is this lady? I could've bet she was gonna pass out, at the least. She didn't even lose consciousness not a bit. I've seen videos where the rider passed out, right after puking. I know I'd have done all of the above mentioned.
I actually gotta respect her there. She had the opportunity to take the stick, realized she was a bit queasy, and decided it'd probably be better not to.
Amazing that she took those Gs so well!! I know many a hairy chested men who would have tapped out waaaaayy before she did. Good on her to call it quits when she reached her limit. 9,6Gs?!? Wow. Well done Katie!
Great video. I would question the quantity of instruction from Life Support. I would say if your sittinf in the seat being familiar on the operation of an armed ejection seat is pretty important.
Gran entrenamiento!!! El instructor mantiene una comunicación permanente, pregunta y alienta. Anticipa. Y brinda seguridad. Muy buen video. De lo mejor, para entender la fuerza aérea y la élite del pilotaje.
I love our country and the badass planes we build...this is an older jet but when it comes to new jets and technology the USA trumps everyone. Great video.
He asked if she wanted to fly and she said yea, and then he pulled unexpected g’s to get in position for the hand over as she’s coming out of a black hole trying not puke. He kinda screwed her on that I think.. other than that he was good
@@eheritage21: Yeah, he had no mercy on her the whole flight. More kudos to her than him. A gentleman would've eased into the harder maneuvers... as they probably did for him in flight school. He gets an A for skill and a C- for manners.
Excellent video. 9.6Gs is a lot. I used to pass out at about 7G, but very dependent on seat angle. Formation, the best! We even taxied in formation, doing S turns 'cos we were flying tail draggers most of the time. CAVU skies to all aviators. Must have moustache to be a fighter pilot, so maybe give the ladies an honorary stick- on- one. In the evenings, take the mess apart with lots of beer!! Once we were warriors.
