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Arctic Warrior becomes Thunderbird

By Tech. Sgt. Mike Edwards, 3rd WG/PA / Published June 13, 2006

ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska -- Capt. Samantha Weeks, 12th Fighter Squadron, enters her F-15C prior to a training mission here. Captain Weeks was one of three pilots recently selected to fly with the United States Air Force Thunderbirds. When she leaves Elmendorf, Captain Weeks will spend approximately two months at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz. for F-16 transition training before heading to Nellis AFB, Nev. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Rhiannon Willard.)
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ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska -- Capt. Samantha Weeks, 12th Fighter Squadron, enters her F-15C prior to a training mission here. Captain Weeks was one of three pilots recently selected to fly with the United States Air Force Thunderbirds. When she leaves Elmendorf, Captain Weeks will spend approximately two months at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz. for F-16 transition training before heading to Nellis AFB, Nev. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Rhiannon Willard.)

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ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska -- When a six year-old little girl decided she wanted to become an Air Force pilot when she grew up, little did she realize that not only would her dreams come true, but she would also be chosen to fly for one of the world’s premier aircraft demonstration teams.

Fast forward 24 years to the present day and that is just what happened for Capt. Samantha Weeks, an F-15C pilot from the 12th Fighter Squadron, who was one of just three pilots recently selected to fly with the United States Air Force Thunderbirds.

“What a great opportunity to serve the Air Force in such a capacity,” she said. “I feel both honored and humbled at the same time.”

While some might think pilots might try to volunteer to become a Thunderbird simply for the prestige, Capt. Weeks says she did it for different reasons.

“The Air Force has given me so much for the past 30 years and I wanted a chance to give back,” she said. “With my dad serving 27 years as an enlisted member in the maintenance career field, I grew up in the Air Force and the Air Force has been very good to me. Now I have the opportunity to give back.”

While the application process to become a pilot with the Thunderbirds is lengthy, it is also highly competitive. Pilots interested in applying must submit a package to a board for review.
This year the board selected 10 semi-finalists. From this group, only five made it to the final round.
In the last stage, only three of the five were selected to be a member of the 2007-2008 Thunderbird Team.

However, getting selected is just the first step; pilots must be able to master the skills necessary to fly the aircraft used by the Thunderbirds.

The Thunderbirds fly F-16 Viper where Capt Weeks flies the F-15C Eagle.

“One of the biggest differences is that I’m going from a two-engine fighter to a single-engine fighter” she said. Capt Weeks will also incur two months of training at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz. to transition to fly the F-16, and understand the basic tactical employment of a different aircraft.

After completing her training at Luke, she will travel to Nellis AFB, Nev. and spend approximately three months learning the Thunderbirds aerial demonstration show before starting the 2007 show season in March.
“This is a great honor and I am excited at the chance to fly for the Thunderbirds and represent the men and women in the Air Force serving all over the world.”