Yeah, but the new Fat Albert doesn't have the rockets anymore.
1998, Blues Pensacola end of season show.
My good friend's brother was a Fat Albert pilot, and he and I got to ride on Bert for the Friday practice. My friend actually rode on the beam with his head sticking out of the bubble at the top of the aircraft. I was seated in the back left, sitting sideways, facing right, about where the JATO rockets were strapped on. Don't know about now, but back then they let a bunch of military dependents ride along too... I'm guessing they were related to Blues' team members, but really don't know.
We lineup on the runway and they run the power up. When they released brakes, the acceleration was amazing and I thought the JATOs had maybe fired. I was wrong.
At 130 knots, they lit off the JATOs. Wow! Hahaha! It was LOUD!! Bert took off like a scalded cat and up... we... gooooo....
As Bert approached the apex, they began the pushover. I still remember the woman sitting across from me: Lots of long, blonde hair that was loose... and I watched all of that hair float up above her head. It was a sight!
The rest of the flight was just sheer terror. When we were in a steep right bank maneuvering back to show center, I was looking across the cargo deck and out the small window... and seeing Pensacola neighborhoods, houses, and pools going by very fast... and real close to us. We were LOW.
It was a 7 minute E-ticket ride (you whippersnappers can look that up) that I'll never forget. What a rush.
I never got to ride on Bert again. I remember them saying the JATOs were going to end "in a few years"... but I think they lasted for another 10+ years.
As a side note, the Bert Boys took great care of the two of us AF guys every year we came to the PCola end of season. They are a class act and never buy beers when I'm around them.
