Huntsman zips and flips in F-16
He breaks sound barrier and doesn't lose lunch
In a high-speed guided tour aboard one of the 419th Fighter Wing's F-16s, Huntsman also endured aerial twists and turns at one point reaching nine G's, or nine times the force of gravity and buzzed his workplace before returning to Hill Air Force Base.
Going supersonic seemed to suit the governor. "He is the first governor to fly in an F-16 and not lose his lunch," said spokeswoman Tammy Kikuchi.
Maj. Paul Delmonte, an F-16 pilot from the Hill's 419th Fighter Wing, said Huntsman was in for a rough ride. Delmonte said about 70 percent of the guests who take a guest ride on the F-16 get pretty queasy.
"You almost make yourself so nervous," Delmonte said. "There's a little bit of disorientation because the airplane moves so aggressively, sometimes it's difficult to determine where you are in space."
Huntsman looked like he was enjoying himself, giving a thumbs-up before jetting off to the pilots of an Air National Guard refueling tanker that his plane met in midair.
"It's pretty impressive to look out the bottom of a KC-135 and see your boss," said Mike Mower, Huntsman's legislative liaison, who was a passenger along with other governor staff members and news reporters on the large KC-135.
"Have a nice ride, Mr. Governor," Master Sgt. John Salazar said as the F-16 finished refueling.
"Thanks very much, thanks for your support," Huntsman said to the crew.
The Utah Air National Guard operates 10 KC-135s out of its Salt Lake base.
The group hosts a variety of missions, from homeland security to combat abroad. A group of airmen recently returned from a 30-day deployment to Turkey where the KC-135 refueled aircraft supporting both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
Salazar said crews will work as many as 25 hours straight on some missions.
"We drink a lot of water," Salazar said when asked how he can stay awake for so many hours straight.
E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com
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