WEBVTT - He Crashed An $150M Plane! | Joshua Gunderson 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:03.400 So, Josh, did we meet in Vegas? Is that where 0:00:03.400 --> 0:00:04.160 this all started? 0:00:04.360 --> 0:00:07.040 No, we actually met in Anchorage, Alaska. You were up 0:00:07.040 --> 0:00:08.600 there on the USO. 0:00:08.360 --> 0:00:10.680 Tour, That's right. Vegas was after that. Yeah, it was 0:00:11.000 --> 0:00:11.640 just after that. 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:14.880 And it was funny, you know, this email comes out, 0:00:15.040 --> 0:00:18.239 it's like, hey, we need somebody to volunteer to give 0:00:18.360 --> 0:00:21.919 some country music artists people a tour by the USA Tour. 0:00:22.640 --> 0:00:26.360 And I was like, I love country music, Yes, I'll 0:00:26.400 --> 0:00:29.000 do that. I had no idea who it was, and 0:00:29.040 --> 0:00:31.600 they're like, oh, it's this guy named Granger Smith. He's 0:00:31.640 --> 0:00:33.600 here for the USO tour. It was like, you got 0:00:33.600 --> 0:00:34.120 to be kidding me. 0:00:34.159 --> 0:00:34.320 You know. 0:00:34.400 --> 0:00:38.080 So my roommate from the Air Force Academy's from Texas, 0:00:38.080 --> 0:00:43.320 from Shureline, Texas, and and he obviously loves Texas country music, 0:00:43.400 --> 0:00:44.960 read drop music, all that stuff. So I just kind 0:00:45.000 --> 0:00:48.120 of got indoctrinated into that in college. Yeah, and growing up, 0:00:48.159 --> 0:00:51.000 and my first my first CD that I got as 0:00:51.040 --> 0:00:53.840 a gift was like a Christmas stocking stuffer was clay Walkers, 0:00:53.840 --> 0:00:56.840 like self titled nineteen eighty three album. And you know, 0:00:56.920 --> 0:00:59.240 so I love countries growing up, and then I started 0:00:59.280 --> 0:01:02.360 learning about text music more and fell in love with it. 0:01:02.400 --> 0:01:04.640 And then obviously when I heard those you is really cool, 0:01:04.680 --> 0:01:06.920 you know, and we did that and then then you 0:01:06.920 --> 0:01:09.240 were there for NFR in Vegas after that when I 0:01:09.280 --> 0:01:10.000 was down there as well. 0:01:10.200 --> 0:01:13.360 That's right, So I went up there. It was for CMT, 0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:17.120 right and yeah, okay, yeah, yeah, it was for CMT, 0:01:17.360 --> 0:01:19.880 but it was connected to the USO. It was a 0:01:20.000 --> 0:01:23.680 USO CMT and I was with Cody Allen. Yep, you 0:01:23.680 --> 0:01:27.840 remember that, which is you know, my predecessor at after midnight. 0:01:28.840 --> 0:01:31.959 That's so that's the interesting connection with us. But but 0:01:32.160 --> 0:01:36.040 when I met you, still to this day, you are 0:01:36.120 --> 0:01:40.080 probably top three coolest guys in my phone that I 0:01:40.160 --> 0:01:46.200 know that I can text because you are a fighter pilot, 0:01:47.200 --> 0:01:50.919 and not only a fighter pilot, but an F twenty two, 0:01:51.160 --> 0:01:54.440 which is what is the most sophisticated aircraft in the world, right. 0:01:54.480 --> 0:01:56.919 And yeah, in terms of in terms of neeverabilities, speed, 0:01:56.960 --> 0:01:59.120 all the performance numbers you can think of, it's definitely 0:01:59.120 --> 0:02:00.000 the top out there right now. 0:02:00.200 --> 0:02:02.680 So yeah, it's anybody in Russia have anything better than that. 0:02:02.880 --> 0:02:03.880 I think they're trying really hard. 0:02:03.920 --> 0:02:05.520 But China, nobody has any better. 0:02:05.720 --> 0:02:08.040 They're trying, they're they're trying, but I think they have 0:02:08.120 --> 0:02:10.600 twenty two, you know, without getting a specific so I 0:02:10.639 --> 0:02:12.880 would just simply say that I would take an F 0:02:12.880 --> 0:02:15.079 twenty two to combat against anything out there in the Skuys. 