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Aliya: Some jobs aren't just hard.
They're downright dangerous.
From flying fighter jets in formations
just an arm's length apart...
The consequences of something going wrong are catastrophic.
(Whirring)
Teddy: ...to a flying gas station
for life and death missions...
If we don't have this plane ready, there'll be hell to pay.
Teddy: ...to a dive support ship
where the slightest error could be fatal.
Man: If you lose this seal,
every single one of us standing around here would die.
Teddy: It's not just a career.
Aliya: It's risky business.
If you think you got this one way, it's about to bite you.
(Dynamic instrumental music)
(Whirring)
These are the mightiest planes, trains, and ships
humankind has ever devised.
And without them, how would we take on the risky business
of our bodies facing big Gs or supersonic flight
or even accomplishing complex deep sea repairs?
So you're talking about the T-38 Talon.
It's used by the U.S. Air Force
to train its pilots for supersonic flight.
And the Skandi Arctic.
It's this incredible ship that keeps divers safe
as they work on the ocean floor.
I'll tell you about them and I'll also tell you about a plane
that carries almost 7000 litres of jet fuel.
It's called the Omega Tanker and it refuels other aircrafts
but in mid air.
Talk about risky, right?
Yeah, and if I want to talk about death-defying missions,
I also want to go on one, which is why I joined the Blue Angels.
They are the U.S. Navy's internationally renowned
aerial acrobatics team, and I work with them
in their intense prep as they fly inches apart from each other
in front of thousands of people and guess what?
Teddy: What?
Aliya: I pulled 6 Gs.
Teddy: What?
And you live to tell the tale.
And my stomach did not. We'll get to that.
(Chuckles)
Announcer: (On PA) Ladies and gentlemen,
all four aircraft flying as one
in this graceful 360-degree rolling manoeuvre.
Aliya: The Blue Angels were created
in 1946 by Admiral Chester Nimitz to show off
the Navy's prowess to the public.
For over 75 years, top pilots have flown the latest aircraft
in combat formations terrifyingly close together.
We fly 18 inches apart. 18 inches.
We fly the closest formations of any jet team in the world.
We fly in manoeuvres
that no other jet team does in the world.
This job is inherently dangerous.
♪
Wow.
All right.
(Clapping)
Aliya: Fortunately,
the pilots who take on this mission
are top of the line professionals.
And salute.
Aliya: To be the commanding officer,
you need to have flown tactical jets for 3000 hours
and have commanded the tactical jet squadron.
This year's boss is Captain Brian Kesselring.
He flies the number one plane in front of four to six jets.
I'm the lead goose in the formation out there.
I give a lot of voice commands
and directing the diamond and the delta formation.
Aliya: He also deals with
team administration and leads the training.
I think less is more on that one.
Aliya: The number four pilot,
who flies in the back,
also plays a role in developing the team.
It's basically anything that has to do with
how that demonstration's gonna look up in the air.
Aliya: Not all the jets
stay in that tight diamond formation.
Pilots five and six showcase high G-force,
high performance flight through opposing manoeuvres.
Pilot five takes the lead on that part of the routine.
I'm in charge of kind running the timing pattern,
getting the show timing going for the solos.
♪
Aliya: The show finishes
with all six planes in the delta formation.
All the pilots are involved in assessment and training
'cause what the Blue Angels do is anything but usual.
♪
Take everything you know about flying a Super Hornet fleet
and you delete it.
Aliya: More than two dozen
Blue Angels pilots have died.
It's a sobering number, so the men who climb into these planes
dedicate their careers to working as hard as possible
to make the flights as safe as possible.
If we don't have safety, we have nothing.
(Indistinct chatter)
Those tolerances that maybe a normal team
wouldn't be able to achieve,
we are able to achieve just based on the fact that
we're together and we're thinking about it non-stop.
Aliya: Pilots usually spend
just two years flying on the team,
then return to other assignments.
♪
The planes themselves last much longer.
The Blue Angels' last plane was in service for 34 years.
♪
The Boeing F-18 Hornet
was the longest serving strike fighter in the U.S. military.
Man: The F-18, first and foremost,
is a very reliable aircraft.
We have a tremendous track record.
Aliya: Known for
its lightning fast manoeuvrability,
it measured 17 metres or 56 feet long,
and stands almost 5 metres or 16 feet high
with a wingspan of more than 12 metres or 39 feet.
The F-18 shape and size made it one of the most
aerodynamic fighters ever constructed.
