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F-16 Pilot Performs Fly Over At Favorite Team's Stadium

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  • F-16 Pilot Performs Fly Over At Favorite Team's Stadium

    I have been a diehard Seattle Seahawks fan since they came into the league in my hometown 43 years ago. last Sunday, I watched as two F-16s performed a glorious fly by over Century Link field right at the end of the National Anthem. What a sight! So it was a thrill to find out that one of the pilots was not only a fellow diehard Seahawks fan, but also a longtime member of my former Seahawks fan site, Seahawks.NET. He posted his experience on the site yesterday so I thought some of you would find it an enjoyable read like I did. - Aros


    We just returned home to New Mexico after executing the Air Force flyby and what an experience! Below are some thoughts on what went into it and how the Seahawks organization treated us.

    The preparation - The Seahawks put in the request in for the flyby via the US Air Force Public Affairs. I found the event and almost lost my my mind with excitement. I grabbed the phone and touched base with the military rep. He told me that the F-15s in Portland were thinking of doing it, but had them as a backup. Being a Seattle native and Seahawks fan, I told them that nobody puts the Hawks in the corner/makes them a backup and that we would do it. After running some paperwork on our side and coordinating with maintenance, we were a go.

    The FAA - We worked with them to carve out a holding area that we could "push" from (start our run). Originally they wanted us holding one mile south of the stadium. I knew that was was too close and orbiting wouldn't allow us to control our timing versus a straight-line run where we could accelerate. They agreed with us and provided the north end of Vashon Island as our hold point. It was an interesting choice as we found ourselves wedged between seaplanes and Cessnas.

    The Organization - When I was a cadet at the US Air Force Academy, Chad Henning (an alum/defensive tackle for the Cowboys during their three Super Bowl dynasty) spoke to us about the Cowboys and their operations. Before joining the Cowboys he met with a couple teams. He stressed the night and day difference between the Cowboys and the others. From the Secretary to the General Manager, everyone knew the mission of the team and was bought in. Well, I'm happy to report that the Seahawks seem to be the same way. Everyone I interacted with was incredibly professional, humble and focused. They were a class act from top to bottom.

    Getting there - everything about our trip was stressful. I flew my jet with my name on it and I should have known better. It never works out like you want. While over Utah I received a warning light that my oil system was losing pressure and could seize. We made an emergency landing into Hill Air Force Base. I was devastated. I was convinced that the flyby was gone at that point. To our great fortune, some phenomenal Americans met us at our jet and started trouble shooting the problem. They were transient alert contractors that happened to have 30-years experience as maintainers on F-16s. They sprayed out some cannon plugs and tightened them down and sent us on our way. I can't even tell you the emotional swing I had in those two hours.

    The Weather - our next big hurdle was the weather. I'm sure you all remember the insane thunderstorm the night before. Being stationed in New Mexico, it was my experience that thunderstorms collapse, the outflow creates a gust front and the wind blows out any residual clouds. That was NOT the case that night. After refreshing the forecast at least one million times, I went to bed dismayed but hoping for the best. Waking up in the morning I felt like a kid hoping for a snow day. I rushed to the window and was met with a miserable sight. The city was wrapped in a thick blanket of sea fog. Visibility was two miles at the airport due to a heavy misting and fog. The Seahawks liaison texted me and told me that he informed his superiors that he thoughts our chances were slim. I replied that we had 50/50 odds, but that we would hold short of the runway until we ran out of time. We did not fly all that way and go through all that maintenance drama just to give up.

    The flyby - To set the background, the Seahawks provided us ten tickets for friends and family. My wife flew in and I took my closest high school friends and her. My wingman brought his parents to the game as he is from the area as well.

    As all fighter pilots do when given a tasking, we worked our way backwards from the target. We had never heard Cupid's rendition of the anthem before and thus didn’t know his cadence. From YouTube we knew that most anthems were between 1+30 to 1+50. Based on this, we planned our route to fly slow towards the stadium giving ourselves the ability to accelerate in the case he sung faster. We also wanted to fly from the southeast to the northwest due to towering buildings right off the end of the field.

    Hearing the first notes of the anthem we pushed from Vashon Island. The adrenaline in my body told me to accelerate and rip over the stadium, but I knew I had to trust my instruments. Creeping across the bay, we hit the train yard to the south of the stadiums right as Cupid was belting out the “rockets red glare.” I realized that we were too close and if we didn't change something, we would be mid field at “ the land of the free." In order to buy some time, I snaked to the east towards I-5. Based our FAA brief, I knew we couldn’t go too far due to SEATAC’s approach corridor. Based on this, I cut back to the west/the water when I heard him approaching “the land of the free.” I decelerated to my slowest practical airspeed and wished I was in a helicopter and able to hover. I found myself at the southwest end of the stadium out of real estate and there was no more waiting to be had. He paused for the last verse, I pushed the throttle into afterburner and we went for it.

    If you were there you saw that we arced over the stadium. That was our last turn as we had to get out on the northwest edge. It made for a cool site as most flybys are level. Watching my friends videos it appears we were over the 50 yard line at the high note.

    I don’t know the singer, but we took two F-16s and danced to the sound of his voice in front of 70,000 people.

    Reflecting on it on all, I was once told that life doesn’t have a soundtrack and that you need to make your own. This is especially true flying fighters as we keep the radios silent the vast majority of the time leaving just you and the sound of the motor.

    Sunday was different. While approaching downtown, Hawk’s dad (our radio operator) was on the platform with the Toyota on the south end of the stadium. He just put the radio in the air and keyed the microphone. In my helmet I got to listen to our anthem and watch/feel the fire works explode ahead while accelerating in afterburner towards the crescendo. Knowing that my wife and best friends were in that stadium, racing towards the high note, soaking in Seattle and the skyline, with the anthem washing over, it was surreal. This was our house, our families and our city and we were here to represent.

    STRIKE!
    Falcongoggles
    My YouTube RC videos:
    https://www.youtube.com/@toddbreda
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