0:02:15.240 --> 0:02:18.240 Okay, yeah, so it's we've been how long have we been? 0:02:18.320 --> 0:02:21.760 We've been recording only two minutes and I'm already saying 0:02:21.800 --> 0:02:27.520 this top gun, Sorry, we're bringing it up. That that 0:02:27.240 --> 0:02:30.760 and the newer one. Yeah, the Russian jet that's in that. 0:02:31.000 --> 0:02:33.960 It's like everyone's in awe about That's where's the F 0:02:34.000 --> 0:02:35.240 twenty two stack up against that? 0:02:35.880 --> 0:02:38.040 I still think in terms of capability, it's it's better. 0:02:38.080 --> 0:02:41.799 You know, Russia is definitely producing stuff. What is and 0:02:41.880 --> 0:02:44.519 top gun fifty seven? I believe what they had in there, 0:02:44.560 --> 0:02:47.000 and then if if I recall correctly, I watched it, 0:02:47.040 --> 0:02:48.880 like I can't watch it twice now, but I think 0:02:50.000 --> 0:02:51.839 what they had in there, and that's like their their 0:02:51.919 --> 0:02:56.239 next generation stealth kind of equivalent fighter. They haven't produced 0:02:56.240 --> 0:02:59.120 a whole lot of them, and they just don't have 0:02:59.160 --> 0:03:01.400 a capacity and and the tech development I think is 0:03:01.440 --> 0:03:04.440 still lacking. So we still retained a really nice advantage 0:03:04.440 --> 0:03:08.680 in terms of just manufacturing processes. The intellectual aspect of 0:03:08.720 --> 0:03:11.840 making these airplanes really lethal and survivable. So, yeah, they 0:03:11.880 --> 0:03:14.640 have twenty two is just, in my opinion, pretty awesome. 0:03:14.960 --> 0:03:19.120 When did you stop flying combat missions? So I stopped. 0:03:19.240 --> 0:03:22.120 My last deployment was in twenty sixteen, and then I 0:03:22.120 --> 0:03:24.800 did the demonstration team job for three years. I think 0:03:24.840 --> 0:03:26.679 the last time I saw you was in twenty twenty one, 0:03:26.720 --> 0:03:28.799 I believe when we came out to the ranch. Yeah, 0:03:30.480 --> 0:03:33.160 and then I left active duty in August of twenty 0:03:33.160 --> 0:03:35.600 twenty three. So I left active duty. Now I'm part 0:03:35.600 --> 0:03:38.200 time and then about a International Guard. No longer flying 0:03:38.200 --> 0:03:41.839 fighter jets, but still flying lots of other airplanes. And yeah, 0:03:41.880 --> 0:03:43.520 so I was kind of my time in the Air Force. 0:03:44.000 --> 0:03:45.680 Did a deployment the fifteen first, and then they have 0:03:45.720 --> 0:03:47.160 twenty two later on. 0:03:48.360 --> 0:03:50.080 It's like, I said, one of the coolest guys, and 0:03:50.120 --> 0:03:50.440 I know. 0:03:50.880 --> 0:03:52.960 No, you know, I do want it. Since we were 0:03:52.960 --> 0:03:56.720 talking about anchorage and talking about CMP tour on stuff, 0:03:57.320 --> 0:04:00.240 you know, I think the reason that we connectively on 0:04:00.280 --> 0:04:03.240 in Vegas was honestly because you're incredibly kind. And I 0:04:03.240 --> 0:04:05.440 don't remember if you know this, or I don't know 0:04:05.480 --> 0:04:07.440 if you remember this at all, but the day after 0:04:07.480 --> 0:04:09.280 you or the day you left. That morning, I think 0:04:09.280 --> 0:04:12.560 it was, we had like a seven point two magnitude 0:04:12.560 --> 0:04:15.960 earthquake and anchorage. Remember that I was at work, you know, 0:04:16.000 --> 0:04:18.240 we just finished awesome time going to show you run 0:04:18.279 --> 0:04:20.400 the airplanes, get to listen to play and all that stuff. 0:04:20.400 --> 0:04:23.400 And then the next morning at work, we get an 0:04:23.440 --> 0:04:25.720 earthquake happening, and I was like, all right, well, you know, 0:04:25.760 --> 0:04:27.160 it's like, oh, it's an earthquake, no big deal. And 0:04:27.160 --> 0:04:29.160 then we start getting tossed from chairs and we're like, oh, 0:04:29.200 --> 0:04:32.560 this is a serious one, you know, and you had landed. 