In plane sight: The Air Force Thunderbirds

      At speeds approaching 460 mph, pilots' flight maneuvers at times require their powerful red, white and blue F-16 Fighting Falcon jets to come within 18 inches of each other.
      Timing for Nellis Air Force Base's Thunderbird pilots, to say the least, has to be precise.
      The team begins its performance season next month. Aside from displaying the importance of military technology and reminding people of freedoms they enjoy, the pilots have another goal -- to make a few jaws drop.
      Consider the "Bomburst Crossover" -- a routine in which four jets speed toward each other from different directions, intersecting through a small area.
      This maneuver and many others are the result of preparation during the past four months by about 145 Air Force personnel. An April 25 and 26 air demonstration at Nellis, called the Golden Air Tattoo, will mark the U.S. Air Force's 50th anniversary.
      Being part of the Thunderbirds involves more than just the two daily practices that are part of pilot training. A chunk of the 12-hour-day is also devoted to reviews of filmed and written critiques. The practices require that maintenance crews spend two to three hours prepping each jet for each flight. The same amount of time is spent cleaning the jets.
      Then there's public relations duties -- meeting with visitors and Las Vegas valley residents.
      "We don't necessarily just work to entice people to join the Air Force," said Capt. Loren "Skip" Johnson, who is a fighter pilot and who narrates the show. "We also work to remind people that the freedoms they enjoy cost (lives)."
      The Thunderbirds' message, a statement of opportunities in the military and technological sophistication, carries a more symbolic commentary about opportunity in American society, said Maj. Matthew Modleski, one of the six team pilots.
      "We are not special people," Modleski said. "And we're no different from anyone else. Anything we do, can be learned by someone else."
      The demonstration team averages 70 worldwide performances annually. To perform in the shows, officers need to be active fighter pilots. A lengthy application process involves test flying.
      This year's team has two pilots who flew during the Persian Gulf War. The rest of team includes other officers and enlisted personnel. Pilots serve on the team for two years while enlisted personnel serve for three. After that, personnel are reassigned.
      Tech. Sgt. Rick Bernet, an F-16 crew chief, said that many of the maneuvers mirror what pilots do during a war or on other assignments such as post-war missions.
      "Rolls could be done to evade (fire)," Bernet said. "Pilots might come close to each other if they need to inspect battle damage done to a jet."
      The Thunderbirds have been performing since 1953 and have been seen by 287 million people.
     
     For more information about the Thunderbirds visit the Review-Journal Online's Golden Air Tattoo show site.