BILLINGS — Pulling 7.7 Gs — more than seven times your body weight — is not something most people ever experience.
For me, it was a chance I couldn't pass up, even though I don't tolerate rides at the fair.
My dad took me to see the Blue Angels when I was young, and our family went multiple times after that. Dad was a U.S. Coast Guard veteran who loved the Blue Angels more than life itself before passing away peacefully less than a year ago.
Then just weeks ago, I got a random phone call from a Yellowstone International Airshow board member wondering if I'd like to fly with the elite team at which Dad had always marveled. It felt like somebody was upstairs pulling strings. There was only one answer.
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The Blue Angels typically grant only two backseat civilian flights per location in their F/A-18 Super Hornets — one media member and one Key Influencer, a local community leader helping shape youth in the area. This time, that community leader was Frankie Wilmot.
After a mid-morning arrival, we joined the crew chief who delivered a half hour briefing detailed with instructions on how to breathe and physically combat the extreme G-forces, among other safety protocols. Then we strapped on flight suits.
Frankie was first to fly.
"Well, there's a lot of side bets with my friends, so I'm going to give it my best," Wilmot told MTN Sports referring to possibilities of nausea and fainting.
Understandably, Frankie admitted after that he struggled with nausea and the incredible weight of reaching 7.6 Gs. To put that into perspective: 1G equals the pull you feel standing still on Earth. Like Frankie, I knew I was climbing into a battle most civilians never touch.
The Blue Angels encouraged us to invite family and a couple of close friends onto the tarmac for our walkouts — a memorable moment for all of us.
Then came my moment of truth.
Climbing upward and securely strapped in with final instructions, I was in the cockpit with pilot No. 7, Ronny Hafeza, for about an hour, with close to 40 minutes of flight time. One of the coolest — and believe it or not, most relaxed — moments was a straight vertical climb seconds after takeoff.
Then came the maneuvers. Tight turns and incredibly high Gs that send civilians into blackout — far more violent than anything in an IMAX theater. As hard as I fought to hold up my head, it dipped twice during the massive acceleration and gravity pull. I managed to avoid vomiting while grinding through 7.7 Gs behind pilot No. 7.
The flight wrapped with a photo presentation of the Blue Angels in flight signed by Hafeza before a wealth of hugs and handshakes.
This once-in-a-lifetime F/A-18 Super Hornet ride — carrying both G-forces and personal weight — was unforgettable.
