We do not talk to anyone
within an hour of a performance.
Getting ready to go fly.
In my 30-minute zone.
Sorry, I can't talk.
It's game time.
We've got to do everything.
We've got to do it perfectly.
Mistakes are not usually survivable.
Have they gotten him out of the seat
of the Harrier?
We don't know.
After weeks of prepping,
the big day has finally arrived.
Sun 'n Fun is one of
the largest air shows in the country.
So the pressure is on.
We are at Sun 'n Fun,
which is in Lakeland, Fla.
Sun 'n Fun is just typically
everybody gets together
and enjoys the sun
and has some fun.
But for Art's team, they soon find out it's not all fun in the sun.
There is some unfortunate news
from Jenna.
There are too many L-39s
parked at the airport
and the tower turns her away.
Jenna had to land the L-39 at
an airport 100 miles away,
leaving Art as the team's only pilot
at the air show.
Where have they got him?
Parked over on the far side?
But he and the Harrier are
heading in the wrong direction.
Clear over there.
[inaudible]
Don't see it. I can't see him.
I think he's turned off his engines,
but we're not 100 percent sure.
At the very end of the runway here
and they're waiting for
all these little guys to taxi in and park.
I'd like to know where they sent him.
(Pat Hatfield-Nalls)
Have they gotten him
out of the seat of the Harrier?
They don't know. They don't know.
So we can drive all the way around
and go get him.
(Pat Hatfield-Nalls)
Yeah, this is crazy.
With no radio communication with Art
and over 200,000 fans to get through,
Art's team rushes to find him.
There's so much traffic going on.
Just gotta make sure
we're going to the right spot.
He's probably cramping up, too, because he's been in there all day.
I mean you'd have thought he had his cellphone on him, you know what I'm saying.
After a frustrating search,
the team finally spots the Harrier
on the other side of the airport.
There Art’s walking around,
so he didn't die.
Luckily, they find Art.
Hey, how are you?
The fun never ends.
Unfortunately, they will need to figure out how to get the Harrier back to the hangar.
The tower goes, “Who are you?”
They didn't know where to put me.
After the tower mistakenly directs Art to the wrong section of the airfield,
the Harrier finally gets
towed back to the team
just in time for
the FAA inspectors to arrive.
[♪ music ♪]
Before the Harrier can perform, Art's team must provide all the paperwork
in order to pass
the strict FAA inspection.
And as the only private citizen in the world to fly a Harrier,
he presents a peculiar case.
Did you want to see
the program letter?
I got it.
>> You already saw it?
(SCPO Pete Weiskopf)
We've got two gentlemen from the FAA. They're making sure that
all the paperwork is up-to-date on it.
It’s had its yearly inspection.
And they actually check
his pilot's license and qualifications.
So he's got to be doubly certified to fly the show.
You want to do it
someplace it's not windy?
[inaudible]
>>Yeah, on this tail plane.
This is going to be a good picture.
The best thing you can ever get
from them is to say,
“Thank you, sir. Have a good day.”
Comments are generally meaning that you've done something that
they want more depth information on.
Does that qualify as a VFR?
We needed to go over the airplane from top to bottom.
The FAA may come out just because they're curious.
None of them have ever done a Harrier.
Now that all went well with the inspection, it's time for Art
and his team to put on a show.
Give me a kiss.
(mwah)
Good luck!
See you in 20 minutes.
(Pat Hatfield-Nalls)
All right!
And the fans just can't wait.
Getting ready to go fly.
Sorry, I can't talk.
We do not talk to anyone within
an hour of a performance.
That's when we get
our game face on.
We've got to do everything.
We've got to do it perfectly.
Mistakes are not usually survivable.
While Art focuses on preparing to fly, superfans hover around the Harrier.
Absolutely beautiful.
Amazing piece of machinery.
I've seen it a couple of times before, but
this is the closest I've ever been to it.
Absolutely beautiful. Can't beat it.
With all the excitement
surrounding the Harrier,
Pat steps in for a little crowd control.
