LAS VEGAS — This year's flyover is what amounts to a home game for the pilots of the U.S. Air Force's flight demonstration team, the Thunderbirds.
The team is based at Nellis Air Force Base in North Las Vegas, about a 20-minute drive from Allegiant Stadium, where Super Bowl LVIII will be played between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francsico 49ers on Feb. 10.
The Thunderbirds travel all over the world, so flying over their home city is a rare occurrence.
Here's everything you need to know about the flyover:
What are the Thunderbirds?
The Thunderbirds are the Air Force's primary flight demonstration team (there are other individual ones for different aircraft; the T-birds are the only ones with multiple planes in the air at the same time). They've been around since 1953 and are a flying, in-person advertisement for the Air Force and for precision formation flying.
Pilots fly in the Thunderbirds for two years and, to qualify, must have at least 1,000 hours of time in fighter jets to even be considered. The process to qualify is as much interview-driven as it is about piloting. Pilots are expected to represent the Air Force exceptionally well and to be personable and good with the media in order to be on the team, since much of the time not-spent-flying is doing community and media appearances.
What are they flying?
The Thunderbirds fly Block 52 F-16C Vipers. The F-16 airframe just celebrated the 50th anniversary of its first flight in late January, but the plane the Thunderbirds — and other Air Force squadrons —fly today is not the plane that first flew a half-century ago. The cockpit displays are different, the electronics are different, the weapon systems are different. In fact, pretty much everything is different except for the basic shape of the aircraft...
... which gives it its name, the Viper. General Dynamics, the plane's builder, named it "The Fighting Falcon." Pilots and aircrew noted the large air inlet under the forward part of the fuselage and the narrow nose made it look like a snake. Thus, "The Viper." F-16 pilots refer to themselves as "Viper Drivers."
The F-16C is one of the most-used planes in the history of fighter jets. It's flown by air forces around the world including Bahrain, Denmark, Egypt, Greece and Israel.
What you'll see in the flyover
The Thunderbirds, like the Navy's Blue Angels demonstration team, are composed of two elements: The diamond, which comprises of four planes, and the solos, which consists of two planes (cleverly dubbed "Solo" and "Opposing Solo").
The diamond is composed of planes with the numbers 1-4 on their tails. The solos are planes 5 and 6.
You'll see all six planes in a wedge, or delta, formation flying over the stadium, trailing smoke from canisters that are installed on each plane.
The No. 1 plane is the lead, flown by the team's commander, commonly known as "Boss," regardless of the pilot's name or callsign. This year, it's flown by Lt. Col. Nathan "Sheik" Malafa. Cool fact: Malafa has flown three of the Air Force's five fast jets (the F-15E, the F-16C, the F-135A).
The No. 2 plane is the left wing of the diamond, flown by Maj. Zachary "Zeke" Taylor. Cool fact: Taylor didn't start out as an F-16 pilot, instead flying the F-15C interceptor.
The No. 3 plane is the right wing of the diamond, flown by Maj. Tyler "Slasher" Clark. Cool fact: Clark is the first Air National Guard pilot to fly in the Thunderbirds; he's an instructor and evaluator pilot with the Oregon Air National Guard's F-15C squadron.
The No. 4 plane is in a position called "the slot," at the bottom of the diamond. It's flown by Maj. Jake "Primo" Impellizerri. Cool fact: He's flying his third season with the team — unusual for an officer with the Thunderbirds.
The two solos will join the diamond at times, but are usually seen on their own or flying opposite each other.
The No. 5 plane is the lead solo and is piloted by Maj. Eric "Miami" Tise. Fun fact: Tise was the opposing solo last year, flying the No. 6 jet. Bonus fun fact: The No. 5 plane spends so much time upside down that the number "5" on its engine air intake is upside down so it reads correctly upside down.
The No. 6 jet, or opposing solo, is flown this year by Maj. Jeff "Simmer" Downey. Fun fact: He was the team's narrator last year.
Where have I seen F-16s in popular media?
Given that the plane has been around for 50 years, you'd think it would appear in more places. But it doesn't have the visibility of its Navy cousin, the F/A-18 The terrible, yet wonderful, 1986 Lou Gossett, Jr., film Iron Eagle, is the first major debut of the plane. But you've also seen it them sitting on the ground in the rain in Michael Bay's 13 Hours and engaging the Decepticons in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
I want to see the Thunderbirds do more than just flyover a stadium.
Yes, the Thunderbirds are much more fun to watch do things other than fly in a straight line. You can see their schedule here.
