Thunderbirds swoop into schools

Pilots, ground crew members answer students' questions about precision team

The aerial maneuvers performed by the Air Force Thunderbirds at today's air show might amaze spectators, but the pilots don't view themselves as superheroes.

Edward C. Fennell/The Post and Courier

Col. Claude Davis (left), head of the Navy Junior ROTC at Summerville High School, escorts U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds pilot Maj. Kirby Ensser (right) into Summerville High School for a forum with students. Between the men is Air Force Staff Sgt. Harrison Southworth, a Thunderbirds team mechanic.

Maj. Kirby Ensser, who flies on the right wing in the squadron's diamond formation, told Summerville High School students Friday that he's just a regular guy from a small Midwestern town who played high school football. The Thunderbirds' intensive training is what enables them to perform such complicated and thrilling maneuvers, he said.

"I am a random 'schmo' from west Nebraska," said Ensser, 32, who graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1998. "It's the training. With our training, you can learn to do whatever you want."

Ensser said he doesn't get nervous in the air; instead, he's thinking about the technical aspects of his next maneuver. He's logged countless hours in flight simulators and is trained in emergency procedures, he said.

One day before the air show, Thunderbirds pilots spoke to high school students at several Lowcountry schools about their squadron, which tours the country performing formation and solo flying feats in special Fighting Falcon F-16 aircraft. It's part of the squadron's community outreach efforts to visit local schools and hospitals when they come to a city for an air show.

At Summerville High, Ensser and Staff Sgt. Harrison Southworth answered a series of questions from students, many of whom take part in the school's Navy JROTC program. Ensser told the students that there's much more to the Thunderbirds than the six pilots who take to the sky. The squadron wouldn't exist without mechanics such as Southworth and other technicians, welders and executive officials, he said.

"The best daily show is on the ground getting the jets ready to fly," Ensser said. He compared the Thunderbirds' operation to NASCAR, where the pit crew, sponsors and team owners all contribute to a driver's success.

When Summerville students asked what they should major in if they hope to become elite pilots, Ensser said Thunderbirds officers have degrees in a variety of subjects, including business and history.

"It doesn't matter," he said. "Your specialty becomes flying planes."

Ensser also answered humorous questions about whether he's ever struck a bird — yes, as recently as Thursday while practicing in the Lowcountry sky. And when one student mentioned the Blue Angels, the Navy's flight demonstration squadron, Ensser replied with a teenage analogy.

"They are like our rival high school," he said. "We call them the world's second-best flight demonstration team."

Reach Mindy B. Hagen at 937-5433 or mhagen@postandcourier.com.