Pulling 7 G's in an F-16 & GOING SUPERSONIC with U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds! -Smarter Every Day 235
Added 2020-05-18 22:42:14 +0000 UTCThis video was the opportunity of a lifetime. When asked if I wanted to fly in an F-16, I said "Yes please, and there are some things I'd like to study. Can we try supersonic flight at different altitudes?" This is ultimately the thing that dictated that the flight would take place in Biloxi, Mississippi. It was over water so we could get a supersonic corridor. I'm very grateful for this opportunity and would like to thank Flack and the rest of the US Air Force Thunderbirds. This flight took place on May 3rd, 2019. It's common for me to wait and collect several different types of footage and only publish when I feel like the video is "complete". In this case, I waited until I could answer the vestibular system component with the visit to NASA's NBL. This Spatial Disorientation training is something all fighter pilots go through so they can understand how their own physiology works under these conditions.
A personal thank you to Air Force MSgt Ryan Crane for nominating me for this flight. Thank you sir!
Going straight through the front door here.... if you're interested in checking out the US Air Force (they didn't tell me to say this) I would love for the ranks of America's armed forces to be filled with smart, humble, motivated individuals who know how to get things done. You can apply here: https://www.airforce.com/apply-now
I always wanted to know what happened in the cockpit when a jet goes supersonic!
Thank you for supporting me on Patreon, and watching and learning with me! It didn't feel right to put a sponsor on this video since the jet was paid for by taxpayer money, so thank you for supporting me! I paid several people to help me with several different aspects of this one!
Comments
For what it's worth, I'd have checked out anywhere past 5 Gs.
KodeTen
2020-06-22 23:46:53 +0000 UTCJust got to watch this. Very cool! You should check out Nicole Malachowski. She's the first woman to be a Thunderbird pilot. https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-malachowski/
Andrew Krob
2020-06-02 00:51:50 +0000 UTCAmazing video. My older son is in TX at flight school (graduated last year AFROTC) and I sent him this. He's following in his great grandfather's footsteps who flew a P-51 in WWII and Korea. New supporter, longtime follower.
Dean Brady
2020-05-27 11:22:05 +0000 UTCUnfortunately I don't have the full list, though I'm working on getting his military records. I know he flew many cargo missions in C-130s, and he flew the T-38. He told me that the controls of the jet were so sensitive that you would just *think* about moving your hand instead of consciously moving it. I wish he'd been able to share more of his stories. Thank you for taking me on this journey.
Andrew Phillips
2020-05-24 23:29:25 +0000 UTCGreat video Destin! Thank you for sharing this with us. It was fantastic for both you and us!
VitAnyaNaked
2020-05-23 22:09:28 +0000 UTCThis video was extremely my, uh, stuff. How to read an F-16 HUD is suddenly at the top of the list of random things I want to know. I loved the small details like how twitchy the control stick is on an F-16. Also, I really liked the cgi airflow thing around the model you did in your office. Can’t remember seeing that kind of animation on a SED video before, but I think it was super effective.
Patrick Ford
2020-05-23 01:00:24 +0000 UTC9G’s is no joke!!
Smarter Every Day
2020-05-22 05:45:17 +0000 UTCI have a print of a painting of The Battle of Mobile Bay from the US Navel Institute. Super cool that you got to fly over that. https://imgur.com/gallery/Dxzf82Z
Richard Henderson
2020-05-21 16:59:41 +0000 UTCSuper awesome video to watch! Reminds me when I started learning aerobatics. I had the exact same humbling experience after practicing just a few loops. You made it look easy! Fantastic video as always! Keep it up good sir!
2020-05-21 02:55:49 +0000 UTCthis was just amazing I'm out of words, thank you Destin! I really love sweet balance of science learning and learning about us people in your videos.
2020-05-20 20:12:00 +0000 UTCSo cool! I was a part-time flight surgeon at Eglin AFB (and full-time anesthesiologist) in the 90's and got to back-seat in the F-16. So much fun! The highlight was executing aileron rolls, the pilot let me take the stick. I only pulled 5G in flight, but 9G in the human centrifuge at Brooks AFB during training. The best/worst part was the video of my face during the 9Gs -- a sneak preview of what I might look like at age 90 as gravity takes its toll!
