Highway to the Danger Zone!

10Jul08

Cue the music, I got a real live glimpse of Top Gun today aboard the USS Kitty Hawk as part of the Pacific Century Fellows program and it was so awesome that it inspired me to start this blog. I wish I’d thought of this sooner, so I might do retro-posts for the other activities just to share all the great things we’ve gotten to do during our year.

For those who aren’t familiar with PCF, it’s a program started by Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann 10 years ago based on his experience with the White House Fellows program. It gives young leaders in Hawaii’s community the opportunity to learn and interact from various leaders in industry, community and government groups. You can learn more here. And, they are accepting applications until Oct. 31 for the next class, so get your paperwork in now!

Now back to the carrier…

That was a catapult launch off the deck. They shot off a bunch of planes and then…

They came back! Check out the afterburner. From 160 mph to 0 in 6 seconds. It’s called a trap landing and I got to do one myself today. Not in a jet, but it was cool nonetheless. We also did the catapult launch, which was described to me as similar to the Superman ride at Six Flags as far as sensations go. I haven’t been on that ride, but it made me think of the cartoons where your eyes stay pulled out of your head suspended after you’ve been ripped back from somewhere. Sounds bad, but it was actually an awesome experience!

This was my plane… a C-2 Greyhound. Dark and industrial inside, but it looks pretty sweet on the outside:

C-2 Greyhound at Hickam AFB

and, best of all (I’m being sarcastic here) we got to wear the very stylish cranials marked VIP.

Check out the Sassy Cranial Gear. Dead sexy.

Maybe I have a career in military modeling? Probably not.

If you want to see more pictures from the visit, check out my set on Flickr here.

See you back at the hangar… Well, you know what I mean. Next excursion is July 24. Stay tuned for updates along the way.

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Tags: Kitty Hawk, Pacific Century Fellows, PCF