The Norman Transcript

OU Sports

May 11, 2006

Stoops takes flight with Blue Angels

OU coach loses consciousness, but not his lunch

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.”

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