Cro soars with Blue Angels

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Thursday, Mar 06, 2008
By Casey Pearce, Chargers.com

When officials from the Naval Air Facility in El Centro, California approached Chargers All-Pro Cornerback Antonio Cromartie about visiting the base for a ride with the Blue Angels, Cromartie took little time to deliver a fitting response for someone who runs a sub 4.4 second 40-yard dash.

“I like to go fast,” Cromartie said. “It doesn’t get much faster than that.”

On Wednesday morning, Cromartie visited the NAF El Centro, located roughly 100 miles east of San Diego, and enjoyed the experience of a lifetime with the Blue Angles, the Navy’s Flight Demonstration Squad.

“It was a huge honor for them to ask me to come out here today,” Cromartie said. “This is a unique experience that not many people get to go through. I’d been looking forward to it for a while.”

Upon his arrival, Cromartie spent about an hour in a briefing session with Blue Angels members. During that time, he was instructed on how to control his body and use the aircraft’s functions during his flight. The Blue Angles execute all kinds of high-performance, acrobatic maneuvers that can take a physical toll on riders.

“They told me not to eat anything before I came and they said that my legs would feel like I’d done about 200 squats when we got through,” Cromartie said. “I was cool with everything until they started talking about the ejection seat. I’m just glad we had a safe flight and didn’t have to worry about that one.”

After the briefing, Cromartie was handed a jump suit and headed to the runway where he boarded a FA-18 Hornet piloted by Lt. Frank “Walleye” Weisser. After the two were strapped in, they took off on an approximately 45-minute flight in which they reached more than 800 miles per hour and nearly 6 G’s.

While FA-18 passengers regularly pass out and/or vomit during their flight due to the pressure, Cromartie held strong.

“I stayed awake,” Cromartie proudly declared once his feet were on the ground. “No blacking out, no throwing up or anything. My legs feel a little queasy and my stomach hurts but I’m holding on.”

While Cromartie thoroughly enjoyed the adrenaline rush he received in the flight, he said the experience was more than just entertaining.

“It was a great experience just to sit there and watch everything that’s going on,” Cromartie said. “I learned a lot. You have a lot of respect for the Blue Angels and all that they do. There’s a lot happening in that plane and they’re in control of it all.”

At the conclusion of the flight, Cromartie posed for photos with each member of the Blue Angels and hung around long enough to autograph each individual picture. He also made his way to one of the hangers on base and spent a good chunk of time signing memorabilia and posing for pictures with the airmen and airwomen on duty. The opportunity to say thanks was the icing on the cake of a pretty special day.

“I have a lot of respect for our troops and really appreciate all they do for us,” Cromartie said. “I enjoyed getting to meet so many people and thank them for serving. I got a lot out of my day and hopefully they liked having me here as much as I liked being here.”

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