An Extraordinary Stadium Flyover.
I took the image above about 25 years ago when I lived in Colorado. It was not uncommon to see low flying military jets in the area, after all, the Air Force Academy (AFA) is located just north of Colorado Springs, and the Falcons home games often had flyovers.
I lived in the Springs for five years and attended a few AFA football games at Falcon Stadium.
This particular football game was played between the AFA team and the United States Naval Academy (USNA) team, it was referred to as a ‘Military Day’ event, the game took place at Falcon Stadium. There has been a long rivalry between the Navy and the Air Force football teams, the stadium was always packed.
I was to meet up with my friends at Falcon Stadium to watch the Saturday afternoon Air Force vs Navy football game. It was about an hour drive for my friends, they lived in Elizabeth, so the plan was for me to get to the stadium first and get parking spots close to the stadium.
After I parked my pickup I left my driver side door open and cranked the radio up as I put a lawn chair in the spot next to me, sitting in the chair, reserving that parking spot for my friends car once they arrived.
After a while I realized it was getting close to kickoff time so I called my friend Mike to find out how close they were to the Stadium. Apparently they had run into some traffic and it would be another 20 min. before they arrived. I was a little disappointed, but that’s how life goes sometimes.
Soon I heard the marching band playing inside the stadium and I realized the game was about to start. It was then that I noticed an Air Force jet about a mile away, racing toward me at treetop level. He was over Air Force Academy property, so there were no houses or businesses affected by his low altitude.
It only took the jet a few seconds to reach me. I was parked fairly close to the stadium, maybe 125 feet from the entrance. I remember thinking the plane “seemed kind of low to be flying over the stadium”. In fact, for a second, I was concerned it would crash into the building. It was then I realized the jet was coming toward me and was raising its nose, causing it to slow down.
Now the plane was directly overhead, with the nose pointed to the sky and it’s exhaust ports pointing down toward me. Its tail-end seemed to be about 150-200 feet over my head as it hung in the air for just a few seconds, then the pilot ignited the afterburners and it shot straight up like a rocket.
I was looking directly at the exhaust when the afterburners kicked in.
It was like looking into a blast furnace, with bright orange, red, and yellow flames racing out of the duel exhaust while the glow from the afterburners lit up the daytime sky and the shock-wave cascaded toward the ground.
The powerful shock-wave pushed down on me and literally shook the cars in the immediate area. In response to that movement, about 25-30 car alarms went off simultaneously in the cars surrounding me, they kept beeping and howling with lights flashing for another 30 seconds or so.
To say the jet and the car alarms were loud would be an understatement. IT WAS LOUD!
I don’t recall feeling any heat from the flames, but I sure did feel the shock-wave as it slammed into my body, almost knocking me down.
When the plane was close it lifted it’s nose , causing the plane to drastically lose speed and seem to come to a stop in a vertical position just above me.
The plane seemed to hang in the air for a few seconds before it accelerated to the clouds with afterburners full ablaze.
You better believe that was one of the most exciting things I’ve ever experienced. Here I was, alone, in the middle of a large stadium parking lot jumping up and down like a child, displaying more excitement than a man in his late 40’s should be allowed to display in public.
I didn’t care how silly I looked, this was a once in a lifetime moment, and I enjoyed every second of it.
The End
YouTube Video
https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxPVdYZp1BgICcNtXJON48VZhnvKZXD0WL?si=Xp2dJ3A7EpO2ThcI
If you are interested, the above link leads to a short (15 s.) YouTube video of an F-22 Raptor performing a similar maneuver to the one I experienced at Falcon Stadium. Unfortunately, at my subscription rate, WordPress won’t allow me to post videos, so all I can do is display the link. I’ve added three screen-shots from the video as examples of the plane I saw with the text above. They are shown in sequence (#1,#2,#3).
*In the full video the jet actually maneuvers horizontally after the momentary vertical stop. In my experience the jet continued to fly vertically, like a rocket, from the momentary stop. You can see the full 3:28 video here, you may have to clink on the ‘watch full video’ link.
On Reflection:
Afterward, I remember thinking what it must have looked like to those inside the stadium. They couldn’t see the jet coming, it was so low to the ground, but they probably heard it. Their first image of the F-22 would be of it shooting straight up from just outside the stadium like a rocket.
What a great way to begin the multiple flyovers that they provide on special events like ‘Military Day’.
Looking back, I can’t believe how fortunate I was to witness this event from such a unique vantage point.
Many things had to ‘line up’ in order for me to have the experience I did.
- I went to the football game
- I parked exactly in the right area
- My friends were late, causing me to wait
- The jet flew directly over my head
I missed the opening kickoff and a few minutes of the first quarter, but it was well worth it. I’d make that trade again in a heartbeat.
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Thanks for reading my article.
Info Sources: In addition to my personal experience, most ‘researched’ information was gathered from the websites noted below and various Google searches.
- Visit the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor Wikipedia page to learn more about this amazing flying machine.
- For more info about the AFA Falcon Football Stadium visit it’s Wikipedia page.
- Visit the Air Force Academy visitors website and take a virtual tour, plan your visit, and more.
- *Public Domain WikiMedia image used with permission via Creative Commons License BY-SA 3.0 Deed and/or BY-SA 4.0 Deed
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