Chris Hardie Author's note: One experience that I will never forget was when I flew with the Navy Blue Angels in 2000. The Blue Angels are in La Crosse for this weekend's Deke Slayton Airfest, so I am sharing a first-person story I wrote about my 2000 flight . Yes, those intense G forces explain a lot of things .
.. There are three rules when you fly in an F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet.
■ No. 1: Don't touch anything unless you're told to -- especially that yellow handle that says “eject." ■ No.
2: Don't bring anything into the cockpit -- what isn't strapped down will move freely around the cockpit, guaranteed. ■ No.3: You've got to have fun.
A photo taken from the video recording of Chris Hardie's flight with the Blue Angels in 2000 shows him fighting off G forces before passing out. Such was the advice from Navy Blue Angels Crew Chief Roy Pierson during a briefing Wednesday at the La Crosse Municipal Airport. The Blue Angels were one of the highlights of the 2000 Deke Slayton Airfest.
A two-seater training version of the jet arrived in La Crosse Wednesday to generate interest in the show and to provide rides for some members or the media. I was among the chosen three. My turn came first.
“I’m going to talk about flight physiology, equipment and ejection,” Pierson said. I definitely experienced physiology and the equipment. Never got to that third point, I'm thankful to say.
Blue Angels, F-22 Raptor demonstration team highlight Deke Slayton Airfest this weekend in La.