(Whirring)
In 2020, the Blue Angels got an upgrade
to the F-18 Echo Super Hornet, a bigger, more powerful jet.
You are looking at an F-18 Echo Super Hornet model.
The Foxtrot is our two-seater model.
This is our single seater.
It's generally 20% larger than its predecessors,
the A through D Hornets.
As you can see as you walk along,
you have a leading edge flap here that's about 20% longer.
This helps to increase the lift of the aircraft
and allows it to operate in high angles of attack.
♪
As you see here, the flat surfaces are much larger than
they were on its predecessors, and the leading edge flap
actually comes out about 8 inches further
to help with manoeuvring of the aircraft.
He has about 7000 extra pounds of fuel
when it's fully loaded out.
That allows it to operate further
from the aircraft carrier.
It has two F-414 engines that produce more thrust
than the predecessor as well.
Aliya: But just like
a new pair of shoes,
the Echo Super Hornet takes some getting use to.
Captain Kesselring: Because it's bigger,
it pushes a lot more air.
Any movement of any one of our jets
pushes on the other aircraft
and it ends up kind of a rocket ripple effect.
It's definitely a learning process for us
to kind of learn how it flies.
(Whirring)
♪
Aliya: Survival is what it's all about.
Have you ever been in a jet like this before?
I have never been in a jet anything like this before.
I'm about to get a taste of just how difficult that is
when you're in one of these incredible machines.
I just hope that I don't pass out on camera.
♪
(Whirring)
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♪
This is The Mightiest Risky Business.
Now AJ, soon, I'm going to take you to the Omega Tanker,
which refuels jets in mid air,
and we'll head to this incredible dive support platform
called the Skandi Arctic.
It keeps divers alive
as they work in the deep freezing ocean waters.
But before all that, tell me about pulling some Gs.
Yeah, I definitely have bragging rights
for a life after pulling those Gs.
But, you know, for Blue Angels pilots
the biggest risk factor is the effect
of acceleration on the human body.
For ordinary mortals like us,
there's no way that we could pull off those Gs
and still control a multi-million dollar jet.
But the Blue Angels are famous for a reason.
This move is called the Opposing Minimum-Radius Turn,
a banking circle that puts the pilots under 6 Gs,
more than twice as many as an astronaut at liftoff.
(Whooshing)
Extreme G-forces push the blood down from the head
and upper body, pushing it below the waist.
When this happens, the pilot's vision
is instantly impaired,
and after a few seconds, he could pass out.
(Whooshing)
(Indistinct radio chatter)
The pilots use breathing and muscle clenching techniques
to draw blood up to their brain.
This keeps them conscious during their death-defying maneuvers,
so they maintain control.
Otherwise, the G-forces run the risk
of tearing the planes a part, putting everyone at risk.
♪
Regular fighter pilots wear G-suits
that contain air pockets in the legs,
which inflate and deflate
to return blood to the upper body.
But the G-suits are bulky and get in the way
of the Blue Angels' critically precise maneuvers.
The inflation of that G-suit would actually move our arm.
And, in turn, you know-- in the tight, tight tolerances
that we have in our formations it would be unacceptable,
and downright dangerous at times.
So, we counter that by not wearing one,
which I know to a lot of folks seems, wow, is that crazy.
Aliya: This means the pilots learn to hone their ability to
tense their body and fight off the effect of the Gs.
I'm about to fly in the Super Hornet
with Griffin Stangel, the number seven pilot.
The pilots one through six fly the air shows,
and I go out a day early,
and with that I make sure the air show is set up.
Aliya: Lieutenant Stangel's in line to fly
the number six spot next year.
And entering the flight line vertically
showcasing the Super Hornet's turbo nose-low capability.
Aliya: He's also the narrator at the air shows
and takes special guests like me up in the jet.
I'm going to be prepped by his crew chief.
AJ.
Jordan: Hi, I'm Jordan.
Nice to meet you, Jordan.
Nice to meet you, as well.
Aliya: Have many people
that have come and done this passed out?
Uh, yes and no.
Aliya: Okay.
Blue Angels pilots train for this constantly over months.
I'll have just a few minutes to learn the technique.
Squeeze your legs together, alright?
That's going to flex all these muscles.
That's going to help restrict your arteries
to help keep the flow from coming down your body.
So, if you say the word hook
you're going to feel these neck muscles strain.
Whenever you do this, do it with intensity, okay?
Okay.
It is a serious workout, 'cause if you go up there
and you do what I'm explaining lackadaisically,
it's-- you're not going to last very long.