You cannot be on this side
of the aircraft.
Supposed to be over there.
Can't go any further.
People have a habit of sticking things inside the nozzles.
Yeah, they've stuck gum.
They've stuck Coke cans.
They've changed babies' diapers
on the wing.
[laughing] I know.
So because of that, we don't want the audience even coming near the planes
until we have it completely roped off.
Is that privately owned?
Yes, that's my plane.
How about that.
Yep.
It's finally showtime
and the crowd is ready to see
some spectacular stunts.
The Harrier uses significantly less runway than your typical jet.
Art points the Harrier's thrusters downward to perform a vertical short takeoff.
He starts with low-altitude,
high-speed flybys to show off for the crowd
along with a few aileron
and barrel rolls
to demonstrate how agile
the Harrier is.
Art slows the Harrier by turning down the thrusters to enter into hover mode.
He keeps the plane hovering in one place and does a 360 turn.
Now he's prepping for his
most dangerous stunt.
This is a maneuver that even the most experienced Harrier pilots
would never attempt—
the bow to the crowd.
Art performs it perfectly.
The crowd loves it.
After a successful performance,
Art brings the Harrier down
for a soft vertical landing.
If it looks like I'm having fun doing it, it's because I am.
(Pat Hatfield-Nalls)
Looked good, except your landing.
(Lt. Col. Art Nalls)
Yeah.
(Pat Hatfield-Nalls)
A bit rocky.
(Lt. Col. Art Nalls)
Yeah. Well, I was going forward a little bit.
(Pat Hatfield-Nalls)
Yeah, your formation was good.
(Lt. Col. Art Nalls)
I didn't do it in formation.
(Pat Hetfield-Nalls)
Your aileron roll was perfect,
your four-point roll was perfect. Everything, so—
(Lt. Col. Art Nalls)
OK, good. She's a tough critic, too. Get my glasses and—
After the show, the convertible Mustang showed up here
and they wanted me to be
the prom queen—
to ride up on the back of it
and go past the crowd.
The crowd was standing up.
They were giving standing ovations.
They were applauding.
I was handing out some handout cards
that we have a picture on it
and a little write-up on the back of it.
They love it.
They were rushing toward the line to get those pictures.
They seemed like they really and genuinely enjoyed the performance,
and that's what it's all about.
(Pat Hatfield-Nalls)
I think it's been a pretty good start.
The plane has flown beautifully.
Our team has gotten along really well
and we've introduced a couple of new members to our team.
Jenna is looking forward to working with the team at the next air show
as one of the only female pilots to fly the Harrier.
(Lt. Col. Jenna Dolan)
Sometimes, I just feel like it was just coincidence and it’s happenstance
and there are other women
who have flown airplanes,
and then other times I think,
wow, there have only been
three or, now, four women
that have ever flown a Harrier.
So when I think about it like that,
it's pretty amazing!
And for the rest of the team,
their lifetime of dedication is what keeps the Harrier alive.
I like coming out here because:
a) I like the kind of people
I meet out here.
We speak the same language.
Most of us have had some sort of
a similar background in aviation.
And for Art, he's not slowing down any time soon.
I am a small piece of being able to keep this airplane flying
and alive and show it to people who've never seen a Harrier before.
With the supplies we have,
with the spare parts we have,
this airplane will far outlast my ability to be able to pass the flight physical and safely fly it.
Eventually, my day's going to come
where I'm not going to be able to fly this airplane anymore,
but hopefully I will have passed it on to a younger generation
who will be able to
safely fly this airplane.
So I'm a small piece of preserving this valuable piece of history.
The future of the Harrier is
in good hands.
And Art is more excited than ever to share his love of aviation
with the next generation.
I love air show season.
It's the highlight of my year.
Meeting all the fans and displaying this beautiful aircraft is what it's all about.
In our next episode,
I'm going to be answering questions
from the comments section below, so
please like this video and subscribe to AARP's YouTube channel
so you don't miss our upcoming question-and-answer session.
Looking forward to your questions.