0:04:32.600 --> 0:04:34.520 I don't know sure if you came back to Texas, Okay, 0:04:34.520 --> 0:04:37.200 Seattle and you text me and you're like, hey, man, 0:04:37.520 --> 0:04:38.719 I heard this really big earthquake. 0:04:38.760 --> 0:04:39.480 Are you doing okay? 0:04:39.680 --> 0:04:41.839 And I was like, this is the guy that I 0:04:41.920 --> 0:04:45.320 used to listen to on my computer in college, you know, 0:04:45.400 --> 0:04:47.840 when like a little you like came out like back 0:04:47.880 --> 0:04:50.320 in the day, Granger Smith. And I was like, this 0:04:50.360 --> 0:04:53.360 is this guy texting my personal number asking if I'm 0:04:53.400 --> 0:04:55.719 okay because an earthquake that just happened. You know, I'm like, 0:04:56.000 --> 0:04:57.920 how many other millions of things do you have going on? 0:04:58.600 --> 0:04:59.960 And the fact that you were so kind to take time. 0:05:00.040 --> 0:05:02.280 I'm just to ask how I was doing. After that 0:05:02.480 --> 0:05:04.240 was amazing. And then I was like, well, I'm doing well, 0:05:04.240 --> 0:05:05.960 but I'm head out of town going to Vegas because 0:05:05.960 --> 0:05:08.520 we got this conference. You're like, well, I'm going to Vegas, 0:05:08.800 --> 0:05:11.279 you know. And then we met up there for the show, 0:05:11.279 --> 0:05:14.320 which was great, and uh yeah, it's just all through 0:05:14.360 --> 0:05:15.400 your kindness. And that's how this. 0:05:15.520 --> 0:05:17.359 Doesn't seem like a big deal at all, though I 0:05:17.400 --> 0:05:18.040 mean it. 0:05:17.960 --> 0:05:20.120 Doesn't, but you know, you'd imagine, like, you know, it's 0:05:20.160 --> 0:05:22.400 just like, hey, taking care of other people, being kind 0:05:22.480 --> 0:05:26.560 and consider it, sadly is not as common as I 0:05:26.560 --> 0:05:29.240 guess you would expect, and especially when it's like some 0:05:29.279 --> 0:05:31.520 of you've you've you know, been listened to on the 0:05:31.600 --> 0:05:34.800 radio for the last whatever fifteen years. You're like, that's 0:05:34.880 --> 0:05:37.320 that's pretty crazy. I just text my personal cell phone number, 0:05:37.360 --> 0:05:37.520 you know. 0:05:38.040 --> 0:05:40.640 I remember that that was that was wild because we 0:05:40.640 --> 0:05:44.120 we took off from Anchorage on on a flight to 0:05:44.400 --> 0:05:48.560 I guess it was like maybe Delta, but we landed 0:05:48.560 --> 0:05:52.880 in Seattle, and right when we landed and turned our 0:05:52.880 --> 0:05:54.520 phones on, it was like, you know, our phones were 0:05:54.560 --> 0:05:58.159 blown up. It was a major earthquake in Anchorage within 0:05:58.279 --> 0:06:00.000 the short amount of time we were in the air 0:06:01.120 --> 0:06:03.800 if we had waited any longer to take off, that 0:06:03.920 --> 0:06:07.080 they weren't. They weren't flying planes out of that that airfield. Yeah, 0:06:07.080 --> 0:06:11.039 for a while after that, so so yeah, I was like, man, 0:06:11.040 --> 0:06:13.719 it's josh okay. So that was that was a little 0:06:13.720 --> 0:06:15.920 crazy incident. I actually totally forgot about it, so you 0:06:16.520 --> 0:06:21.280 mentioned it. But the the time itself in Anchorage was 0:06:21.279 --> 0:06:23.560 my first time to see you and the and the 0:06:23.600 --> 0:06:26.120 f twenty two and you know, you let us walk 0:06:26.160 --> 0:06:28.960 around it. Have you seen that in have you seen Oh, well, 0:06:29.000 --> 0:06:31.479 after this, I'll show you. Like when he was on 0:06:31.520 --> 0:06:35.440 the demo team there some of those videos like their 0:06:35.480 --> 0:06:39.159 Instagram account. What's that Instagram between two demo tea team? 0:06:39.160 --> 0:06:43.120 Demo team? That is a good follow on Instagram because 0:06:43.720 --> 0:06:47.039 that aircraft does things that just the mind can is 0:06:47.080 --> 0:06:49.680 not capable of understanding what it's seeing. It looks like 0:06:50.160 --> 0:06:52.880 some kind of cgi. It looks fake. I mean that's 0:06:53.000 --> 0:06:55.839 the they basically tell us what I mean. It basically 0:06:55.880 --> 0:07:00.320 stalls in the air and could reverse and go different direction, 0:07:00.440 --> 0:07:02.240 like what's happening with the twenty two. 0:07:02.480 --> 0:07:06.200 Just wizardry it's basically wizard Yeah, it's wizardry. 