Okay.
After hearing about how the G-forces affect your body
and how it's not uncommon to pee or defecate or vomit,
I'm a little bit more nervous than I was before.
And I just hope that I get the breathing right
and I don't pass out on camera.
The stress we put on our bodies in the aircraft is--
is pretty impressive, and it takes a 100% effort
every time we strap into the jet
to be able to go ahead and execute a safe demo.
Griffin: You go by AJ, right?
Aliya: AJ, yeah.
Griffin: Griffin.
Aliya: Nice to meet you.
Griffin: Nice to meet you, as well.
Have you ever been in jet like this before?
I've never been in a jet; anything like this before ever.
♪
This takeoff is totally a rush.
♪
Once we got out over the water, we broke the speed of sound.
Incredible.
I'm pulling six Gs here.
♪
So far, I'm doing pretty good.
I'm awake and my bodily fluids are surprisingly under control.
♪
(Whooshing)
My entire body is straining as hard as I possibly can make it.
This is definitely a workout.
♪
Going upside down was very cool.
I absolutely loved it.
The blue you see above me is actually the ocean.
♪
My stomach, however, did not love it as much.
♪
No shame here, though.
My body cannot be expected to handle big Gs
like a Blue Angel after just a few minutes of training.
Really nice job today.
Oh, my gosh. Thank you so much.
I don't know how you guys do that.
Griffin: This was just a small taste of what we can do.
I mean, there's two full bags of puke in my zipper pocket,
so, yeah, there's that, too.
You did really well today, though.
You handled the Gs well.
Yeah, the six Gs was crazy.
Yeah.
Aliya: I can't believe we went up to six Gs.
I can't imagine having to also attack, fly a plane,
like read stuff, look at the guys next to me,
be flying 18 inches next to the guy next to me,
when all I was trying to do was just,
literally, keep my eyes working.
♪
That was phenomenal, and you did so well.
I definitely would have passed out.
I would not have made it up there.
You know what?
The pilot told me a lot of people actually do pass out.
So, it would have been completely normal.
Teddy: Okay.
I will try anything once, but that was really
physically demanding on my body.
It was very cool, but I would probably never do it again.
I-- I don't blame you.
Now, the Blue Angels are said to be the best of the best,
but before they can fly in those iconic blue F-18s
they need a really successful track record
in the US Air force.
And before Air Force pilots can take on
those dangerous missions around the world,
they actually train in a jet
that's been around for over 50 years.
It's called the T-38 Talon.
It may be an old airplane, but upgrades have kept it relevant.
Many nations, including Germany and South Korea,
still fly the T-38 in combat missions.
But most of America's T-38s
are engaged in training NATO fighter pilots.
This airplane has gone a long way with the Euro-NATO program
in producing fighter pilots that defend the free world.
♪
Teddy: 96 kilometres, or 60 miles north of
Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas, is the aerial classroom
for NATO's next generation of fighter pilots.
Today the student is Jan of Norway.
He's learning how to defend himself in a fighter jet.
Once this fight's on, it is a real engagement
and you got to be in that mind focus
to really fight this bandit
like it was your life you were fighting for.
Teddy: On this mission, Jan will be attacked four times.
If he does well, he'll earn a solo flight
and he'll be one step closer to graduation.
Hunter is flying in the backseat to instruct,
and if necessary, to take over.
♪
Hunter: Oh, the weather's nice.
Look at that. It looks beautiful.
Beautiful. (Laughs)
Teddy: Today, Jan will be tested by Willie;
tested and attacked.
Willie: Can he think straight
and then apply the appropriate corrections
to prevent me from kicking his butt?
Hunter: Let's kick some ass here.
Jan: Aye, sir.
Teddy: Willie is almost five kilometres
or three miles away when the hunt begins.
He's got to close the gap to take a shot at Jan.
Hunter: This is good aspect.
Keep this aspect. Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Teddy: To dodge Willie's jet, Jan makes a high-speed turn.
Hunter: And here you go.
Jan: (Unclear) Getting ready to spy.
Here, the whole point is to move away from the Bandit,
get him off my tail.
Hunter: Do you see him?
Willie: I'm gonna be at his deep 6:00.
It's harder and harder to see me.
Teddy: The Bandit is hiding in Jan's blind spot,
directly behind him.
He repositions, known as a repo.
Hunter: Do you see him?
Keep looking!
He's turning backwards. Do you see him?
