This Backstreet Boy's dream was to fly with the Blue Angels. Fasten your seat belt as he shares the ride of his life.
By Linda Friedman
Up, Up and Away
Still, nothing could have prepared Kevin for his briefing (left), when Petty Officer Ed Primeau told him about the infamous "party bags." (They're like airsickness bags on a commercial airliner, but there are eight of them--and after you've filled them, the only place to stash them is in your pockets.) First-timers usually need the party bags because their bodies aren't used to the gravitational pull, measured as G-forces (or G's for short) encountered at high speeds in the air. But Kevin didn't flinch at the prospect. "I'm a little nervous," he says. "But I'm excited."
Briefing:
Kevin gets his ears checked and eats a bagel (No flying on an empty stomach!); he then zips up his flight suit, learns how to perform the "hook" maneuver (which helps fight the effect of G-forces) and signs a waiver.
SITTING PRETTY:
Kevin has been waiting a lifetime for this moment. His (and cousin Brian Littrell's) grandfather Harold Littrell used to take him out to the airport in Lexington, Ky., when he was little. "We'd sit and watch planes land," remembers Kevin. "He took me to my first air show."
ALL ABOARD:
Kevin climbs into the backseat of the No. 7 jet, a Boeing F/a-18 Hornet, which is used for demonstrations and training. Lieutenant Keith Hoskins of the U.S. Navy will ride in the front seat. The other six jets are flown in formation in approximately 70 Blue Angels air shows in the United States and Canada throughout the year.
READY FOR TAKEOFF:
Ed reminds Kevin of the three rules for flying with the Blue Angels: First, don't bring any caarry-on baggage (such as sunglasses, cell phones or cameras); second, don't touch any controls unless the pilot says it's okay; finally, have fun! (It look like Kevin won't have any problems with that last one.)
TOO LATE TO CHICKEN OUT:
In just a moment, the plane--and its precious cargo--will be airborne.
PULLING STUNTS:
"On a commercial flight, takeoff and landing are the most exciting things," says Kevin (captured on video in the cockpit, left and right). "I did some rolls and loops. We went through canyons. We went through on a high-speed run at 650 miles per hour. We did a high-speed turn at seven G's. There was a ton of pressure on my body--it felt like an elephant or a whale sitting on me!"
THE ROLL:
"When you do a quick roll, you don't even feel it," says Kevin. "But we did a four-point roll where you stop on the side and then stop upside down. Then we did one where we went a long way upside down, and I was just hanging tere. That's when I started sweating!"
BACK ON SOLID GROUND:
"I got a little queasy, and my vision got kind of gray, but I didn't pass out," says Kevin. And what about those party bags? "I broke them out," he confesses.
GRADUATION:
Lt. Hoskins, who flew with Kevin, presents him with his flight certificate and a video so that he can relive his hour in the air. Later, Kevin returned the favor by signing autographs for several of the pilots' daughters.
EXTRA CREDIT:
"Keith said, 'This is your flight. If there's something you want to do, I don't want you to get on the ground wishing you had done it,'" Kevin says. "There was one thing I wanted to do: A simulation dog fight, which is when you have to get away from somebody on your tail. He showed me a maneuver where you bank, turn, pull up, loop and then get behind him."
YESSSS!:
So, how does flying with the Blue Angels compare to flying on a commercial jet? Kevin's report: "It's the difference between riding in a station wagon and riding in a Lamborghini!"