0:07:07.480 --> 0:07:07.680 You know. 0:07:07.720 --> 0:07:10.520 The it's a testament right to all the engineers and 0:07:10.880 --> 0:07:13.320 folks that designed the airplane, because they did a phenomenal 0:07:13.440 --> 0:07:15.560 job with the flight control laws and how to make 0:07:15.560 --> 0:07:19.480 the airplane do some amazing things, the things that really 0:07:19.560 --> 0:07:22.480 make it unique and different in terms of moverability. The 0:07:22.520 --> 0:07:25.520 engines are remarkable. So they produced seventy thousand pounds of 0:07:25.560 --> 0:07:28.160 thrust total. The airplane full of gas, full of weapons 0:07:28.200 --> 0:07:31.320 weighs about sixty five thousand pounds, so even at takeoff, 0:07:31.360 --> 0:07:34.720 you're producing more thrust than you weigh at takeoff, so 0:07:34.760 --> 0:07:36.160 you can accelerate going straight up. 0:07:36.960 --> 0:07:38.440 It's a little bit more than a tour bus by 0:07:38.440 --> 0:07:39.280 the way, weighted down. 0:07:39.480 --> 0:07:42.240 Yeah, maybe, maybe not as much as a you know, 0:07:42.280 --> 0:07:44.480 a germ Ax. I don't know, but yeah, it's close. 0:07:44.920 --> 0:07:46.760 I've got to coming diesel, but you know it's close. 0:07:46.840 --> 0:07:48.760 I'm not about thrust. I'm not about the weight of 0:07:48.800 --> 0:07:53.120 a fully fully weighed down towards yeah six okay, wow, 0:07:53.200 --> 0:07:54.360 I didn't realize it was that heavy. 0:07:54.520 --> 0:07:58.600 Yeah, so this but the airplane, you know, the engines 0:07:58.600 --> 0:08:01.240 produce amazing thrust, but also on the back of vector thrust. 0:08:01.320 --> 0:08:03.320 They have nozzles in the back, so imagine taking your 0:08:03.320 --> 0:08:05.840 finger putting on a water hose, you know, and like 0:08:05.880 --> 0:08:08.280 moving your thumb and the water goes different directions. But 0:08:08.320 --> 0:08:10.160 you're just doing that with seventy thousand pounds of thrust, 0:08:10.880 --> 0:08:13.840 so you have vector thrust. The flight controls are all 0:08:13.880 --> 0:08:17.080 basically it's fly by wire. So I'm making inputs. I'm 0:08:17.320 --> 0:08:20.200 moving the stick or moving the throttles, and the airplane says, okay, 0:08:20.200 --> 0:08:23.240 the pilot wants XYZ effect whatever it happens to be, 0:08:23.480 --> 0:08:25.040 and then it figures out how fast my going and 0:08:25.040 --> 0:08:26.640 how high am I All these are the parameters and 0:08:26.680 --> 0:08:29.240 gives me the combination of flight controls I need to 0:08:29.240 --> 0:08:33.000 get the effect I'm asking for. And you've seen the 0:08:33.000 --> 0:08:37.079 thunderbirds fly, I'm sure. So they have F sixteen's amazing airplanes. 0:08:38.200 --> 0:08:40.440 To put it in perspective of size, the F twenty two, 0:08:40.760 --> 0:08:43.160 the tails in the back are the same size as 0:08:43.200 --> 0:08:46.559 the F sixteen main wing, so these are massive surfaces. 0:08:47.000 --> 0:08:48.480 Have you ever gone skydiving? No? 0:08:48.640 --> 0:08:51.199 Okay, So skydiving, when you're falling through the sky, you're 0:08:51.200 --> 0:08:54.360 basically using your hands and feets like deflect air and 0:08:54.360 --> 0:08:56.080 That's what the F twenty two does, is it's in 0:08:56.080 --> 0:08:58.840 that postal regime where it's no longer fit like flying. 0:08:58.920 --> 0:09:02.560 It's not producing enough lyft to overcome the weight of 0:09:02.600 --> 0:09:05.000 the airplane. It's basically using this flight control surfaces that 0:09:05.080 --> 0:09:07.000 are the same size as an F sixteen main wing 0:09:07.280 --> 0:09:09.560 to deflect air like you would be skydiving. And that's 0:09:09.559 --> 0:09:12.240 what allows it to be, you know, completely controllable, even 0:09:12.280 --> 0:09:14.200 those in those regimes where it's it's stalled. 