News

And so it begins -- Thunderbirds advance team visits Robins

  • Published
  • By Jenny Gordon
  • Robins Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  The skies were crystal clear Feb. 11, but if you were paying attention, you could hear the thunder over Georgia.

Flying an F-16 Fighting Falcon, two members of the Air Force's Thunderbirds team flew about 10 minutes surveying the runway, observing landmarks and getting a view of the land below before touching down and taxiing in front of Bldg. 110.

They had spent just under two hours flying from Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, and were at Robins to conduct a site visit with several base representatives.

Maj. Scott Petz, known by the unofficial call sign of Thunderbird 8, is the team's advance pilot and narrator. He's responsible for coordinating such things as logistical details at show sites, and is the voice you'll hear describing maneuvers during this October's Thunder over Georgia Air Show here.

"It's a really cool opportunity to go week to week to air shows and put on a high-performance jet demonstration," said Petz, a South Dakota native who's wanted to be a pilot since he was 9-years old.

"There's a ton of work that your community members are putting into the air show that's coming up in October, and it starts this far out," he said. "We want to make sure your airfield is ready to go for the show, and it is - it looks great."

Petz was accompanied by Staff Sgt. Conrad Nelson, a tactical aircraft maintainer, both flying in a two-seat model. He explained that when Thunderbirds conduct an air show, they have a fairly large footprint of 106 people on a team. That includes active duty Air Force, civilians, Reservists and Air National Guard personnel.

"There's so much enjoyment from being able to represent these airmen that are serving," said Petz. "We also get out and get involved in the community; we talk at schools, we go to hospitals and we get involved with Make-A-Wish. The fun and rewarding events that we do in the community is also awesome."

In less than eight months, one of the most anticipated events in Middle Georgia will take place right here at Robins. According to Petz, this year's show season will begin Feb. 21 at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., and will include 67 shows in 36 locations in more than 26 states.

Site surveys such as this week's allow team members to not only generate publicity, but to also get "eyes on," said Petz. It gives him visual reference points so he can get an up-close of the air space since the team performs a very "visual maneuvers package."

A site visit is very much conducted for safety reasons, he added, giving the example of where the team will park jets while on station so it doesn't affect the crowd area.

"Not every air show that we go to has the wonderful concrete, the huge ramp," he said.
"America's Ambassadors in Blue," whose last visit to Robins was in 2009, will include a team of 65 people for a standard show site. Along with eight F-16 aircraft, a C-17 support plane is also present, carrying additional personnel and equipment.

By October, it will have been 63 years since the Air Force's official air demonstration team was created in May 1953. Designated the 3600th Air Demonstration Unit, the demo team was activated at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.

The flying unit is officially known as the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, and flies the F-16 Fighting Falcon.  

Its aerial demonstrations can include 40 maneuvers with formation flying and solo routines, with a squadron of nearly 130 airmen who serve in more than two dozen Air Force job specialties. A team of 12 officers can include veteran fighter pilots, an operations officer, advance pilot and narrator, as well as support officers who provide medical, administrative, maintenance and public affairs duties.

The last Robins Air Show was in 2012 when the Blue Angels, the U.S. Navy's Flight Demonstration Squadron, headlined the event, which drew a crowd of nearly 200,000 people over a two day-period in April.