Teddy: Willie goes in for the kill...
Willie: 4,000.
Teddy: ...and Jan loses the round.
Willie: Call to terminate.
Hunter: That's it. Terminate.
Teddy: The attack's over. Now the hard part begins.
Hunter: What Bandit was this?
Jan: This was a repo Bandit.
Hunter: Yeah. But where were you looking?
Jan: I didn't look at him when he repoed.
Hunter: No, you were jinking while he was repoing.
Now, when I asked you, do you see him,
you were looking forward?
Jan: Yes, sir.
Willie: If he's not manoeuvring
out of my simulated bullet stream,
he isn't surviving.
Teddy: This may be a defeat for Jan,
but it happens at the right time: in a simulation.
It's a valuable step on his way to becoming a fighter pilot.
And just like the fighter pilots need to hone their skills,
the jets need careful maintenance
to stay in top condition,
so that the Blue Angels can go out there
and wow their audiences safely.
(Dynamic instrumental music)
The pilots are impressive,
but the real stars of the show are the planes themselves.
Taking care of them is a gigantic job.
Man: Yeah. Woman: Oh, they're moving now.
Man: They're moving now. All right, cool. Cool. Easy day.
Bye. Bye.
Aliya: Technically, Keri Kalmus is the crew coordinator,
but people call her Front Ma'am.
Oh, yeah, yeah, put whatever you want inside the cockpit.
Aliya: She is responsible for the planes until they take off,
and the crew that takes care of those planes.
Maintenance, Front Ma'am. FOD walk-down complete.
Every year, a third of the team leaves
and a new third comes in, and it's our responsibility
to get that third of the group up to speed.
If you're not briefed properly on what this jet can do to you
or potentially do to you,
it could be detrimental to your life.
Aliya: Every task here gets full focus.
Even changing the tire is vitally important.
♪
If we let it go, uh, you got a good chance of this tire,
um, exploding when it touches down on deck.
And with that, you know, you got flying debris.
Aliya: This crew takes such good care of the planes,
the pilots show them an unprecedented level of trust.
Joshua: This is the only place
where the pilots don't do preflights, okay?
We got crew chiefs.
They come out here and-- Well, all of us, really,
we come out here; we overlook the jets.
The crew chiefs walk around the aircraft
and make sure it's safe, 100%.
Griffin: The consequences of something going wrong
are catastrophic, right?
You know, we put 100% trust into everything they do
because that's the level of trust we need
to be able to go execute safely.
You know, the margin for error is basically zero.
♪
Aliya: And this is true
every time a Blue Angel leaves the ground,
including the test run they're about to make.
(Whooshing)
(Instrumental rock music)
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(Whooshing)
(Dramatic instrumental music)
Wow.
If danger is a constant for the Blue Angels,
so is its countermeasure: training.
There's really two factors in this business.
There's no stasis.
We're either getting better or we're getting worse.
We're constantly training,
and it's that tireless pursuit of perfection.
(Whooshing)
We have about a five-month run-up where we're training,
you know, two to three flights a day,
almost six days a week.
Aliya: The Blue Angels are only days away
from performing in Vidalia, Georgia.
The runway there is narrow,
so the team can't take off in its usual diamond formation.
Today, the number four plane will take off
just behind planes one, two, and three
and then catch up as quickly as possible.
Brian: And that's actually pretty darn difficult to do
in a dynamic regime of flight.
(Whooshing)
♪
Aliya: It's a windy day,
so it's a battle to stay in a tight formation.
The Blue Angels are famous for flying just 18 inches apart,
but they work up to that throughout the season.
Brian: We don't start in our closest formation sets.
We do that only after we ensure that we're safely
and we're totally synched up to get to that, no kidding,
12 to 18 inches of separation that we talk about.
Aliya: While the one to four planes
try to tighten their diamond formation,
the five and six partner up for their own dance.
We're down low, showing dynamic precision
as we try and cross right at centre point
and make it look like we're coaltitude or level.
♪
Aliya: Then all six planes join in the delta formation
to finish the training run.
Practice doesn't make perfect.
Perfect practice makes perfect.
And we really subscribe to that.
Aliya: While the Super Hornets are in the air,
they are thoroughly monitored and recorded.
♪
When they're finished,
every detail of the flight is scrutinized.
Brian: All right, welcome back everybody. Evan.
Evan: Yes, boss, (Unclear).
All right, having no safeties that I can recall.