0:09:15.080 --> 0:09:16.920 Tell me about the bottom of that aircraft too. 0:09:18.000 --> 0:09:20.360 Which which port? Oh yeah, where the bays are? 0:09:20.679 --> 0:09:21.079 Yeah? 0:09:21.200 --> 0:09:22.440 Yeah, So we had a chance to look in the 0:09:22.440 --> 0:09:28.160 bays and we carry missiles combination of bombs down there, 0:09:28.280 --> 0:09:31.040 and the doors will open up really quickly. The missiles 0:09:31.080 --> 0:09:32.280 or weapons will kick out of the bottom of the 0:09:32.320 --> 0:09:34.640 airplane then close back up to keep us stealthy. So 0:09:34.720 --> 0:09:36.439 having those weapons or missiles are. 0:09:36.720 --> 0:09:39.600 Nothing's hanging out like the F sixteen, stuff everywhere underneath it. 0:09:39.679 --> 0:09:41.960 Yeah, and everything's carried internally for twenty two And just 0:09:41.960 --> 0:09:43.600 like the F thirty five, So the F thirty five 0:09:43.720 --> 0:09:47.280 is is kind of the F sixteen replacement, much like 0:09:47.320 --> 0:09:50.280 the F twenty two is fifteen replacement and everything's carried 0:09:50.320 --> 0:09:52.839 internally to keep us stealthy, so we can sneak around, 0:09:52.840 --> 0:09:55.280 you know. And when you think about other airplanes out 0:09:55.280 --> 0:09:57.920 there flying that aren't stealthy, that's where those airplanes really 0:09:57.960 --> 0:10:00.600 shine because imagine, you know, you're you're you're a bad 0:10:00.600 --> 0:10:02.640 guy airplane and you see in your radar, you look 0:10:02.640 --> 0:10:04.520 outside and you see these things popping up because they 0:10:04.520 --> 0:10:07.400 have really big radar cross sections, and you get very 0:10:07.440 --> 0:10:09.280 attract It's like, you know, a moth to flame kind 0:10:09.280 --> 0:10:11.200 of thing. And then you have these airplanes that are 0:10:11.520 --> 0:10:14.440 very stealthy, like Ninja is just rolling around hinjustars, you know. 0:10:15.040 --> 0:10:18.600 So it's it's pretty great, pretty amazing capability for sure. 0:10:19.040 --> 0:10:23.199 I do you were you ever just pinch yourself? Surely 0:10:24.600 --> 0:10:27.080 half fast? How fast? Fly top top speed that you 0:10:27.360 --> 0:10:28.880 that you could go? Yeah? 0:10:29.600 --> 0:10:31.400 Gone twice the speed of sound. So it's about fifteen 0:10:31.440 --> 0:10:32.120 hundred miles an hour. 0:10:32.240 --> 0:10:34.280 So you're in the middle of the desert somewhere or 0:10:34.600 --> 0:10:39.280 over an ocean going that. I mean, are you ever 0:10:39.400 --> 0:10:43.480 just like, Wow, I'm the fastest man on north right now? Uh? Yeah, 0:10:43.559 --> 0:10:44.719 like thinking about that. 0:10:44.840 --> 0:10:46.400 Yeah, there's like, you know, the s R seventy one 0:10:46.559 --> 0:10:48.319 was faster, right, and there are airplanes that were faster, 0:10:48.400 --> 0:10:50.440 but I mean twice the speed of sound is pretty fast. 0:10:50.520 --> 0:10:52.920 And then you're doing that at you know, sixty thousand 0:10:52.960 --> 0:10:56.760 feet roughly, and that's it. It's interesting because at that point, 0:10:57.679 --> 0:10:58.920 you know, there's a lot of heat, right, so you're 0:10:58.920 --> 0:11:00.280 going through the air really quickly, and then there's lot 0:11:00.280 --> 0:11:03.319 of heat that's generated from that from the friction, and 0:11:04.080 --> 0:11:05.560 as a result of the airplane is trying to cool 0:11:05.600 --> 0:11:07.800 itself off too because it's it's getting hot and wants 0:11:07.920 --> 0:11:10.400 keep everything electronically in the skin and everything cool. 0:11:11.120 --> 0:11:12.000 So you get some cutback. 