Action News Jax’s Jake Stofan breaks the sound barrier with the Blue Angels

JACKSONVILLE, Fla, — The NAS Jax Air show is this weekend, and on Wednesday Action News Jax Jake Stofan took to the skies with the Blue Angels.

The day started at around 10 AM with a safety briefing.

Primarily to go over the do’s and don’ts.

There were lots of don’ts.

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“Do not use them for any kind of straining maneuvers,” said one of the Blue Angels technicians as he referenced several handles, knobs and leavers covered with yellow and black tape.

And of course, in the event of an emergency, we had to discuss the possibility of an ejection.

“Enjoy the bonus ride… That we hope you don’t have to do,” said the tech.

It was then time to strap in.

With a thumbs up we were off, almost immediately pulling 5 G’s straight into the skies at a 90 degree angle.

As with many once in a lifetime experience, something was bound to go wrong.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to take the bonus ride.

But the onboard GoPro didn’t capture audio.

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Still, the footage captured my reactions as we barrel rolled over the ocean, and the strain in my face as we topped 6 G’s for roughly 20 seconds on a tight turn.

I did manage to capture some footage on my phone during the ride.

After getting some special and unexpected clearance, I captured the instruments as we went supersonic, hitting Mach 1.02.

We even passed by a Naval submarine that had surfaced off the coast.

Back on the ground I was happy to report no black outs and no unfortunate accidents.

“Totally empty!,” I exclaimed pointing to my just-in-case vomit bags.

And I had Lieutenant Connor O’Donnell to thank for getting me back on the ground safe and sound.

O’Donnell has been flying for the Navy for 10 years and is a Naval Academy graduate.

He told me he’s got two more years with the Blues before going back operational.

“That’s my favorite part, to see the reaction on kids, adults. It’s kind of a unifying event,” said O’Donnell.

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For now, he’s enjoying his role on the team, putting on a thrilling show in the hopes of inspiring others to pursue a career of service in the Navy, or even the Blue Angels.

“Any job in the Navy could be used on the team. So, join the Navy and get the minimum qualifications and apply,” said O’Donnell.

O’Donnell said there’s a total of about 160 people involved in the Blue Angels operation.

It takes every one of them doing their part to put on the show you can see for free right here at NAS JAX this weekend.

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