Tour group gets feel for Air Force
by 2nd Lt. David Tomiyama
33rd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
4/28/2005 - EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFPN) -- Graduating students from the Tennessee School for the Blind received a “hands on” tour April 26 of an F-15 Eagle, pilot’s life-support equipment and the tools used to maintain the aircraft during a class trip here.
The tour started when 1st Lt. Tim Monroe, an F-15 pilot, gave a quick briefing on the F-15. The students then tried on life-support equipment including a helmet and survival vest and then handled maintenance tools. Then the students moved on to the F-15’s missiles nearby on a transportation rack.
“The missiles were awesome. I can’t imagine how they’d fire off a jet,” said Shannon Bowen, a student. “You think of missiles as something else. I thought they’d have wires sticking out and not be metal.”
The tour culminated with the students sitting in an F-15 cockpit and receiving a certificate for their visit.
“I had a picture in my mind that the plane would be (smaller) because I’ve only felt toy planes,” Shannon said.
The students were excited to get a tour of an F-15, especially Shannon. She kept telling her friends that she would be the only one who could say she sat in an aircraft, said Wayne Soben, the trip coordinator.
“They’ve been talking about the fighter jets all week, nonstop,” said Margaret Tucker, a school teacher.
The Nashville school is a state school for residents of Tennessee and has 180 students with 15 graduating this year. Student ages run between 4 and 22 years old. The school offers a variety of services to children with visual impairments. These include both assessment and direct educational services. The senior trip is the culmination of everything the student has done at the school, the last activity before they leave.
This tour is something they will remember all their lives, Ms Tucker said.
“They were awesome,” said Staff Sgt. Tracy Myers, a maintenance instructor. “It was just like we were showing them the most amazing thing for the first time. They now have stories they can tell their friends and family for the rest of their lives.”
Other Airmen who helped with the tour agreed.
“I think the kids were really impressed with the Eagle and its capabilities. They loved touching the aircraft and listening to the sounds of the flightline,” said Capt. Jason Loe, an F-15 pilot.
While in Florida, the students stayed on the beach in Panama City and had a chance to swim in the Gulf of Mexico.
“I’ll take the F-15 over the water any day,” Shannon said. |
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