Air Force pilot Major Kristin ‘Beo’ Wolfe is on Cloud 9 predicting the Super Bowl LVI flyover – Orange County Register
US Air Force Major Kristin Wolfe grew up as what she calls “a military kid”.
“My father was an Air Force pilot,” she said.
Like Major Wolfe, one of the five pilots will have a slot to participate in the flyover during the Super Bowl LVI pre-Super Bowl LVI anthem between the Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday at SoFi . Stadium in Inglewood.
Usually, these flyovers are made in conjunction with a fleet of aircraft. In this case, there will be five different planes, from older to just coming off the assembly line.
“This is the 75th anniversary of the Air Force, so it’s our birthday and so we wanted to do something special that you don’t see every day,” said Lt Col. Chris McAlear , who will be in charge of the ground said directing the flyover.
Two Air Force officers spoke Thursday from the Combined Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos. That is, since Wednesday, all five aircraft have performed a test run on SoFi.
Participating aircraft will be the World War II-era fighter P-51 Mustang, leading the charge; followed by an F-16 Viper; F-35A Lightning II; F-22 Raptor; and the A-10 Warthog.
Major Wolfe has only made one flyover in her 11 years in the Air Force — over Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia — so to say she’s excited about the opportunity is a bit of a stretch.
“Being able to fly a formation of five ships that we have never flown before is pretty cool,” she said.
She explained.
“I mean, it’s just an honor,” Wolfe said. “It is a once in a lifetime experience to be part of a squad that can make it through the Super Bowl, less so than any other sporting event. So it’s really unique, it’s really fun.
“It’s exciting for all the teams to be able to be a part of it; we also have a lot of maintenance people (aircraft) here. For them to be able to go to LA, go to the Super Bowl and watch the planes fly by is really great.”
Major Wolfe went into great detail about what it means to be a pilot on the F-35A Lightning II.
“The plane was amazing,” said Wolfe. “It’s the newest and greatest fighter we have. Fighters are on the ramp right now. We just got them off the factory line about six months ago, so it’s the best technology we have. ”
Major Wolfe smiled as she spoke, which seemed to reflect her anticipation.
“It would be great to fly an aircraft assigned to our squadron back to Utah (at Hill Air Force Base) in 2021, that’s 136 hours up there, you know?” she speaks. “To be able to showcase that aircraft next to that aircraft is a World War II aircraft – the P-51 Mustang – in the same formation along with a number of fourth generation fighters and Another Thursday, just the perfect lineup for everyone to see and represent the Air Force. ”
Lieutenant Colonel McAlear has performed two previous Super Bowl flyovers, including Super Bowl LII held in 2018 at Bank of America Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. This is a dome stadium. SoFi is covered, but clear, so fans can see the flyover from their seats.
But McAlear was quick to note that the P-51 Mustang will be fitted with a camera to live-stream the flyover on a large screen inside the SoFi. Not to mention that millions upon millions of television viewers will be able to see every second clearly from their living room.
McAlear acknowledged that timing the flyover with television production teams and individuals singing the national anthem live was not an easy task. Sunday will be sung by country music artist Mickey Guyton and the goal is that the flyover happens it is coming to an end.
“It was stressful, I’ll tell you that,” McAlear said. “As long as everything goes well, I’m probably the most relieved in the stadium.”
He was smiling.
Regarding her hobby of roots, Major Wolfe admits she’s more of a college football fan and that she holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Alabama. She said she’s hopeful that New England will make it to the Super Bowl because the Patriots are led by former Crimson Tide quarterback Mac Jones.
Since that doesn’t come true, she’s rooting for the Bengali.
“Now I have to cheer for Joe Burrow,” she said, of the Cincinnati quarterback off LSU. “He’s an SEC guy.”
Steve Hinton was the only civilian pilot on this flyover. He will be in a P-51 Mustang (Air Force Heritage Flight Organization, Chino). The other three Air Force pilots were Captain Haden “Gator” Fullan (A-10 Warthog, Davis Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona), Major Garrett “Toro” Schmitz (F-16 Viper, Air Force Base). Shaw, South Carolina) and Major Josh “Cabo” Gunderson (F-22 Raptor, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia).
https://www.ocregister.com/2022/02/10/air-force-pilot-major-kristin-beo-wolfe-is-on-cloud-9-in-anticipation-of-super-bowl-lvi-flyover/ Air Force pilot Major Kristin ‘Beo’ Wolfe is on Cloud 9 predicting the Super Bowl LVI flyover – Orange County Register