FLY LIKE AN ANGEL: AVIATION DAYS PREVIEW OFFERED

Residents of Delta, Chaffee and other towns southwest of the Cape Girardeau airport were treated to a preview Wednesday of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, scheduled to perform this weekend at Cape Aviation Days.

The Navy Flight Demonstration Squad's only two-seat F/A-18 Hornet performed aerial acrobatics over the area Wednesday, as Lt. Cmdr. Dave Stewart gave rides to three Cape Girardeau media representatives.

Stewart said he doubts there's any better way to promote the Blue Angels than to offer news media rides in one of the Navy's most versatile tactical aircraft.

After a briefing on what the novice riders would experience aboard the Hornet, Greg Braden, Stewart's crew chief, helped each passenger into a seat at the rear of the jet's cramped cockpit.

It wasn't long before the rider put Braden's instructions on contending with increased gravity forces (Gs) to the test.

With its combination of high power and light weight, the F/A-18 features impressive maneu~ver~ability, climb and acceleration. Stewart demonstrated all three in his take-off.

Describing it after the flight, he said: "On take-off, I demonstrated a high-performance climb. Basically at 300 mph, I pulled the nose up 45 degrees and we accelerated to about 15,000 feet."

Although Stewart described the tactic in "matter-of-fact" terms, the take-off forced his passenger to strain against four or five "Gs."

"Hookkkkk," the passenger grunted, holding the K as he strained to keep blood from leaving his brain and causing a black-out. Braden made certain each of the passengers rehearsed the "hook maneuver" prior to boarding the Hornet.

"How you doing?" asked Stewart, barely altering his own breathing as he pulled the out of the climb and started a "wing-over" into what would be a flying formation if the other Hornets were in the sky. "That's incredible ... Great," the exhilarated rider responded.

Stewart then demonstrated the effects of Gs, when he performed two, three and four-G turns. The effect was startling.

At two Gs, the rider could easily lift his hand only slightly heavier in the cockpit. But at three and four Gs, the sensation intensified until he was more worried about grunting "hookkkk" than whether he could still lift his hand by then four times its normal weight.

Stewart then performed long, vertical loops in the aircraft. With the full Blue Angels squadron, this maneuver is done with four Hornets side-by-side, separated only by a few feet.

The passenger who even was allowed to fly the jet for a short time was treated to inverted flying, a number of rolls, and a demonstration of the Hornet's incredible acceleration when Stewart took the Hornet from about 150 mph to close to 600 mph in a matter of seconds.

Stewart said the acrobatics performed by the Blue Angels aren't just for show. They are simply refinements of techniques learned by every fighter pilot for use in combat situations, he said.

And Stewart knows those techniques well.

He was commissioned in December 1981 and received his wings in 1983 after completing intermediate and advanced jet training. He's also a graduate of the Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN), and with more than 3,000 flight hours and 290 carrier landings under his belt, he's no rookie.

Stewart, who will narrate this weekend's air show from the ground, said he tries to make the media rides as similar to the full show as possible without going too far.

"If something were to happen, it's a matter of somebody getting sick," he said. "But you can pretty much tell up there if somebody's had enough. It's pretty easy to tell what somebody can handle and not handle after only a few maneuvers."

Stewart joined the Blue Angels last October, and although he doesn't fly in the main Blue Angels show, he said it's just as rewarding giving demonstrations to people who may have never flown, let alone in a tactical, supersonic jet.

"It's real rewarding to see people's reactions," he said. "It's kind of neat to see their reaction on ground before the flight and then see it again when they're up in the air."

The pilot urged spectators to come see the show this weekend.

"They are going to see the most aggressively dynamic precision jet team flying that they will ever see in their life," Stewart said.