The ups and downs of a 16-game season can be quite drastic for NFL coaches. But even that doesn’t compare to the twists and turns that come with riding in an F/A-18 Hornet, an experience Vikings Head Coach Brad Childress was treated to this past Wednesday in Duluth.
Coach Childress, who was accompanied by his wife, Dru-Ann, on the trip to Duluth, is set to guide the Vikings through training camp for the third time. On Wednesday, he was guided through the skies as an honorary member of the Blue Angels by Major Nate Miller, a Blue Angels veteran since 2006.
After exiting the aircraft, Coach Childress described the flight as an ‘A’ ride and called the experience “over the top.”
“The good thing about coach today was that he had good spirit and he wanted to do it all,” Major Miller said following the flight. “So we did it all.”
After a preflight briefing and a leisurely taxi down the runway, Major Miller and Coach Childress embarked on a ride that the Vikings head coach will not soon forget. Flying through the clear skies of Northern Minnesota, Major Miller guided his F/A-18 Hornet and Coach Childress through both basic and advanced maneuvers.
“We started off steady and went through some basic maneuvers and then experienced a couple of Gs. We slowly progressed to 4.5 Gs and then up to six Gs before slowing it down and experiencing the slow speed characteristics,” Major Miller explained. “Then we went just shy of the speed of sound, experienced a loop, a split S, the minimum radius turn and vertical rolls with a smoke trail and then had some fun with an inverted ride.”
Coach Childress, usually in a teaching role in front of his players and assistant coaches, took advice from Major Miller during the flight to avoid blackouts while experiencing negative G-forces.
“I had a good coach,” Childress said. “He was telling me what I needed to do. We had a great talk up there; we talked a little football and had good conversation. I learned that the flying puts a lot of stress on the body and I’m amazed that one can get used to doing that all the time and still keep on the ball.”
One point of discussion between Major Miller and Coach Childress both during and after the flight was the importance of teamwork in each of their respective professions.
“We were talking in the cockpit about how there are parallels that exist with all he’s done as a coach and having that teamwork mindset,” Major Miller explained. “We have that, too, in the Navy and Marine Corps team. Whether you’re on the ground or in the air, like coach said, you have to trust that guy next to you in the fox hole or in the air, there’s always that teamwork factor. To see a person who epitomizes teamwork, like a head coach in the NFL, it’s humbling to hear the things he says about us; to have his appreciation is neat.”
Coach Childress, who is always exploring ways to challenge and motivate his team, will surely use his flight experience in one of the military’s top aircraft with one of its top pilots as a teaching point throughout training camp, the 2008 season and the rest of his coaching career.
“The speed involved in their flights, how close they fly next to each other, the teamwork involved with getting this aircraft ready and the precision with which these guys fly, there is no margin for error,” Coach Childress said. “[It was] a thrill of a lifetime; hard to duplicate that right there.”
Beyond applying his experience with the Blue Angels to his coaching career, there was a deeper message Coach Childress expressed following his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with Major Miller.
“The people who defend our country are over the top in their dedication,” he said. “It doesn’t make any difference if they’re on the ground or in the air. You can’t put a price on that and it’s impressive; this was just a little firepower today.”