4.8 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 15 July 2023
⏱️ 20 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Join our weekly Combat Check-In Newsletter (www.combatstory.com/newsletter) to get a short email from Ryan for people who love and support our veterans, service members, and their families. It has info on a significant event in military and/or intel history, a funny military joke, an update on a current event I'm following, something I'm doing that week in my life, a book I'm reading, a look at an upcoming interview, a reflection on a past episode and more!
Will a former Army Aviator and CIA officer pass out or throw-up for his first flight in a jet?! This episode is best viewed on YouTube at https://youtu.be/RbyWbRWXky4 because it's all flying and exploring the L-39 jet and Patriots Jet Team hangar.
Strap in for a high-octane adventure with the Patriots Jet Team, the ONLY civilian-owned aerobatic jet team in the United States!
Ryan is taking Combat Story on a thrilling journey in an L-39 Soviet Jet with the legendary pilot, Scott "Intake" Kartvedt. They're gearing up and rehearsing for a heart-pounding performance at the Sonoma NASCAR race, and you've got a front-row seat (well...it's a the backseat of the L-39 actually)! Before we take off, we get some insider tips from Ryan "Stinger" Fishel, Active Duty F-15 fighter pilot and former guest on the podcast (https://youtu.be/4jP3U2nHFUw - 400K views), on how to handle the intense G-forces during the flight and what to eat before getting in the cockpit.
Will Ryan keep his cool (and his lunch) as they pull 7-8 G's for 45 minutes? Fasten your seatbelts and find out!
We also hear from Kevin "K2" LaRosa Jr, a sought after Hollywood aerial coordinator and stunt pilot who was handpicked by Tom Cruise to choreograph Top Gun:Maverick (he was also behind the scenes and/or in the cockpit for Avengers, Iron Man, and over 100 other movies and TV shows)!
Next, we whisk you away on an exclusive tour of the Patriots Jet Team Hangar, a veritable Aladdin's cave of aviation wonders and also the world's greatest man cave! From sleek jets to Hollywood stunt aircraft, this hangar is a treasure trove. And the pièce de résistance? A bar made from a Russian Mig Wing or the "Help Me" sign used by Tom Cruise and James Corden when they go flying in Randy's aircraft (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1iZtBM23bY)?!
Enter Randy "Howler" Howell, the owner of the Patriots Jet Team. With decades of flying experience, Randy is more than a pilot; he's an aviation legend who taught his son to fly solo at the tender age of eight! When Tom Cruise need a stunt pilot for Top Gun:Maverick, he chose Randy Howell. Safety is paramount when you're flying with the Patriots Jet Team! We go through an awesome emergency procedure for a heart-stopping ejection process (I call it the turn and dump).
Then, it's time to take to the skies. Experience the adrenaline rush of formation flying, high-speed maneuvers, and the thrill of going inverted (many times!). Ryan even gets a chance to take the controls which is not unlike his days flying the AH-64D Apache attack helicopter!
Despite a bout of nausea (an occupational hazard!), Ryan revels in the exhilarating experience of getting back in the cockpit again. As we touch down from this wild ride, we invite you to become part of the Patriots Jet Team legacy through sponsorship opportunities. Plus, don't miss out on Combat Story's previous interviews with these legends (Randy, Kevin, Intake, and Stinger). So, are you ready to defy gravity with us? Tune in, hold tight, and enjoy the ride!
Special thanks to Joey Amtman for incredible editing and Four Winds Creative (filming). Find
Ryan Online:
Find Scott "Intake" Kartvedt Online:
Find Randy Howell Online:
Find Kevin LaRosa Online:
Patriots Jet Team Instagram: @rhowlerhowell, @scottKartvedt, @deanwright15, @epic_flying, @patriotsjetuprt, @lovell.cory, @mtemby, @rings_patriotsjet, @mamainiero, @aviatrixemmy, @minijetmojoh2o, @stellantsystems, @dragonfly.films, @flygoodyear, @concordebatterycorp, @pjt_foundation
Timeline:
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0:00.0 | Today we have a special edition of Combat Story. This time, and following our interview with Intake, |
0:05.1 | K2, and Howler, I go flying in the backseat of an L-39 jet with Intake and the Patriots jet team. |
0:12.4 | This episode is best viewed on YouTube where we've got footage of our flight with me in the cockpit |
0:17.9 | and camera angles all over the aircraft and from the ground. I'd encourage you to head over |
0:23.1 | to YouTube to watch this one and search for Combat Story, flying with the Patriots jet team. |
0:30.6 | And in case of your 2000-23 Patriots jet team, that's right, ladies and gentlemen, |
0:38.6 | the only six ship. So they'll, you know, an aerodynamic jet team in our United States of America, |
0:45.8 | and I just need to know folks, are you ready for a little air show action here in Sonoma? |
0:50.9 | You're going to see those beautiful black shiny L-39s with those white lights, |
0:56.8 | whale and tip-take lights. Now folks, get your sights ready. Out in the distance, |
1:03.0 | that red light and blue smoke I present to you here, 20-23. |
1:14.5 | So we're heading to Byron, California to the Patriot jet team complex. We're going to go flying |
1:20.0 | in L-39, check his lock-in jet, and I'm going to be flying with Intake. I'll be in the |
1:27.0 | backseat, he'll be in the front. He's flown these information for different events, and they're |
1:33.6 | doing a prep today for a Sonoma NASCAR race that's going on tomorrow. So we should be pulling five |
1:40.7 | to six G's 30 times. That's what he said. How many times does that thing you're going to throw up? |
1:46.0 | Zero. As a former Army aviator, the last thing I want to do is throw up or pass out. |
1:54.0 | So I've enlisted the help of Ryan Stinger Fischel, one of my buddies who we've had on the |
1:58.9 | podcast. He's an F-15 fighter pilot, so I thought if anybody could help me, it would be him. |
2:04.6 | Thanks for letting me steal you for a little bit here. Probably the best thing to do is eat some food |
2:10.3 | that tastes about the same way going down as it does coming up. So like bananas, |
2:16.2 | peanut butter, I think you're pretty good for that every three seconds. You want to do an |
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