Flying With the US Army Golden Knights

41 years as a radio broadcaster and almost that many years going to air shows. And honestly, I have had some really great experiences being a media person at an air show, but this one, flying with the United States Army Golden Knights during the Texarkana Airshow, was so amazing and different from anything else I have ever done. It was awesome.

The Meeting Begins

My name is Jim, I live in Texarkana, and I am a flying addict. Pretty much any kind of flying will do, but I especially love going up in old warbirds and now, apparently, flying with US Army Parachute Demonstration teams.

When the Texarkana Airshow media relations people asked if I wanted to go up with the Golden Knights, believe me, there was no hesitation... just tell me when and where. It turned out to be the experience of a lifetime.

So... What Happened?

We got to watch these young professionals prep their gear and practice everything on the ground before the jump. Went through introductions, got our briefing from Sgt Michaela (pictured below). Signed our lives away, and next-of-kin info, just in case. Loaded up with the Knights into the C147A, watched them suit up while listening to music like Ella Langley and the Spice Girls... who knew? I was strapped in wearing sweatpants and a jacket, which seemed silly in 92-degree heat on the ground, but up around 12,500 feet, we were all glad to have the extra warmth since cabin temps dropped to about 40 degrees and breezy.

We watched the Golden Knights plan the drop, adjust the plane angle to get everything just right, and then hurl themselves out of a perfectly good airplane. It was mind-blowing. The plane ride lasted over an hour, but since it only takes about 4-5 minutes for the jumpers to reach the ground, the C-147's pilots have to hightail it back down to airport altitude for the photo op that many of you got with the Knights on the ground show-center and the plane flying down the runway behind them. Yeah, I was in there for that. I'm also pretty sure I left my stomach at 12,000 feet or so. No big deal, it caught up with me a short time later.

Back On The Ground

Jim and Tiffany with Sgt. Michaela - Golden Knights Black Team Leader - Photo: JimWeaver

My co-worker Tiffany (who also flew) and I had a chance to grab a picture with Sgt. Michaela, after we were all back on the ground and cooling off inside Signature Aviation. The sergeant was our liaison during today's experience with the Golden Knights, and she was magnificent. Extremely professional, very polite, always checking on us and making sure we were okay and had everything we needed. Great job!.

I've posted a few Short videos on my Facebook. If you haven't seen those, feel free to sneak a peek. I will be posting more.

The gallery below is pretty much everything up to and just after the jump.
I want to thank the Texarkana Airshow folks for allowing me to do that, and the Golden Knights for being who they are, what they are, and what they do. Freedom ain't free. Never has been, never will be. And thanks to young people like this, we just might be able to keep it a little bit longer.

Happy 250th birthday, America. God bless the USA, and God bless the US Army Golden Knights.

GoArmy.com/golden-knights