Kristy
2020-05-20 17:21:14 +0000 UTCOh wow! What aircraft did he fly?
Smarter Every Day
2020-05-20 03:49:04 +0000 UTCFor first 3 months!?
Smarter Every Day
2020-05-20 03:48:30 +0000 UTCIt was loco!
Smarter Every Day
2020-05-20 03:48:10 +0000 UTCI was honored to be given the opportunity.
Smarter Every Day
2020-05-20 03:47:34 +0000 UTCDestin, my father was a Captain in the Air Force, serving in Vietnam and earning an Airman's Medal. Growing up, I always dreamed of flying and being a pilot. In my office, a giant portrait of him standing next to his jet looks over my shoulder every day. He's gone now, but this video gave me a connection with him that made my insides go mushy. I've been very proud to be a Patreon of your videos over the last couple years, but never prouder than right now. Thank you. If you have any additional footage you can dump onto the second channel, I'd love to see it.
Andrew Phillips
2020-05-19 21:58:12 +0000 UTCYeah that was a really interesting explanation from that woman. Makes me wonder what's going on during vertigo spells caused by an ear infection or whatnot.
2020-05-19 08:14:22 +0000 UTCAwesome video! Doing a split S made me sick for first 3 months and I felt the same way you did when going through the sound barrier, kinda anticlimactic.
william bumgardner
2020-05-19 04:15:18 +0000 UTCThe flying was very cool but what really impressed me was that spectacular nystagmus. Awesome video. Thanks for what you do!
2020-05-19 01:44:53 +0000 UTCSo great! Thanks for taking us on the ride to check off this epic bucket list item. and as always, the content and framework is fantastic. Thanks Destin!
2020-05-19 01:36:52 +0000 UTCDid anyone ever mention Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation to you? It's where the inner ear is tricked by electrodes on the skin. Imagine pulling a maneuver in multiple axes, but your helmet cancels out the signals going to the brain. It's almost like inertial dampeners from Star Trek, only real. :P I think the VR scene was really into GVS for a minute.
2020-05-19 00:13:02 +0000 UTCI hope there's some SED2 content of you while you were piloting the F-16 that you teased at the end of this... You lucky... =] Awesome stuff, sir!
James A. Thornton
2020-05-19 00:12:47 +0000 UTCAlways wondered what the point on the nose of the jet was for, thanks for explaining! Great info on the vestibular impacts as well. Glad you were able to get that explanation into the video.
2020-05-19 00:03:37 +0000 UTCThank you so Very much for giving me a proper view of something I've dreamed about from childhood. I remember watching the Thunderbird's at the Schenectady air shows when I was a kid, and out of all of the planes I've seen first hand the F-16 was my favorite. I still remember the shock from one of them swooping in from behind everyone at the runway edge (at like 300-500 ft and near full power...) while we were distracted watching 2 of them do a nice slow loop...
Clifton Ballad
2020-05-18 23:57:32 +0000 UTCI had always wondered why when I got dizzy from spinning in one direction that I could spin once or twice in the opposite direction to equalize any sort of dizziness and retain my bearings. That last bit at the end really filled in the missing pieces for me to understand why. Thanks so much for sharing this Destin! And thanks to the Thunderbirds!
2020-05-18 23:22:41 +0000 UTCSuper fun stuff, man. Congrats!
Vitor Bittencourt de Oliveira
2020-05-18 23:18:03 +0000 UTCI got goosebumps as you took off - fantastic video (as always) and I’m only slightly jealous... I’ll have to seek absolution from Father Matt! ;-)
Richard Cole
2020-05-18 22:58:48 +0000 UTCCongrats on the 7.2Gs and the opportunity. If you happen to have more footage of you flying you can release, that might be cool for the second channel.
Ryan Marks
2020-05-18 22:57:18 +0000 UTCWOW.... What an opportunity.. I kinda feel like you should have had a raffle to let one of us come with you and get a ride too... And I'm a private pilot too, so.. just saying, I'd have volunteered! :-)
Steve Jones
2020-05-18 22:51:21 +0000 UTCSuper
Sean Monaghen
2020-05-18 22:47:55 +0000 UTC