0:11:12.040 --> 0:11:14.200 Actually, we gets very quiet because they're diverting air to 0:11:14.240 --> 0:11:15.880 other things that are more important than you probably as 0:11:15.920 --> 0:11:18.400 the pilot, and to keep it flying all those things, 0:11:18.440 --> 0:11:20.680 and it's really eerie. You're at you know, sixty thousand 0:11:20.720 --> 0:11:22.600 feet going twice as be a sound and fifteen hundred 0:11:22.600 --> 0:11:25.280 miles now roughly, and it gets really quiet and you're 0:11:25.320 --> 0:11:27.320 just seeing like the earth rotate underneath you and you're like, 0:11:27.360 --> 0:11:30.199 this is super trippy, you know, it's just uh, it's 0:11:30.200 --> 0:11:31.680 a pretty cool feeling for sure. 0:11:33.120 --> 0:11:40.280 About six thousand feet up yeah, yeah, yeah, roughly unbelievable. 0:11:40.000 --> 0:11:42.200 And we you know, we go supersonic obviously if we 0:11:42.240 --> 0:11:45.440 needed to in combat, but in our training air spaces 0:11:45.480 --> 0:11:47.559 when we need to do it for training, we don't. 0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:49.559 We aren't allowed to go super sonic over the domestic 0:11:49.640 --> 0:11:53.280 using from point to point. However, I did get approved 0:11:53.320 --> 0:11:55.640 one time by the FA. I was flying out of 0:11:55.679 --> 0:11:59.520 North Dakota taking a jet to Salt Lake City and 0:11:59.720 --> 0:12:02.000 the Birds are actually performing. I flew a jet into 0:12:02.120 --> 0:12:03.800 an air show and I wasn't the demo pilot at 0:12:03.840 --> 0:12:05.200 the time. I was just bringing a jet there to 0:12:05.200 --> 0:12:07.319 talk to folks about the airplane, and the thunder Birds 0:12:07.360 --> 0:12:09.280 a little bit delayed taken off and finishing their show. 0:12:09.320 --> 0:12:11.880 So I get delayed taken off out of there, I 0:12:11.960 --> 0:12:14.240 take off. I like that FN so I like rip up, 0:12:14.280 --> 0:12:16.280 and I'm going to Salt Lake and I'm looking at 0:12:16.280 --> 0:12:19.320 the time, I'm gonna be late, and the people that 0:12:19.360 --> 0:12:21.760 were this on a Sunday, like I'm gonna be late, 0:12:22.120 --> 0:12:24.960 and the people that were working there, they're all contract employees, 0:12:25.000 --> 0:12:27.120 you know that are civilians coming in on a Sunday 0:12:27.200 --> 0:12:29.120 to get this airplane, Like, hey man, we close at 0:12:29.160 --> 0:12:32.720 whatever five And looking at the time like I'm gonna 0:12:32.720 --> 0:12:36.199 be late, feel bad, you know, And so I asked 0:12:36.400 --> 0:12:38.800 the air traffic control guys like, hey, I come over 0:12:38.880 --> 0:12:40.880 North Dakota right now. There's nobody down there, you know, 0:12:41.000 --> 0:12:43.120 do you mind if I go super sonic? And he's like, oh, 0:12:43.120 --> 0:12:44.480 what do you want? It's like one point too, so 0:12:44.480 --> 0:12:45.640 one point two time speed of sound. 0:12:45.640 --> 0:12:48.160 He's like, yeah, I approved. So I go to super 0:12:48.200 --> 0:12:48.319 you know. 0:12:48.320 --> 0:12:51.120 I go one point two for about about a minute 0:12:51.160 --> 0:12:52.959 a half two minutes, and then he comes back on 0:12:53.000 --> 0:12:54.760 the redo and he's like, yeah, my supervisor's sow what 0:12:54.760 --> 0:12:59.120 we were doing, and he said we couldn't do it anymore. Okay, 0:12:59.160 --> 0:13:01.240 all right, so I swing back down. It helped me 0:13:01.240 --> 0:13:02.719 catch up a little bit of time. But it was 0:13:02.720 --> 0:13:04.280 pretty funny because that was the one time it was 0:13:04.320 --> 0:13:06.520 like legally allowed to go super sonic over the States 0:13:07.200 --> 0:13:08.920 and they were like all on board until they weren't. 0:13:09.400 --> 0:13:12.680 So how far was the trip total time wise? I 0:13:12.720 --> 0:13:13.240 think it was. 0:13:14.120 --> 0:13:16.679 I think it was about hour and a half if 0:13:16.679 --> 0:13:17.559 I recall correctly. 