This is the Daytona 500 from the Sky: A multi-part series from For The Win looking at NASCAR’s biggest race of the year from an aerial perspective.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — When the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds perform the flyover for Sunday’s Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX), the six pilots fly their F-16 jets between 18 inches and three feet apart in a delta formation, as they perfectly time their appearance with the end of the national anthem. Specifically, it’s the last word, “brave.”
Of course, they’re pros who go through a highly competitive selection process to become a Thunderbird. But that’s still ridiculously close to each other at about 500 miles an hour.
And even more impressive: Most of the pilots aren’t even looking forward while flying.
As Maj. Michelle Curran, Thunderbird No. 5, explained, Lt. Col. John Caldwell is Thunderbird No. 1 — he’s also known as Boss — and he leads the way in the delta formation as they fly over Daytona International Speedway.
“Everyone is flying off of the jet closer to the boss than them,” Curran told For The Win.
“So we have Thunderbird No. 1 out in the middle. He sets the timing. He’s the one responsible for making sure you see us go right over at the ‘B’ in ‘brave’ in the national anthem. So lots of pressure on him. He’s also flying a nice, smooth platform because we’re on the wings.”
And those pilots on the wings, two on each side of No. 1, are either looking to their right or left during the flyover, rather than looking straight forward, which requires a lot of practice and trust.
“I’m staring at No. 2’s jet and setting references and seeing the back of his head, as he’s looks at Boss, who’s all the way in the middle,” said Curran, who’s only the fifth female Thunderbird and second lead solo pilot for their airshow demonstrations.
“The same thing’s happening the on other side all looking towards the middle. So we often times don’t even know when we actually went over the track because the angle you’re looking at, you can’t really see it. You only know because the boss calls a turn afterwards. He’s like, ‘Right turn!’ And you’re like, ‘Oh we already did it. It’s done. We did the flyover!'”
Curran is in her second year with the Thunderbirds but 11th overall with the U.S. Air Force. So this is her second Daytona 500 flyover, but she had plenty of practice with the Thunderbirds’ nine-month schedule filled with flyovers and airshows.
And she learned their heads turned to the side for flyovers isn’t the most comfortable thing.
“It hurts for a while, and then I think part way through the season, your body adapts to it,” Curran said. “And then by the end of the season, you’re like, ‘OK, it’s time for this to be done because my neck and back are really sore from looking in one direction.’ But you get used to it.”
For the Daytona 500, the F-16 jets at Daytona Beach International Airport adjacent to the Daytona race track. Curran said the Thunderbirds take off between 30 and 45 minutes before the national anthem, and they fly over to the beach to their “hold point,” which is a low air traffic area.
It takes them about 20 minutes to get from the beach airspace to the track, and their team members on the ground are providing updates about the anthem singer’s timing and if that person is a few seconds ahead or behind their usual pace. The good news for them is Air Force Technical Sgt. Nalani Quintello is this year’s singer.
Once the Thunderbirds are on their way to the track, they can speed up or slow down, to a certain extent, to time their flyover with the end of the anthem and “can normally make up the difference,” Curran said.
The Thunderbirds also have a little something special planned for Sunday’s Daytona 500. It’s called a delta burst, which is when they’re in the standard delta formation and then all go in opposite directions like a firework.
Curran said it’s not standard for a flyover, but they’ve practiced it multiple times. She said the plan is to do a regular flyover and then come back around for the command — “Drivers, start your engines!” — and then do the burst.
“It’s a lot of people’s favorite maneuver, so that’ll be cool,” Curran said.
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