FORT WORTH, Texas -- Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops lost
consciousness for a few moments but didn't lose his lunch Wednesday
during a ride with the Navy's Blue Angels flight team.
Stoops took off with pilot Kevin Davis of Connecticut for an
hourlong ride that started with a vertical climb to 7,000 feet.
"We started doing some maneuvers flying upside down, getting
right to the edge of mach speed and doing some loops," Stoops said
in a statement issued by Oklahoma. "Then we did the cork screw
vertical climb and nose-dived into some turns. It was just
amazing."
He said he took G-forces up to 7.8 during a minimal radius turn.
"He lost me there. You just black out for a second or two,"
Stoops said. "[The pilot] was talking me through it the entire
time. Of course, it doesn't faze them a bit. At one point, we were
flying upside down at about 1,000 feet just hanging by our
straps."
Stoops said his stomach was up to the task.
"I didn't have any problems, but I didn't think I would. I
haven't had any trouble with my stomach over the years," Stoops
said. "I ate a club sandwich a couple hours before we went up."
Former "American Idol" winner Kelly Clarkson also flew with
the Blue Angels, the featured attraction at this weekend's Texas
Thunder 2006 Air Show.
"It was awesome. What an experience," Stoops said. "The force
and power in the jet and the precision and skill of the pilot are
overwhelming."