Many people have a bucket list to accomplish during their lifetime. I had the opportunity to fly in C-130 aircraft during the past Memorial Day Weekend. Now that we are enjoying the Fourth of July weekend and party to celebrate the birth of our country,
I wanted to share the G forces and zero gravity our troops experience on board Fat Albert, a C-130 plane that transports, people, supplies and equipment for our armed forces. The experience was incredible. Here is some footage of the day’s preparation and the actual ride.
The Jones Beach Air Show was sponsored by Bethpage Federal Credit Union hosted the largest flying air show in the history of the event. The C-130 Hercules is just one of several flying machines in the air during the show. The quad prop affectionately known as “Fat Albert” is flown by a crew of pilots and enlisted aircrew. It can climb thousands of feet quickly and passengers and crew will experience G forces of up to G3. G force is a difficult thing to handle, the pressure on you body is intense and it make some people sick.
Each passenger was handed an envelope with a barf bag inside. Of the media, marines and soldiers, only a handful got sick. Thankfully, I made it through the ordeal unscathed but definitely emerged with a new respect for the soldiers and found myself legs shaking from the ride.
What made me want to do it? American pride. I wanted to experience what it takes for a young man or woman to defend our country and go up in a plane to do battle. All I can say is Go Navy! Go Marines! You rock!