When we get back, it's about an hour,
an hour and a half of debriefing,
and we'll go frame by frame to figure out what we did wrong,
what we did right and, more importantly,
how we can do it better, together as a team, next time.
Aliya: The number four pilot evaluates his execution
on the delayed takeoff.
I actually stagnated in here, so I can join quicker,
I think, tomorrow.
Aliya: So, we have privileged access here,
into the pilot briefing.
They are being ruthlessly honest
about not only their own performance
but each other's performances,
with the intention of achieving
some sort of group perfection.
Brian: It's almost here where you guys will notice
that it's almost like a cheat all the way up.
It kind of gets us inboard along with the winds and then...
Critical self-assessment is one of the key traits
that we look for in any role on this team.
Anyway, otherwise, I'm glad to be rid of it.
♪
The blue angels are ruthless when it comes to self-scrutiny.
It's the endless pursuit of perfection and precision.
Yeah, and let's really hone in
on that notion of precision for a moment.
Okay. Imagine if you will
filling a tank with 70,000 litres of jet fuel
and then flying that tank
all the way up to cruising altitude,
and then a jet comes up behind you
within a few feet of your plane
and attaches itself to a hose coming out the back.
Now, imagine doing all of that
while flying at a few hundred miles per hour.
I mean, I can't even walk down the sidewalk
and scroll my phone at the same time.
Yeah, me too. I have a problem with that too!
But what I described is exactly
what the crew of the Omega tanker do for a living,
and, trust me, it is as dangerous as it sounds.
(Engine roaring)
Filled with fuel, this plane and crew would be in grave jeopardy
in the event of an accident.
♪
In 2011, a fully loaded Omega 707 tanker
caught fire after a malfunction.
The crew aborted takeoff and escaped with minimal injuries,
but the plane was left a fiery wreck.
The disaster cost Omega millions of dollars
and serves as a graphic reminder of the hazards
tanker crews face on every mission.
♪
Man: Right, set check right lever.
Before D-10.
Left lever.
Up and checked.
Reverse stress.
Down and closed.
-Start levers. -Cut off.
Auto pilot and auto throttles.
Off and off.
Any questions?
No questions.
Teddy: Filled to capacity with those 68,000 litres,
or 20,000 gallons of jet fuel,
this tanker weighs in at 145,000 kilos, around 320,000 pounds.
♪
It takes three kilometres, or about two miles of runway,
and 278 kilometres, or 173 miles per hour, to get into the air.
Next in line. Eight-eight.
My tops.
Line supply and get up.
Get up. Three, two, one.
(Driving rock music)
♪
(Jets roaring)
♪
Teddy: At Lemoore Naval Base, the Hornets are restless.
Several Hornets are engaged in this afternoon's exercise,
but first they need a top-up from the tanker.
(Jets roaring)
75 kilometres, or 47 miles
from the Twentynine Palms Combat Centre,
the 707 slips into its oval orbit,
waiting for the Hornets to arrive.
The 707 is a probe-and-drogue style refueler.
Each wingtip pod houses a drogue, or basket,
that extends from a 15-metre or 49-foot hose,
allowing two receivers to refuel simultaneously.
♪
The receiving jets arrive in tandem,
before separating behind each wing.
On approach, the pilot activates
the fighter jets' refuelling probe.
♪
With the hoses fully extended, the tanker holds steady.
It's up to the receiver pilot to move in.
Cameras help John monitor the operation.
♪
And 2-1. You're good to turn right hose.
2-2, good to turn left hose.
Go find next hose for six.
Man: (On radio) How about 3-2-3 contact?
John: 3-2 third contact.
Teddy: This gas station is self-serve.
To get fuel flowing, the probe needs to be pushed
about 1.5 metres, or about 4 feet into the basket.
♪
This is when a pilot's skills are truly tested.
They need to perform a perfectly timed thrust
with a moving target.
♪
Man: 3-2 (Unclear) should pick up now.
Man 2: 3-2.
♪
(Indistinct radio chatter)
Teddy: At a speed of about 510 kilometres,
or 317 miles per hour,
even a small error could lead to disaster.
♪
(Engines roaring)
The F-18 maintains a stable position for the duration
of the fuel transfer.
If the probe moves more than an arm's length or so
in any direction, fuel flow stops.
We're both in a perfect position.
I'll just watch them to make sure
they don't fall off the hose
or bring it in too close to our aircraft.
Teddy: Each hose pumps over 1,000 litres,
or 264 gallons per minute.
The Jets take on over 2,000 litres,
or 528 gallons of fuel each,
enough to fill 30 SUVs.
