060329.htm

TARGET 060329

Riding the wind

On February 22, 2006, one of our viewers, Mike Shinabery, was provided a "incentive" ride in an Air Force T-38 fighter jet, leaving from Alamogordo, NM, and flying around southern New Mexico. Mike is a newspaper reporter for the Alamogordo Daily News, and was given the ride by the 49th Fighter Wing at Holloman Air Force Base, in Alamogordo, New Mexico, to make the public more aware of the responsibilities and committments Air Force Pilots take on to defend our nation.

Many thanks to Mike, who provided the following pictures and synoP>S>Is for our Target of the Week exercises.

Before going, I had to be taught how to bail out when... uh, IF... the plane were to get into trouble.

Then I had to learn how to get into a plane.

And was told, "Don't touch anything!!!"

We were accompanied by another newsman in another plane.

Which kept flying AWFULLY close.

During the flight, there were some barrel rolls, which taught me why they call this an "incentive" flight. I had the incentive to look for a barf bag.

Going down one side...

Looking to my left... which right now is almost straight down.

And up the other side.

Now I know why we went up in the morning. I don't think I could have done that after eating lunch. The other reporter, having almost bagged his breakfast, decided that he had had enough incentive, and that he needed some solid ground under his feet, so asked to return back to the base.

We flew for a few more hours, and then made it back to terra firma, ourselves, proving once again what all pilots (especially military ones) know....

"Any flight you can walk away from is a good flight."

For more information on the T-38 and the 49th Fighter Wing at Holloman AFB, click here
(Be patient. It takes a few moments to come up.)

NOTE: The circled is very large because the flight encompassed an area some 60 miles in redius from Holloman.

Many thanks to Mike Shinabery, who rode in the plane and took the pictures of the roll, and to Ellis Neal, photographer for the Alamogordo Daily News for the other photos.

TARGET 060329

Riding the wind

Before going, I had to be taught how to bail out when... uh, IF... the plane were to get into trouble.

Then I had to learn how to get into a plane.

And was told, "Don't touch anything!!!"

We were accompanied by another newsman in another plane.

Which kept flying AWFULLY close.

During the flight, there were some barrel rolls, which taught me why they call this an "incentive" flight. I had the incentive to look for a barf bag.

Going down one side...

Looking to my left... which right now is almost straight down.

And up the other side.

Now I know why we went up in the morning. I don't think I could have done that after eating lunch. The other reporter, having almost bagged his breakfast, decided that he had had enough incentive, and that he needed some solid ground under his feet, so asked to return back to the base.

We flew for a few more hours, and then made it back to terra firma, ourselves, proving once again what all pilots (especially military ones) know....

"Any flight you can walk away from is a good flight."

For more information on the T-38 and the 49th Fighter Wing at Holloman AFB, click here
(Be patient. It takes a few moments to come up.)

TARGET 060329

Riding the wind

Before going, I had to be taught how to bail out when... uh, IF... the plane were to get into trouble.

Then I had to learn how to get into a plane.

And was told, "Don't touch anything!!!"

We were accompanied by another newsman in another plane.

Which kept flying AWFULLY close.

During the flight, there were some barrel rolls, which taught me why they call this an "incentive" flight. I had the incentive to look for a barf bag.

Going down one side...

Looking to my left... which right now is almost straight down.

And up the other side.

Now I know why we went up in the morning. I don't think I could have done that after eating lunch. The other reporter, having almost bagged his breakfast, decided that he had had enough incentive, and that he needed some solid ground under his feet, so asked to return back to the base.

We flew for a few more hours, and then made it back to terra firma, ourselves, proving once again what all pilots (especially military ones) know.... "Any flight you can walk away from is a good flight."

For more information on the T-38 and the 49th Fighter Wing at Holloman AFB, click here (Be patient. It takes a few moments to come up.)

We flew for a few more hours, and then made it back to terra firma, ourselves, proving once again what all pilots (especially military ones) know....

"Any flight you can walk away from is a good flight."

For more information on the T-38 and the 49th Fighter Wing at Holloman AFB, click here
(Be patient. It takes a few moments to come up.)