That all happens basically in straight-level flight. Our goal as a fifth-generation fighter is to be stealthy, which means you’re detecting and shooting missiles at people way before they even know you’re there, way before they can even target you and shoot back. … The fighting in relation to other airplanes is more a thing of the past, at least for the fifth-generation fighters that I fly.
That makes for good TV, there’s a lot of different things that go on, you know, in real life. But you know, there’s a lot more than just dogfighting other airplanes and wildly maneuvering the airplane. Hopefully, they’re trying to make it as realistic as possible. How does the reality of flying a fighter jet differ from the Hollywood treatment? Kristin “BEO” Wolfe, F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team commander and pilot, flies during a demonstration rehearsal at Hill Air Force Utah. So, there’s definitely the acceleration, you feel the power of the motor right under you. It’s probably what you would assume is going from-in a racecar-going from zero to 150 to take off as well. But you add in the noises and the feels and the rumbles. But, you’ve seen the sight picture and done it, you know, like I said, 10 to 20 times in that simulator, so you’ve seen what it feels like. It’s definitely an acceleration, you know, pushed back in the seat a little bit. It’s not like zero to 150 in a couple seconds. The acceleration isn’t like getting shot off an aircraft carrier, so it’s not that aggressive.
It feels like you’re flying a roller coaster sometimes, taking off and landing at 150 miles an hour. And then every time after that, you know, you get to enjoy the moment. And it becomes, you know, very focused on habit patterns and stuff, you’ve learned to bring the airplane safely back. Generally, you’ve got at least a handful of takeoffs and landings under your belt before you’re allowed to do it in real life. We, of course, have a lot of emergency procedures, training and the simulators prior to being allowed to, you know, step foot, or even take off in one of those airplanes. I think flying a really advanced, powerful fighter for the first time, especially by yourself not having an instructor inside with you-they’re actually in another plane, on the radio with you-is a pretty cool experience. The first time you take off in those airplanes, it’s you alone in the cockpit. That airplane’s a little more impressive on takeoff.
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