(Indistinct radio chatter)
Teddy: This is no small success.
Being able to refuel in flight means you stay in the action.
This is a big step towards combat readiness.
Practice makes perfect, and the owners of the Omega tanker claim
a 99% mission completion rate.
You know, the Blue Angels also need to pull off
some big manoeuvres,
but they can't fail in front of a live audience.
But they've only got one more chance to rehearse
before the big day.
♪
Front man Kalmus is talking to a colleague
who is already in Georgia.
There are some issues with the type of fuel that's available,
so Kalmus is making arrangements for additives to the mix.
Well, right now we're dedicated three 5,000-gallon trucks,
so we should be good for CNAs.
He's going to verify that and get back to me.
So that's interesting.
So you're getting that information, like, on the spot.
Oh, yes.
And you're just writing it down on your hand
and making those calls in real time.
Absolutely, yeah.
That's incredible. Do you see that?
♪
Next, the Maintenance Control Work Center meets to go over
any last minute details.
Everyone understands how important their work is,
but they still manage to have a good time.
Chief Bogle.
What's up everybody?
(Cheering)
Great job this morning.
Glad to be here.
Yes.
Aliya: Of course the pilots are going to take
one more test drive,
trying to perfect the routine before tomorrow's show.
♪
That's really incredible what we just saw here
was that low plane almost broke the sound barrier.
Of course, they can't do that on land, right,
because it would be a sonic boom,
and it would actually destroy buildings.
♪
You know, if you think that you got it and you're hanging out
and, "We've got this one licked," it's about to bite ya.
♪
Aliya: And tomorrow is another chance to get fit,
in front of a crowd full of spectators.
♪
You rehearse and rehearse, but eventually it's time
to put on the big show.
So after the break, we're going to head to Vidalia, Georgia,
to see how all that hard work and training pays off.
I think it's so cool that you got to go to an air show
with the Blue Angels.
You know, and they are total rock stars there.
It's thrilling.
I can't wait to see that.
And soon we're going to head to Skandi Arctic.
It's a really fascinating ship that keeps divers alive
while they do costly deep-sea repair work
in freezing waters.
But just as impressive as that vessel
are the divers themselves.
They work underwater for weeks at a time
in really tough conditions.
♪
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(Dynamic rock music)
The Blue Angels pilots are definitely the main attraction
but they can't succeed without a dedicated ground crew.
Now, it's not the sexiest job, but it really is crucial.
Yeah, it really strikes me that everybody needs to perform
perfectly, including on the ground.
Yeah, absolutely.
And now that the whole team is in Vidalia, Georgia,
for that air show,
the pressure is really on to get everything just right.
(Dramatic rock music)
It's the day before the air show.
Keri Kalmus, the front ma'am in charge of the maintenance
of the planes is now in Vidalia, Georgia,
the site of the air show,
making sure the planes are in perfect condition.
Keri: Dip and dodge!
♪
I walk around all the jets,
making sure not only the jet's good
but everything's stationed where it needs to be.
♪
Aliya: The F-18 Echo Super Hornet
is not the only sweet ride on display.
The front ma'am and the rest of the mechanical crew
travel in the Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules,
nicknamed Fat Albert.
About 50 personnel on Fat Albert every Thursday morning.
Everything that we need to sustain three to five days
for an air show.
(Engine whoosh)
(Crowd din)
Aliya: When the stakes are this high,
nothing is left to chance.
This means every piece of equipment
has been meticulously packed onto this flying toolbox.
It's the premier logistical platform that we use
in the Marine Corps today.
(Upbeat instrumental music)
Aliya: The plane was bought
from the Royal Air Force in Britain
and has been in service with the Blue Angels for two years.
The design of this plane has been around since the 1950s.
The C-130 can travel anywhere, anytime,
and is still in high demand.
You just can't beat a classic.
It's exactly what we need in the Marine Corps.
And that's to be ready at a moment's notice and get--
get our Marines to where they need to be,
so it's pretty cool.
♪
Aliya: The whole team is now
where they need to be before the big show.
Alright, welcome to Georgia.
(Marines cheer)
(All laughing)
Okay, for a moment, let's visit the coast of Norway
and the dive ship Skandi Arctic.
It's got one critical job: to keep industrial divers
working on the ocean floor alive.
In some ways it reminds me of the Blue Angels' Fat Albert,
in that everything they need is onboard.
