PORTSMOUTH — Maj. Michelle Curran, 34, is the lead solo pilot of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. She spends a lot time flying the wrong way up, that the quantity 5 on the plane is painted upside-down, and the patch on her uniform is sewn the wrong way up, too.
“Flying a Thunderbird is quite difficult, and it’s definitely the hardest hands-on flying that I’ve done in the Air Force in other squadrons,” Curran mentioned Thursday. “The actual stick and rudder skills are a lot more challenging with flying super close to the ground, close to each other and just kind of in a realm of flight that we wouldn’t get to do otherwise, but you do get used to it.”
The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will be the star of the Thunder Over New Hampshire Air Show this weekend at the Pease Air National Guard Base, with their first performance at Pease in 11 years. The show will also include F-22 Raptors and more.
Everything it is advisable to know:Can I nonetheless get a ticket to Thunderbirds air present at Pease?
The Thunderbirds are the air demonstration squadron of the Air Force, which flies F-16 Fighting Falcons. These highly maneuverable multi-role fighter planes are precise tactical bombers and air-to-air combat aircraft, but during demonstrations these planes and pilots are pushed to extremes.
Meeting Thunderbirds pilots
Curran said she grew up in a small town in Wisconsin and didn’t have much exposure to military life or pilot life. As a self-described thrill-seeker with an urge to fly, she joined ROTC and began her journey to becoming a pilot. As the only female Thunderbird pilot, Curran said it means a lot to her to inspire other young girls to pursue aviation.
“It’s really been an honor,” Curran said. “Whenever you go to an event and this cute little girl comes up and she’s just like, ‘I want to be a pilot just like you,’ it’s so humbling to be able to have that kind of influence.”
Maj. Kyle Oliver, 33, is the opposing solo pilot flying Thunderbird 6. He was born into an Air Force family with a father who served for 20 years. Oliver said he always knew he’d follow in his father’s footsteps, since aviation was always a passion.
“I always went to air shows as a kid and when I watched ‘Top Gun,’ I thought ‘Man, I want to be Tom Cruise,” Oliver said with a laugh. “By my senior year of high school, I figured every little kid wants to be a fighter pilot and that you’ve got to grow up and pick something realistic at some point. In the summer of 2005, I saw the Thunderbirds fly again in Dayton, Ohio, and I knew this wasn’t some phase I’m gonna grow out of.”
Oliver said being a Thunderbird pilot not only brought his career full-circle, but gave him an opportunity to give back to the Air Force and inspire communities across the country.
“The team had a huge meaningful impact on my life and it gave me that final push to join the Air Force to be a pilot,” Oliver said. “I ultimately joined the team because I hope to be that same part of some kids’ story one day. I’m proof that you can chase those goals that seem unrealistic and make it happen.”
A day in the life of a Thunderbird pilot on show days
Thunderbird pilots spend a lot of their time training to perfect a set of maneuvers that wow and excite crowds during shows. From March to November, the team preforms in a different city each weekend. They arrived at Pease on Thursday morning, after performing in an air show in Cleveland, Ohio last weekend.
In the days leading up to show days, the pilots will fly five miles in every direction from the center of the show site to learn the airspace and find visual cues and landmarks below to use as reference for timing maneuvers.
The pilots start their show days in a meeting to talk through the entire demonstration, from start to finish and every maneuver in between.
To keep those six jets flying show after show, it takes a behind-the-scenes team of more than 130 people that act as a kind of pit crew that maintain the planes and make sure each is safe to fly.
During the show, the jets are in the air for about 35 minutes, and fly in a number of formations, including the well-known diamond formation.
“As solo pilots, Number 6 and I do this head-on pass and single jet maneuvers where we pull the max number of G’s flying super fast, flying inverted to show all the different things these aircraft can do, and the show ends with all six jets coming together in formation that we call delta (in the shape of a V).” Curran said. “Everything happens so fast, and I’m always checking my altitude and ranges.”
“At one point I’m inverted and Number 6 flies underneath me, and it looks like our tails are touching. In reality, I’m flying upside down 150 feet above the ground, flying 400 to 430 miles per hour,” Curran said. “It’s just one thing after the next. The demo itself goes really fast because you’re just so focused on everything.”
“While the aircraft has the ability to go twice the speed of sound (Mach 2), which is over 1,500 miles per hour,” Curran said. “We won’t do that in the show or we’d send a shock wave that would break windows. We go as fast as 650 miles per hour, which is just below Mach 1.”
Oliver said that when he’s in the cockpit, his biggest focus is the safety of his fellow Thunderbirds and the crowds below.
“We fly the same show each and every day, and during our training season up to two or three times a day, to make sure that we’ve got our demonstration dialed in so that we can execute it well,” Oliver said. “There are times where we are on the edge, pushing these aircraft up to nine times the force of gravity, just shy of the speed of sound, while being only 100 feet off the ground. It’s intense.”
What it takes to be a Thunderbird pilot
Simply put, Oliver said their mission on the team is to “recruit, retain and inspire others” by flying demonstrations at air shows all over the country.
“This allows them to see how precise we can be and the incredible level of trust that we have in each other,” Oliver said.
Becoming a Thunderbird took both Curran and Oliver several years. To apply to the team, you have to already be flying fighter aircraft in the Air Force, be fully qualified to fly in combat, and log up to 750 hours which takes roughly about five to six years to complete.
“We’re looking for people that can not only fly well, but also can stand in front of a camera and interact with the kids and just really inspire the next generation,” Curran mentioned. “There’s no other position in the Air Force that is quite as visible, so we love to interact with people. After the shows, we park the aircraft and take photos and sign autographs, and it’s so rewarding.”
