It’s that time of year for lists - the highest, the fastest, the best-dressed, the hotels with the best restaurants, the lake with the most alligators. You get the picture. At the end of each year, I put together my own list of the top adventures I’ve participated in over the prior 12 months.
This time, a good many have come from events the U.S. Air Force has allowed me to participate in, and write about.
So here goes, in no particular order, with links to each story at the end of this one. Flight To The Edge Of Space In A U-2: After seven years of planning, this past summer I finally was able to take a ride in the backseat of a U-2 spy plane out of Beale AFB, California, where the historic aircraft is stored, and still operated. The flight was fascinating, as above 70,000 feet one can see the blackness of space, curvature of the Earth and landmarks on the ground below for an expanse of hundreds of miles around.
Fun? Not really. My heavy yellow space suit, protecting me from the near-vacuum at the edge of space, was claustrophobic, cumbersome and uncomfortable. No matter, what a once-in-a-lifetime experience a select handful of civilians have ever had.
Thank you, USAF. The long wait was worth it. Seeing Solar Eclipse From 30,000 Feet: This past April, I was invited to Sheppard AFB in Texas to witness a total solar eclipse from a T-38 fighter jet at 30,000 feet.
Despite the fact that, from that vantage point we were guaranteed the event wouldn’t be obfuscated by cloud co.
