(WHDH)–The University of Maine women’s hockey coach was rewarded for his work in the community with a once-in-a-lifetime flight with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels on Friday ahead of the Great State of Maine Air Show.
Richard Reichenbach was selected for the flight in recognition of raising money for cancer, setting up coaching clinic, and founding the only all-girls youth hockey program in Maine.
“Honored to do anything with the military, so [I’m] really excited, really nervous too,” said Reichenbach.
Reichenbach’s pilot, Lt. Julius Bratton, aimed to give the coach the ride of his life.
“In the F-18 you’ll experience high-speed flight, slow-speed flight, you really get a sense for everything you can do in a fighter aircraft,” said Bratton.
The jet rocketed off at a G-Force of 6.1, six times the force of gravity. Certain maneuvers can be so intense that they can cause people to pass out, as Reichenbach learned when the G-Force hit 7 during a turn.
Reichenbach said the experience was unlike any other.
“You can’t even imagine what it would be like to be in a machine like that, it was unbelievable,” Reichenbach said.
For more information about the air show, click here.
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