SUMTER, S.C. — A Shaw Air Force Base F-16 fighter jet and its pilot are making a special appearance in a never-before-seen flyover at Super Bowl LVI on February 13.
Air Force Pilot Major Garrett Schmitz will join four other pilots who are participating in what is called the Heritage Flight flyover.
“There’s gonna be a P-51, Then there’s gonna be a F-16, F-35, F-22, and A-10 in a big delta formation,” Schmitz said.
Schmitz said he was excited when he found out and called it a dream come true.
“Every airshow pilot wants to get the chance to fly over,” said Schmitz.
Most airshows have four aircraft in the sky together at most. It’s a special debut as the Air Force celebrates its 75th Anniversary.
“I think it’s a good representation of the 75 years of history of our Air Force combined into one package and broadcast on the biggest stage in the world,” said Schmitz.
Environmental electrical technician Jordan Brown-Stobbe said the F-16 demo crew has already been preparing for all eyes to be on them.
“That involves everything from preparatory launch outs to bringing the jet back in, and then the overall demonstration which is mainly repetition but it gets us ready for it,” said Brown-Stobbe
Brown-Stobbe said this flyover is a first for him for more reasons than one.
“I’ve never been to an NFL game or anything, so for this to be my first opportunity, I couldn’t be more excited for it,” said Brown-Stobbe.
The show features aircraft from bases in Utah, California, Virginia, and Arizona. All five jets will begin practice in Los Angeles next week.
“None of us have flown it before, so we’re gonna go out there and work out the kinks and then hopefully have a good show,” said Schmitz.
On February 13 at 6 p.m. the Air Force is airing a pre-game live show on their Facebook page. It will feature special segments and interviews with the pilots.
The Shaw Air Force Base is also hosting an Air Show in the spring.
Production of F-16 jets started in the 1970’s and quickly became one of the most popular fighter jets.
“It’s a single seat single engine multi rule fighter. What that means is we fly both air to air and air to ground missions in this jet,” said Schmitz.