0:13:17.800 --> 0:13:20.240 Yeah, it's still a long time in the cockpit, Yeah 0:13:20.240 --> 0:13:20.560 it is. 0:13:21.360 --> 0:13:24.160 I've done twelve hour flights in the Raptor and the Eagle, 0:13:24.280 --> 0:13:26.000 and it's a long time. To be in that airplane 0:13:26.000 --> 0:13:28.000 for that long, but you also get you know, used 0:13:28.040 --> 0:13:30.400 to it. I'm an average hype build kind of guy 0:13:30.480 --> 0:13:34.160 five ten, you know, and you get comfortable in there. 0:13:34.200 --> 0:13:36.560 And also there's some some cool things you can do 0:13:36.640 --> 0:13:40.200 in terms of like you're you're never flying by yourself, right, 0:13:40.200 --> 0:13:42.240 you're flying with the wingmen. You're flying with somebody else. Yeah, 0:13:42.920 --> 0:13:44.679 so you have like fun games to play crosswords and 0:13:44.679 --> 0:13:46.200 whenever I was back and forth, if you're just not 0:13:46.280 --> 0:13:47.280 doing anything going on, you know. 0:13:47.400 --> 0:13:49.240 So I want to get to because I know that 0:13:49.280 --> 0:13:51.880 there are some stories that you, you and I have shared, Yeah, 0:13:52.040 --> 0:13:54.400 and part of it has to do with passing time there. 0:13:54.480 --> 0:13:57.640 But but before we get to that there, there was 0:13:57.800 --> 0:13:59.920 you remember you guys put me in that fight suit 0:14:00.280 --> 0:14:04.600 yep in anchorage and it's like that it controls the 0:14:04.640 --> 0:14:08.559 g's for what's that what's that suit called? So, yeah, 0:14:09.080 --> 0:14:09.920 just called it a G suit. 0:14:10.360 --> 0:14:11.839 The one you were, the one you had on was 0:14:11.920 --> 0:14:15.000 called an a TAGS which is like the advanced something 0:14:15.040 --> 0:14:19.000 something G garment And effectively it's that one's really nice 0:14:19.000 --> 0:14:21.120 because it's one bladder. So it's a bladder of air 0:14:21.160 --> 0:14:23.680 that goes around your abdomen, your legs and your calves. 0:14:24.240 --> 0:14:26.760 And what it's designed to do is take air from 0:14:26.760 --> 0:14:29.440 the airplane as you're pulling g's inflates to squeeze your 0:14:29.480 --> 0:14:32.280 legs and that allows your upper body to keep the 0:14:32.320 --> 0:14:34.640 blood flow and oxygen that your heart and lungs need 0:14:34.720 --> 0:14:37.360 to and your brain needs to just stay conscious, conscious 0:14:38.320 --> 0:14:40.240 when you're flying and fighting with these airplanes. So, yeah, 0:14:40.280 --> 0:14:41.880 you put that on. You put the surval vest on, 0:14:41.960 --> 0:14:43.360 the harness all crazy. 0:14:43.600 --> 0:14:47.360 Yeah, I mean, it instantly sucks you in and texture 0:14:47.520 --> 0:14:52.800 protects your limbs. But it's working along with the aircraft correct. 0:14:52.920 --> 0:14:56.720 It knows exactly where what to put pressure on and 0:14:56.760 --> 0:14:57.680 when to do it. 0:14:58.440 --> 0:15:00.680 Yeah, I mean, it's a really simplify it's just like 0:15:01.360 --> 0:15:04.200 it's probably way more complicated. I'm not an engineer by trade, 0:15:04.200 --> 0:15:07.080 but imagine like a metal plunger and then you have 0:15:07.120 --> 0:15:09.200 it in this volume of air, and then as you 0:15:09.240 --> 0:15:11.240 pull g's, the g forces pushed down on this which 0:15:11.240 --> 0:15:13.360 then allows airflow to come in. So the more g's 0:15:13.440 --> 0:15:15.840 you pull, the more, you know, I guess, the more 0:15:15.880 --> 0:15:18.680 that plunger drops a lot more airflow into the bladder itself. 