Flying high for 50 years..[ 1771 ]

Flying high for 50 years: The intense world of the Blue Impulse pilot

Jets fly in Delta formation (Photograph taken by Captain Akihiro Harada)

 

 

(Mainichi Japan) September 10, 2010

"Fan break, now!" Over the radio comes the order from plane 1, in the lead. Flying in a diamond-formation, four jet planes close even further the already small distance between them and then all tilt heavily to the right. I'm in plane 4, riding together with the pilot, and our position is below and behind plane 1. Above my head, the planes on either side of us approach so closely that it seems like if I were able to reach out I could touch them.

I'm riding with the 11th squadron of the 4th air group, better known as "Blue Impulse," at the Air Self-Defense Force's (ASDF) Matsushima Air Base in Miyagi Prefecture.

The "Sunrise" stunt, where the jets spread out like the rays of the rising sun. (Mainichi)

At ASDF air shows, Blue Impulse exhibits 27 varieties of stunts over a period of 35 minutes, dependent on weather conditions. Six planes perform the stunts, forming and re-forming into different formations. What I was able to glimpse from the cockpit this day was the harsh world that supports the spectacular shows of Blue Impulse.

We begin a stunt, called "Cupid," where three planes will cooperate to draw a giant pierced heart in the sky. Plane 4's role is to create the "arrow" that pierces the heart, which would bring a rousing cheer from the crowd on the ground below.

The "Fan Break" stunt, where the jets form in a formation so tight it looks like you could reach out and touch the one next to you. (Mainichi)

In the plane, preparing for the stunt, the pilot brings us into a turn so sharp that we experience 6 G, or 6 times the normal force of gravity. Keeping an eye on how planes 5 and 6 are drawing their tail smoke lines, the pilot guides the plane to its position. Just raising my head to check on where we're flying is a struggle. In order to keep my blood from all concentrating in my lower body, I've been squeezed into a suit designed for withstanding G-forces, but it nonetheless feels like consciously tensing my lower abdomen is all that is keeping my vision from going dark.

The sense of relief after finishing our turn is only momentary: the jet rocks violently as we cross through tail smoke. What we are feeling is turbulence from one of the jets drawing the giant heart. Even amidst these harsh conditions, the pilot, 32-year-old Captain Yuichiro Hanai, calmly makes fine adjustments to the emitting tail smoke and brings the jet through and out the other side of the heart.

A smoke arrow pierces a giant smoke heart drawn against the blue sky. (Mainichi)

After the performance is over and I am back on solid ground, I take off the oxygen mask that I had been wearing and find the inside covered with sweat. When I later measure myself on a scale, I find I have dropped a kilogram in weight.

According to the JASDF, the beginning of Blue Impulse was a March 4, 1960, performance at Hamamatsukita Air Base (now Hamamatsu Air Base) in Shizuoka Prefecture. Its name at the time was "Tenryu" (heavenly dragons). Using the then-popular F86F fighter jet, the group gave 545 public flight performances. From January 1982, Blue Impulse began using the T2, the first domestically-produced faster-than-sound high-performance training jet. Although performances were put on hold for a period following an accident, Blue Impulse still gave 175 public performances until Dec. 1995, when they became the "11th squadron" and began using the entirely domestically-produced mid-range practice jet T4.

Pilots, front, and mechanics, back right, practice before a show as Blue Impulse heads into its 50th year. (Mainichi)

The only squadron in the JASDF to have been especially assigned to the purpose of holding air shows, Blue Impulse currently gives around 25 shows a year to a total of around 2 million spectators. An air show on Dec. 19 of this year at Nyutabaru Air Base in Miyazaki Prefecture, is set to become Blue Impulse's 1,000th public performance.

This business year, in addition to air shows at bases, Blue Impulse members will perform in areas that they have rarely visited during their 50-year history. They are scheduled to perform on Sept. 10 and 11 in Akita City at the "Shirase Nankyoku Festa," which will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Nobu Shirase's expedition to the South Pole, the first time a Japanese person ever set foot there. Additionally, on Sept. 25, Blue Impulse is scheduled to perform at the opening ceremony of the National Athletic Meet in Chiba. 

(By Koichiro Iwashita, Photo Department)

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