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Show 11 Street pulls 9Gs in medallist In l P 1VQUU ride F-- 16 Olympic gold says "Whoo!" afterward by Schenley Green Ogden ALC Public Affairs As if flying down hills at breakneck speeds weren't enough for the famous skier, Picabo Street was nicknamed "nueve," Spanish for nine, after she pulled 9.1 Gs on her first flight in an F-1- Hie Olympic gold medallist arrived at the 421 st Fighter Squadron niid morning and spent the day charming the unit with her spunky spirit and her humble nature. I do is nothing compared to what's happening here at Street said. "They're here to protect lives and defend freedom nothing compares to that." Street's admiration for the military actually started long before her visit to Hill. Her father, a former Marine, raised her and her brother in a strict, military fashion. Street now credits her training style to what this has taught her. "What Hill." "Soldiers live a disciplined, regimented lifestyle and so did we," Street said. "This taught me focus, which I use in training for the slopes and plan to use today to stay relaxed enough to enjoy the ride." Street was offered this opportunity after she made a training video for the Air Force offering advice on how to recover from a knee injury. Street said her dedication to the project was driven by her own injury and difficult rehabilitation and this flight was only one of the many blessings that resulted. once-in-a-lifeti- "They asked what they could do for me," Street said. "I told them that I've always wanted to fly in an and here I am!" Before Street could get in the cockpit of the she had to go through a flight physical, emergency egress training and several flight briefings. Although lengthy, these procedures are standard and ensure all passengers are safe to fly and know what to do in case of an emergency. But the time spent training didn't seem to bother Street a bit. F-1-6 F-1- wj j s? &-':ZrsTr- - vi v - . v fSw I J Kj , f I I t lid . ; y r) For every hour these pilots are in the air, there's been 10 spent in training. I go through the same thing before I can take my one minute ride downhill. Picabo Street pilot, Capt. Korey Amundson, 421st Fighter Squadron, takes Street on a ride of a lifetime, top. Street suits up in official flight gear (left), and learns proper breathing techniques from a squadron member (above). Street tells reporters about her "gnarly" ride. F-- Street said that, like any pilot, she too knows the ratio of time spent training to time spent in action. "For every hour these pilots are in the air, there's been 10 spent training. I go through the same thing before I can take my one minute ride downhill." After her simulator training and a short lunch, it was time to fly. "I already know I won't forget this day as long as I live," Street said, "and I haven't even gone up yet." in action. She said Street was definitely looking for some she planned to be in the air as long as she could handle it and hopefully use up all her gas. ht ... tftp $ pi f "It's like getting ready for the gnarliest roller coaster ever. Oh yeah," Street laughed, "I had a turkey sandwich for lunch. Let's just hope we don't see it again!" Pilot Capt. Korey Amundson took Street on her "gnarly" ride, and for her, he held nothing back. The fighter jet reached speeds of more than nine times the force of gravity and flew to more than 17,000 feet. The ride lasted an hour and 13 minutes and covered airspace from the Salt Flats near Wendover to the downhill course at Snowbasin where Street plans to participate in the 2002 Olympics. "We got over the speed of sound," Amundsen said, "and she was awesome. Even when it got pretty rough, she wanted more." Picabo did end up losing that turkey sandwich, but understandably so. She handled speeds few other guest passengers reach. A ? I ' v "The taxi back was a little rough, she was pretty beat up " Amundson said. "After we parked, she crawled out so slowly it scared me. But then, when she turned around to go down the ladder, she stopped, threw up her arms and screamed 'Whoool' Just like typical Picabo." LJLj L-- S- Seymour Johnson welcomes youth to STARBASE by Airman 1st Class Travis Riley 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs STARBASE marks its 10th year in partnership with Seymour Johnson AFB. The program provides a fun and educational environment for children, minus all the school-worwhich the children really seem to enjoy, said Connie Atkinson, a retired schoolteacher and STARBASE k, SEYMOUR JOHNSON AFB.N.C. (AFPN) For many children in North Carolina, sum- mer camp means two weeks full of bugs, scrapes and bruises, sunburns and poison ivy. "I really like it because of all the things we get to try," sajd Ashleigh Dean, a that For a select few, camp this year means participant. "Everyone is so nice to us. fighter jets, flight simulators, air traffic They have been.happy to answer any quescontrol towers and a virtual-realitparachute tion that we have asked them." E and try some hands-o- n activities. "I think it's important for children to start early if being an aviator or having a career in the Air Force is an option they want to pursue later on in their life," said Atkinson. "It's nice that Seymour takes an interest in the kids and allows us to have the program here." STARBASE programs happen in other parts of the country, but Seymour's is the only one hosted by an active-dutmilitary base. y children are getMore than 60 school-ageting the chance to do all this through a program called Science and Technical Academies Reinforcing Basic Space and Exploration. d about topics like Newton's laws of motion, compass reading, and rockets. In the afternoon, they tour different sections of the base STAR-BAS- E STARBASE wrapped up June 22 with a grad- The children involved are thankful as well "All of the things they allow us to do, like the (air traffic control) tower and building rockets, is awesome," said Allie Mouw, a "It's always one of the children's favorite activities," said Atkinson. (Courtesy of Air the children start out at for Seymour's participation each year. Meadowlane Elementary School to learn In the morning, Jean Rothwell, an instructor in the program, said the children's enthusiasm makes it easy for her to teach. "The kids are so highly interested in everything that we do. It's so motivating for me to see that in their faces and their cheers." uation. Before that, the children got to participate in one more activity: They launched the rockets they had been building for a week. y simulator. student at STARBASE this year. "They must have a whole lot of patience to put up with all of us." ld Combat Command News Service) |