Flight of a lifetime, a Blue Angels ride along
Jailene Aguilera shares a preview of what you can expect at the El Centro Air Show
IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - The U.S. Navy Blue Angels are busy, back at their winter base in El Centro preparing for the 2024 season.
The new year takes off this weekend with Saturday's air show at the El Centro Naval Base.
Jailene Aguilera got a once-in-a-lifetime experience and climbed on board for a special ride with the Blue Angels.
They say you’re extremely lucky if you ever get the chance to be nominated to ride along with the Blue Angels.
“Yeah its definitely a desirable position to be in unfortunately we only get two slots per air show," said Lt. Conner O'Donnell, advanced pilot.
Jailene's dream scenario started off early at 7 a.m. She was shown and instructed on important exercises and how to properly breathe before we took off.
The breathing exercises are essential when taking on strong g-force maneuvers to really experience what it's like to fly like a true blue angel.
“The idea is to give you a taste of what the demonstration pilots are doing at every show and practice they’re doing throughout the year," explained Lt. O'Donnell.
The last step was making sure Jailene's uniform was properly sized.
“We want this to be an enjoyable experience for you so we’ll do everything up to the inverted flight to multiple rolls in a row to 7.5 g’s we’ll go right up to just under the speed of sound," said Lt. O'Donnell.
Now, it was time to head on out to the runway.
Jailene climbed her way up and into the jet, then was properly strapped in.
In the air, they hit 325 miles per hour air speed then it was time to start having fun.
It was all fun and games until they hit 7.5 g’s and that was just enough for Jailene's body to handle.
It certainly was a ride of a lifetime. Although Jailene became sick towards the end, it was most definitely a ride of a lifetime.
The festival of flights will take place on Saturday, March 9, at the Naval Air Facility El Centro Naval Base.
