A Blue Angels F/A-18 Super Hornet took off on a very special flight from Colorado’s Jet Centers on Wednesday, and when it returned about 30 minutes later, its passenger was wide-eyed and almost speechless.
“Holy cow!” Mollie Venable exclaimed after getting off the plane. “That was incredible!”
Venable was invited to fly with the Blue Angels as part of the Navy Flight Demonstration Team’s Key Influencer Program, which offers dedicated local youth the opportunity to take to the skies in one of the Navy’s fighter jets.
The precision flight team defines a “key influencer” as a person who has a positive impact on the “attitudes and opinions” of young people in their community. Venable, a longtime educator and former special education teacher in District 49, was an ideal candidate, according to her husband, Dan.
“Mollie has worked here in early childhood special education for the past three years and has been involved in education in one form or another for over 13 years,” said Dan, who nominated his wife for the Key Influencer flight.
“She was also a regular volunteer at Woodmen Valley Chapel and was involved in several COS I Love You projects over the years.”
About 70 area residents applied for the flight, authorities said. The Blue Angels, who were in town Saturday and Sunday to headline the sold-out Pikes Peak Regional Airshow, selected Mollie from the list of finalists.
When the Venables learned Mollie had been selected, they were in the process of changing duty stations. Dan, who had been working at the Air Force Academy, was leaving for Edwards Air Force Base in California in late June. Mollie was visiting a friend in Tennessee when she got the call.
“I was in tears,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it.”
“She called me as soon as she heard,” Dan said. “I said, ‘Okay, let’s go back to Colorado Springs.'”
In addition to her husband, several friends, family members and former colleagues from District 49 were also on the flight. Beverly Baker, Mollie’s mother, had tears in her eyes when she saw her daughter take off in the fighter jet.
“We are so proud of her,” Baker said.
“She was so excited from the moment she got the news,” said Jim Baker, Mollie’s father. “I’m actually a little jealous.”
Mollie said she was blown away by the view of Pikes Peak from the plane and a little surprised that there was no turbulence.
“It was the smoothest flight I’ve ever had,” she said. “It was incredible. But I also feel like I’ve just run five miles.”
After the flight, she was presented with a framed photo of the Blue Angels with autographs from the team members.
“It was a great experience,” she said. “I feel really honored.”
