Laughlin instructor pilot selected for USAF Thunderbirds

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Austin M. May
  • 47th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Capt. Jake Hammons is about to trade in the gray T-38s of the 434th Fighter Training Squadron for something a little more... flashy.

Chances are, the next time he flies in a formation over Laughlin, it will be in the Left Wing position of the United States Air Force Thunderbirds signature diamond formation.

Captain Hammons was notified May 29 of his selection to join the Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team, who travel all over the country, and sometimes the world, communicating the Air Force message and showcasing its technology.

"I was extremely excited, and surprised, when I found out I'd been selected," he said.

After months of intense interviews, from one-on-one question-and-answer sessions to review boards in front of the entire team, Captain Hammons was selected along with three other pilots to join the team for two air show seasons, starting next March.

"There are strict requirements to even try out," he said. "This was my second year trying out, and I'm really looking forward to traveling and telling the Air Force story."

Captain Hammons flew F-15s at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, before becoming an instructor pilot and teaching new generations of fighter pilots their basic maneuvers in the T-38 Talon.

While the jet he'll be flying will be new to him, the maneuvers he will be performing will be the same ones he teaches students during Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals.

According to Staff Sgt. Russ Martin, Thunderbirds Public Affairs, the training process for learning to fly with the team takes all the normal skills of a fighter pilot and hones them, forcing the pilots to fly standard combat maneuvers faster and more tactically.

"The show is essentially the same maneuvers our combat pilots use every day," Sergeant Martin said. "The Thunderbirds just fly them in much tighter formations and much closer to the ground."

Captain Hammons, the youngest pilot to be selected for the team this year, said he is excited to learn how to fly the F-16, which will take three months at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona.

"This will be the third aircraft I've flown in my short career," he said. "It's a great honor."

The captain, a Houston, Texas, native said while he can't wait to fly the Viper, his heart lies with the Eagle.

"After my tour with the Thunderbirds, I'll probably go back to the F-15," he said.

Whatever the distant future holds for Captain Hammons and his family, it is the next three years that have them most excited.

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I'm really excited for him," said Sydney-Ann Hammons, the captain's wife. She and their two-year-old daughter, Alexandra, will move to Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., where the Thunderbirds are stationed.

"We know he's going to be gone a lot of the time, but this is such a neat experience," she said. "I think it will be an incredible experience for our daughter to see her daddy as a role model for the Air Force."

After his training at Luke, Captain Hammons will enter a grueling training program at Nellis, where he will regularly fly twice daily in preparation for the 2009 air show season.

As he switches from the sage green flight suit to the dark blue one worn by the team, Captain Hammons said he can't wait to represent the Air Force, recruit new Airmen and help retain the Air Force's current members.

"That's the Thunderbirds' mission," he said.