EDWARDS AIR SHOW; DREAM COMES TRUE FOR FAN OF THUNDERBIRDS.Byline: Greg Botonis Staff Writer Flying with the Thunderbirds is a dream come true to Maj. Bradley D. Bartels. The Woodland Hills native decided to become a pilot after watching the Thunderbirds as a boy at Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. . ``I've wanted to fly fighters since I was a kid,'' said Bartels, who is part of the precision flying team that will perform Saturday and Sunday at Edwards' annual air show. ``My dad drug us to air shows to see these pilots perform, and these guys were just incredible.'' After graduating from Canoga Park High School Canoga Park High School is a public school located in Canoga Park in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California, USA, within the Los Angeles Unified School District. It is located right across the street from the Topanga Plaza shopping center. in 1982, Bartels went to the Air Force Academy. After his academy graduation, he learned to fly the F-16 fighter jet - the Air Force's lightest, most maneuverable fighter - in a grueling six-month course. In 1989, he was sent to the 421st Fighter Squadron at Hill Air Force Base in Utah, then went to the Persian Gulf Persian Gulf, arm of the Arabian Sea, 90,000 sq mi (233,100 sq km), between the Arabian peninsula and Iran, extending c.600 mi (970 km) from the Shatt al Arab delta to the Strait of Hormuz, which links it with the Gulf of Oman. for operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Most of the 2,800 hours he has spent in the air came while flying 33 combat missions in the gulf. After the war, he went to work as an instructor at Luke Air Force Base Luke Air Force Base (IATA: LUF, ICAO: KLUF) is a large Air Force Base located west of Phoenix on the outskirts of the city of Glendale, Arizona. It has eight squadrons of F-16 Fighting Falcons and it is used to train pilots flying Sorties at Barry M. in Arizona, where he was recruited for the Thunderbirds. ``It was a real honor,'' said Bartels, who is stationed at Nellis Air Force Base Nellis Air Force Base (IATA: LSV, ICAO: KLSV) is a United States Air Force base, in Clark County, Nevada, on the northeast side of Las Vegas. It is also treated as a census-designated place by the United States Census for statistical purposes, and so specific near Las Vegas with his wife, Lisa, and daughter Cassidy. ``The guys are all incredible pilots. Flying is a job I don't think anything else could match.'' Bartels flies the No. 2 jet, which fills the left position in the team's diamond formation. ``The work is intense,'' Bartels said. ``You're flying 18 inches away from another plane. You can't even sneeze sneeze, involuntary violent expiration of air through the nose and mouth. It results from stimulation of the nervous system in the nose, causing sudden contraction of the muscles of expiration. or you'll lose it. You have to have total concentration and total control.'' The Thunderbirds perform at 3:50 p.m. today and Sunday at the Edwards show. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos, Map Photo: (1 -- Color in AV only) The Golden Knights jump Friday from a Fokker F27 over Edwards Air Force Base. (2--Color -- Ran in AV only) Golden Knights members put on their jumpsuits aboard the Fokker F27. David R. Crane/Staff Photographer Map: EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE Edwards Air Force Base can be entered three ways. From the Antelope Valley Freeway The Antelope Valley Freeway is a freeway in Los Angeles and Kern counties in southern California. It is signed as California State Highway 14 along its length. It connects Greater Los Angeles to the rapidly developing Antelope Valley. (14), take the Rosamond exit and drive east on Rosamond Boulevard into the base. Edwards can also be reached via Highway 58 near North Edwards and via 120th Street East, east of Lancaster. |
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