No, it's absolutely true and everything needs to go
exactly according to plan because if it doesn't,
people could die.
(Dramatic instrumental music)
175 kilometres, or 110 miles, off Norway's west coast,
Skandi Arctic is ready for action in the North Sea.
♪
(Over PA) Five minutes to helicopter,
so no-- no crane movement, please.
♪
Teddy: It's a dive support vessel built for just one job:
keeping divers alive
while they work on the bottom of the sea.
♪
Man: (Over radio) 3-4-5, this is diver three.
Man 2: (Unclear).
♪
Teddy: Its advanced technology
makes it the number one tool to perform risky,
high-cost repairs in offshore oil and gas fields
that yield billions of dollars in profit annually.
On this 20-day mission, teams of divers
will be lowered from the ship
in a diving bell to work on sub-sea installations
130 metres, 425 feet, down on the ocean floor.
They'll be fed gas, light and heat through lifelines
from the surface.
(Dynamic rock music)
(Machinery humming)
The life-giving supplies will be fed into this chamber
that will be their sealed, claustrophobic home
for the next three weeks.
It's called a saturation chamber.
♪
Skandi Arctic has six of them.
Six metres or 20 feet
by two and a half metres or eight feet,
these airtight cylinders will be filled with a mixture
of pressurized gas to keep the divers alive.
♪
They must live and breathe in the chamber
because at their extreme working depth
the pressure on the body and its organs is lethal.
(Valve hissing)
And as the body compresses,
the air that we normally
breathe and absorb is turned into poison.
♪
In the saturation chamber, divers are put under
the same crushing pressure gradually,
giving their bodies time to adjust.
♪
And they'll breathe a high-helium gas mixture
that won't kill them but will alter their voices.
(High-pitched unclear chatter)
(Ocean din)
Teddy: On dive day,
the bell descends to the dark ocean floor.
Man: (Over radio) 1, 2, 3, (Unclear).
(Diver, high-pitched, text on screen)
Man: Very loud, very clear.
(Diver, text on screen)
Man: Okay.
Teddy: The divers leave the bell and get to work.
(Dramatic instrumental music)
(Diver, text on screen)
♪
Teddy: Once they have picked up their tools,
it's a hike to the site and to the work ahead...
(Diver, high-pitched chatter)
Teddy: ...replacing screws on the sub-sea structure.
♪
(Diver, text on screen)
(Hissing breathing)
Diver: Alright.
Teddy: It's delicate, challenging work.
Made worse in freezing water temperatures
and in the pitch black.
♪
These men in dive control are the divers'
metaphorical lifeline.
Roger that.
Can you keep an eye on the water jet for me?
Teddy: And each diver is supported by three
literal lifelines.
(Dynamic instrumental music)
Man: And after you've done it five or six times,
keep turning your...
Get the-- --out.
Yeah. Gets your twist out.
Teddy: Heliox to breathe, electrical and hot water.
The electrical provides lighting, communication
and camera support.
(Diver, text on screen)
Man: You are loud and clear; how me?
(Diver, text on screen)
Teddy: The water hose fills a layer of the divers' suits
with 30 degree Celsius, or 86 degree Fahrenheit, water
to keep them from dying in the cold.
It's just four degrees Celsius, or 39 degrees Fahrenheit,
at the bottom of the North Sea.
Hypothermia could kill them in 30 minutes
and their work shift is six hours long.
(Diver, text on screen)
(Hissing breathing)
Teddy: A ship full of technicians
and state of the art dive support systems
have made this deadly job possible.
(Hissing breathing)
(Dynamic instrumental music)
The high-tech Skandi Arctic has proven its worth
and delivered another job well done.
♪
Wow, that is such a dangerous, difficult job,
even with the Skandi Arctic up there keeping them safe.
I would much rather be pulling some Gs in an F-18.
Teddy: Yes.
Alright, so after the break, we are back with the Blue Angels
in Vidalia, Georgia, and it's time
to fly before thousands of excited spectators.
And to be honest, this part makes me really nervous.
(Dynamic rock music)
♪
(Jet engine whoosh)
(M
(Maj
(Majes
(Majesti
(Majestic
(Majestic ro
(Majestic rock
(Majestic rock m
(Majestic rock mus
(Majestic rock music
(Majestic rock music)
♪
This is it.
It's almost show time for the Blue Angels,
and a lot of the crowd have grown up idolizing these guys.
Yeah I men, they're some of the most
famous pilots in the world, right?
Absolutely, and now they have practiced their routine,
but it is a new location, so the stakes are high.