0:15:20.320 --> 0:15:21.880 And you're doing this, you know, people go out there 0:15:21.880 --> 0:15:24.240 and fly airplanes. You've probably seen these funny videos on 0:15:24.280 --> 0:15:26.040 social media where people are passing out in the back 0:15:26.080 --> 0:15:29.840 of Yeah, yeah, I ever seen those. So it's like 0:15:29.880 --> 0:15:33.160 these people, they're only focus. Only folks in life right 0:15:33.200 --> 0:15:35.440 now is to not pass out a flying fighter jet. 0:15:35.520 --> 0:15:37.480 You're like, Okay, when you're actually in the airplane, flying 0:15:37.520 --> 0:15:40.320 a fighter jet, you're doing that, but you're also working 0:15:40.360 --> 0:15:42.960 all these switches you're working, You're like looking outside your turn. 0:15:43.040 --> 0:15:45.760 You're contorted because you're fighting other airplanes that are trying 0:15:45.760 --> 0:15:48.680 to potentially kill you. And it's it's a you know, 0:15:48.720 --> 0:15:51.480 it's it's a it's a full contact sport for sure. 0:15:51.520 --> 0:15:55.800 You know, like it's beats you. I've never passed out 0:15:55.800 --> 0:16:00.800 an airplane, thank goodness. Yeah people have. Play no plane 0:16:00.800 --> 0:16:04.280 people have, and you know, like everything else. If you're 0:16:04.320 --> 0:16:06.440 training for a marathon, you don't start borrowing a marathon, 0:16:06.480 --> 0:16:09.280 you start you sure. Yeah, And all the airplanes you 0:16:09.280 --> 0:16:11.360 fly in the Air Force gradually build in terms of 0:16:11.440 --> 0:16:14.120 G capabilities. So the T six, the first one you fly, 0:16:14.240 --> 0:16:15.920 is about five to six g's, and the T three 0:16:16.000 --> 0:16:18.040 it's about seven, and then the F twenty two is 0:16:18.080 --> 0:16:20.640 over nine, and you know it'll pull over nine it's 0:16:20.720 --> 0:16:22.000 it's it's remarkable. 0:16:22.000 --> 0:16:24.160 It's just on your body. 0:16:24.320 --> 0:16:26.520 Yeah, yeah, I mean almost every air show. 0:16:26.800 --> 0:16:29.160 Every year, because you're doing crazy stuff on the shows. 0:16:29.320 --> 0:16:31.400 Yeah, and even even in like the training missions and 0:16:31.400 --> 0:16:35.120 not stuff. All our combat missions were typically dropping We're 0:16:35.200 --> 0:16:38.040 dropping bombs on our commt missions, so like dropping weapons. 0:16:38.040 --> 0:16:40.040 And that's not like very aggressive by any means. It's 0:16:40.040 --> 0:16:43.800 more of just taking information really quickly from somebody else, 0:16:43.920 --> 0:16:46.360 passing information, putting it in correctly in the airplane, and 0:16:46.360 --> 0:16:49.040 making sure in a position to employ the weapons. But 0:16:49.080 --> 0:16:50.840 in the air to air side we do training, there 0:16:50.880 --> 0:16:53.000 are times where you know, you'll pull over nine g's 0:16:53.040 --> 0:16:55.200 for over a minute, you know, and you're just like this. 0:16:55.400 --> 0:16:58.360 You get back like I'm smoked, you know. And I 0:16:58.400 --> 0:17:02.440 do remember this funny story. We were on a we 0:17:02.440 --> 0:17:05.040 were on doing a trip down in Florida, and that's 0:17:05.040 --> 0:17:07.000 where we do a lot of our live missile testing. 0:17:07.880 --> 0:17:10.040 So we were down there and at the time, he 0:17:10.119 --> 0:17:14.159 was the wing commander, was Colonel Colonel Corcoran Corky Corkoran. 0:17:14.600 --> 0:17:16.680 We went out and flew and he went on to 0:17:16.680 --> 0:17:19.280 become a general and he's recently retired. But you know, 0:17:19.320 --> 0:17:22.200 I was a younger guy at the time, and uh, 0:17:22.280 --> 0:17:24.320 you know, he's just you know, full bird colonels. He's 0:17:24.320 --> 0:17:26.280 been around the block quite a bit in flying airplanes. 0:17:26.640 --> 0:17:27.719 I had this great idea. I was like, Oh, we're 0:17:27.800 --> 0:17:29.439 near a training mission and we're gonna go out do 0:17:29.480 --> 0:17:32.240 some dog fighting together. Like I'm a young guy, I've 0:17:32.240 --> 0:17:34.439 got a neck that's still expendable. You know, I can 0:17:34.480 --> 0:17:36.680 still you know, get some g's. It's like, I'm gonna 0:17:36.680 --> 0:17:39.479 get into this like very aggressive, heavy g you know, 0:17:39.720 --> 0:17:44.080 fight with him and we fit Like as we do 0:17:44.160 --> 0:17:46.199