With the ultra stressful 3 week western swing now over, most of the NHRA Drivers take advantage of the break between events. Most drivers choose to relax by taking a vacation with family or just stay at home to relax. But some such as Tequila Patron Funny Car Rookie Alexis DeJoria got the opportunity to ride along with the US Air Force in an F-15 Jet Fighter. For Alexis, it was definitely a dream come true when she found out she would indeed get to ride along:
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| Alexis Showing off her f-15 tattoo |
"I was so amazed! It was something we had talked about for a while & I tried to plan for so long." Said The Excited Funny Car Rookie "It was always something that hoped was going to happen, but it never really felt real. When I found it was actually going to happen, and we had set a firm date & everything had been cleared, it was a whole different story! I was beyond thrilled and so so excited! It was a dream come true." DeJoria then added "I did, as a child, have a dream that I wanted to be a fighter pilot"
Now that the dream of flying in an f-15 had been realized, the process of preparing for her ride-along was quite long. The training, making her g-suit, to the schooling of dealing with situations while on the ride-along all made the end result well worth it to the Funny Car Rookie:
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| Egress Training |
"Well there was a lot of clearance that I had to go through from the base, and the Air Force, which was almost two years in the making". De Joria Stated "When it came down to go to Boise and do the ride-along, I had to come in the day before to get fitted for my g-suit and go through other training. Then I had to get to the base very early the morning of the ride-along to go through egress training, which is basically where they train you as to what to do in the possibility of ejecting from the plane." Alexis then added "I also had to go through hanging harness training, visit the base hospital for a medical check-up and then go over a flight plan with my pilot. After all of that, it was finally time to fly!"
With the training complete, the moment had finally arrived for the daughter of John Paul DeJoria to step into the cockpit of an F-15 jet fighter. The entire flight lasted for an hour, however it seemed as if it had lasted longer than that to Alexis. She even took control of the jet and told me what some of the tricks she performed:
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| Flight suit fitting |
We did a straight vertical climb right after takeoff, which was awesome." As the excited FC Rookie explained to me. "We did some formation flying with another F-15, we did barrel rolls, broke the sound barrier when we reached Mach-1, and that was really cool. Pretty much anything that that plane could possibly do, it seems like we did it"
Then Alexis explained how great an appreciation she has for all that the Military does for the USA:
"I always have had a great appreciation for the military, but you definitely have a greater respect for what they go through when you’re up there experiencing what they go through on a daily basis." Alexis told me "The g-forces they experience are so intense, add to that being up there for long periods of time, and then trying to fight in a battle- it’s all just very intense. I definitely have a whole new respect for them.
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| Time to Fly! |
Both the F-15 and the 8,000 BHP of a nitro funny car are a joy to both driver and ride, but each has it's own tendencies. With funny cars Having such a short wheelbase it can become difficult at times to control. Likewise a fighter jet having to deal with wind, weather and turbulence when traversing the skies. As we ended the interview I asked Alexis which was more fun, the F-15 or a Nitro Funny Car:
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| Thanking the boys for such a great time Photo Credit Courtesy of Alexis DeJoria Racing |
They’re both very fun in different ways! Totally different experiences, so it’s hard to compare the two, but I definitely love both of them!
Congratulations to Alexis DeJoria for having a dream realized, flying aboard an F-15 fighter jet. For many years, the dream of flying for anyone in any type of aircraft is exilerating. Having family involved within the aerospace industry for almost 50 years, to see Alexis and her dream come to fruition is a joy.
You Rock Alexis
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