Can they pull this off?
♪
It's show day in Vidalia, Georgia.
The grills are going.
Everyone's getting ready for the big show.
Especially the front man.
As soon as we land, it's completely go-go-go.
Go.
Hey, let's go, it's 10:10, get up and out, let's FOD walk.
♪
Aliya: Before the planes take off, everyone
will turn their eyes to the ground to look for FOD.
Foreign Object Debris.
FOD can really be found anywhere,
in any type of shape, form. Rocks.
Aliya: If something as small as a screw is sucked
into a jet engine, it could take down a plane.
It could be catastrophic.
Aliya: As always, the crew's work is meticulous.
We don't cut corners.
We don't skip steps.
You know, we do everything here by the book to ensure
we have a safe product for the pilots.
♪
Okay, good to go. Let's go.
Aliya: The jets are fueled, the canopy is cleaned.
We're ready, yeah.
Permission to light 'em up.
It's show time.
Sorry?
♪
Aliya: Now it's time for the Blue Angels
to take their aerial stage.
Despite all the training and preparation,
every pilot is fully aware that they are driving a dangerous
machine, in a volatile way.
Every single flight, you have that perfect level of stress,
that perfect level of tension in your body that makes
you at your peak performance.
Nerves are good.
They actually-- they tell you that you're gearing up for
something important.
Aliya: A pilot's mental state is monitored as closely
as the machines he flies.
The Blue Angels have their own flight surgeon,
who is on top of everyone's physical and mental health.
I constantly check in on the pilots before we go on for
the day, to make sure they're at their peak performance.
And then once I'm up on headset with them,
I will watch different things that occur prior to the
demonstration to make sure that everyone's hitting
certain wickets before we take off.
Aliya: The pilots are good to go today.
(Indistinct) winds are calm, burke squawk 1-2-1-0, we are
clear (indistinct) runway 25, right away runway 25.
Aliya: Their first hurdle is the difficult takeoff
created by the short and narrow runway.
So we can't actually fit four jets on the runway
for our diamond takeoff.
Aliya: The takeoff is even more difficult in larger
jets the team is still getting used to.
It's something new. It's something very difficult.
♪
(Jets roaring)
Aliya: But the takeoff looks clean.
Pilot number four joins his teammates on schedule.
Now all they have to do is push 66 thousand pounds,
30 thousand kilograms of metal and fuel 400 miles an hour.
♪
Fighting off up to 7 Gs, all while holding the
Blue Angels' signature, perilously close formation.
♪
So, we're about 36 inches away from space in between
the two aircraft.
There are four aircraft up there.
That set is going to gradually increase and tighten
down as the season progresses.
♪
Aliya: Then the soloist pilots five and six announce
their presence with some thrilling cross maneuvers.
♪
It's all math and mental, physically looking outside
and running off checkpoints.
♪
It takes a continued focus throughout the season to
maintain that level of precision throughout the year.
♪
Aliya: At the comm cart, the flight surgeon
keeps her eyes and ears
keenly trained on the pilots.
If there was an emergency in the air I will come up on
a radio with the pilots and we will go through the emergency
procedures through the book to counteract that emergency
and hopefully get them back in the fight.
Aliya: To finish the routine, all six planes join in
the Delta formation.
I love doing the Delta maneuvers because they're
the most difficult, right?
It's about sinking six people up in the air.
We're totally synced up, time will slow down for
two or three seconds.
The more moments you get like that, the more addictive it is.
It's an awesome thing, it's surreal.
♪
(Engines roar)
♪
To go out and represent them that are out of sight the mostly
American public, to those that have fallen doing
the job for us.
We take great pride and are humbled to be here
and represent them well.
Aliya: As great as the show was for the crowd, it still
wasn't the one thing the blue Angels are constantly
striving for.
I've been on the team three years and we've yet
to do a perfect demo.
♪
So the one day that we ever get it, we nail it,
I think this team will cease to exist.
♪
Aliya: But the performance is about more than
the elusive perfect flight.
(Engines roar)
Working the crowd and seeing everyone just light up at
seeing the Blue Angels, it's amazing.
When I see all six jets land,
that is when I feel at peace.
Alright, good job, good job.
Aliya: Despite the danger, all the pilots will tell you
that this is one of the best driving jobs in the world.
Nothing against super drivers
but this is a unique gig and I count
my blessings every day.
(Engines roar)
(Dynamic instrumental music)
♪
(Instrumental flourish)