Air Force pilot from Midlands base participating in Super Bowl flyover
People watching Super Bowl LII on Sunday will see that Alshon Jeffery and Stephon Gilmore aren’t the only ones representing South Carolina in the NFL’s biggest game.
Members of Shaw Air Force Base will participate in the flyover prior to the showdown between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles at over U.S. Bank Stadium in Minnesota.
The Air Force base in Sumter had some fun announcing its involvement in the Super Bowl.
“Let’s be real, @Patriots & @Eagles. You’re both winners because you get to watch the @ViperDemoTeam on Super Bowl Sunday!” read a message on the base’s official Twitter account,
Let’s be real, @Patriots & @Eagles. You’re both winners because you get to watch the @ViperDemoTeam on Super Bowl Sunday!
— Shaw Air Force Base (@20FighterWing) January 30, 2018
Super Bowl LII flyover announcement https://t.co/7SguqeyQoV pic.twitter.com/GJhHdux7Gp
That included a link to a video of Maj. John Waters, commander and pilot for the F-16 demo team at Shaw, sharing the news about participating in the pregame flyover, from his cockpit while flying.
“I have the unique privilege to represent the United States Air Force and the United States Air Force Heritage Flight program as we conduct the flyover for Super Bowl LII,” Waters says in the video. “Look to the skies for a P-51, two A-10s and F-16.”
As Waters indicated, Shaw’s F-16 Viper Demonstration Team and the A-10C Thunderbolt II Demonstration Team will be flying along side a P-51 Mustang during the flyover.
This is the first time the Heritage Flight team will conduct a flyover for a Super Bowl, and it will be broadcast live on NBC and in the stadium from multiple vantage points, including a camera mounted on one of the aircraft, The Associated Press reported.
“Never before in my more than 35-year flying career have I flown over the world’s biggest sports stage: 111 million eyeballs is quite the audience,” said Steve Hinton, who will pilot the P-51, to The Associated Press. “I’m extremely proud to represent the Air Force Heritage Flight Foundation and fly alongside Air Combat Command pilots to honor the countless servicemen and women past and present who selflessly serve our country.”
This story was originally published February 1, 2018 at 11:49 AM.