Fascination surrounds flying maneuvers of the Blue Angels
FORT WORTH – There's a U.S. Navy Blue Angels maneuver called a minimum radius turn, where moments after a sweeping turn, the pilot climbs, then pushes the stick forward taking the rider who was straining to stay conscious from crushing gravity to instant weightlessness.
John Fahey found himself trying to describe that feeling Friday to a wide-eyed high school student, tapping into the fascination that a high-powered Blue Angels visit always brings.
Fahey spends most days in an office building at Eagle Mountain Saginaw ISD, but unexpectedly wound up in the rear set of F/A-18 Blue Angel #6, ahead of the team's appearance at the Wings Over Cowtown Airshow this weekend in Fort Worth.
Fahey was never in the Navy or Marines, but as the director of College, Career, Military Readiness, it's not uncommon for him to steer the next generation of service members in that direction.
"It's our passion, it's our mission to make sure all of our students find a belonging," Fahey said about his work at the district. "And we want families moving in here and looking for a home, we're here to provide that home for them."
He's developed a partnership with the National Math and Science Initiative and the Department of Defense, which also led to more connections with the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base where the air show is this weekend.
That impact on young lives helped earn Fahey a nomination for the Blue Angels back seat, a climbing, diving, rolling ride through all the team's maneuvers. He had to squeeze his legs and control his breathing to keep blood from rushing away from his head, but came down wide awake, with a newfound respect for the professionalism of the entire team.
"I didn't know what to expect coming in here," he said. "But I would say they definitely blew my socks off in regard to how great they are."
The Blue Angels are scheduled to perform at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Wings Over Cowtown Airshow.
