The Blue Angels ROCKED Billings, Montana

I was recently at an event in a hangar at the Billings airport. The hangar door was open so I could look out and see the runway, the wide open plains, and the pine trees in the distance. It took me back to a year ago when I thought about the incredible air show with the US Navy’s Blue Angels.

As one of only two media people in Billings, I had the incredible honor of flying in the back seat of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels prior to the Yellowstone International Air Show.

And the best part? Aside from taking off straight into the sky… the best part was definitely the nearly 12 spins in the air as we pulled 7.3 G’s over Big Sky Speedway. (I even joked during the flight that we were flying right over Paul Mushaben’s ranch. He saw us!) Another highlight was when we flipped upside down and basically flew right over the cars heading north between Billings and Roundup.

Here is what I wrote after that flight last year.

“Just getting the chance to shake hands with Blue Angels like Lcdr Thomas Zimmerman, the Blue Angels’ No. 7 pilot, and see the F18 up close is a once in a lifetime opportunity. But then to be strapped into the back seat, put on a Blue Angels helmet, shoot straight into the sky right after takeoff, and finally endure 7.3 G’s… how else can you describe what you’ve just been privileged to be a part of?”

I know there are talks of another air show in Billings with the Blue Angels in the near future – we can’t wait!