Nebraska coach Tim Miles takes stomach-churning flight with Blue Angels

Nebraska coach Tim Miles flies with the Blue Angels (via Tim Miles)

The day one of his friends called to ask if he wanted to fly with the Blue Angels, Nebraska coach Tim Miles approached his staff with a pressing question.

Do you think I’ll die?

“They all unequivocally said, ‘You will not die,'” Miles told Yahoo Sports on Monday. They said, ‘You could pass out, you could puke or you could embarrass yourself,’ but I can do all three of those things on a regular basis anyhow. So I said I’m doing it.”

Last Tuesday morning, Miles indeed soared through the Nebraska sky with the U.S. Navy’s most renowned flight demonstration squadron. The Blue Angels filmed Miles’ 42-minute flight and used footage to promote the airshow they held in Lincoln this past weekend.

The pilot who took Miles up in an F/A-18 Hornet exceeded 600 miles per hour in the air and did everything from flying upside down, to barrel rolls, to loops. At one point in the flight, Miles reached for a barf bag but only dry-heaved. Later he also did several breathing exercises to make sure he stayed conscious.

“It was one of the most intense experiences I’ve been through,” Miles said. “I lost five pounds and 10 years off my life.

“What happens when you pull all those Gs is the gravitational force is pulling everything to the ground. Your feet feel like cement blocks, you’ve got all this force on your chest and the blood is running out of your head. You have to do this breathing maneuver to try to keep oxygen and blood in your head so you don’t pass out.”

Miles’ wife and 16-year-old daughter were on the ground filming him in the air. He emerged with newfound respect for the skill of the Blue Angels pilots and the power and maneuverability of the planes themselves.

“The Blue Angels are unbelievable,” Miles said. “Our pilot that day did four flights I think. I needed a 2 1/2-hour nap after one of them.”

More video of Miles’ flight: