Curran is in her third year on the air forces elite demonstration team usually, the special assignment only lasts two years, but because of COVID-19, the tour is extended and now is the lead solo pilot. They also plan, along with a lot of family, to see her when the Thunderbirds fly at the Milwaukee Air &Water Show July 27-28 and an air show in Mankato, Minnesota, in June. During the latter part of her role on the team, many airshows were cancelled due to the global pandemic. After nearly a decade of active service, including deployments to Afghanistan and Japan, Curran applied to the Thunderbirds. Combat veteran Michelle "MACE" Curran led an impressive career as an F-16 fighter pilot during her 13 years in the United States Air Force. Subscribe to this newsletter, follow me on here, and click the bell in the upper right corner of my profile to get notified when I post daily. As far as branches of the military go, the Air Force has historically had the most female recruits. With a powerful story and breathtaking visuals, Michelle, also known as Mace, takes her audience on a surprising and compelling journey through her career as a Fighter Pilot, culminating in her role as the Lead Solo Pilot for the Air Force Thunderbirds. The F-18 Super She earned a degree in criminal justice in 2009 because she consideredbecominga crime scene investigatorbut also thought it would be cool to become a pilot. Its become more accepted, but she is aware of things that women have to navigate that men dont even think about. exquisite, thrilling pas de deux in flight, with incredible precision at 200 He is in his first season with the team and hails from Cerritos, Calif. Maj. Michael Brewer is the Slot Pilot for the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, flying the No. As I mentioned before, people unaccustomed to the feeling often go into g-LOC (g-force induced loss of consciousness) or experience extreme motion sickness. See more, including their schedule of performances, at the US Air Force Thunderbirds site, afthunderbirds.com. Mace, you are certainly an inspiration. He is in his second season with the team and hails from Fort Collins, Colo. confusion, missing each other by mere feet; opposing craft which come at each Send comments or questions to[emailprotected]. View Michelle Curran's business profile as Member at U.S. Air Force. Michelle Curran didn't become interested in flying until college, but she certainly was not afraid of heights growing up in Wisconsin. a cannon ball at almost 200 mph, crossing in flight, before releasing the Force launch out of a plane from 13,000 feet, speeding like Blogging at goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com and moralcompasstravel.info. From 2019-2021, she flew as the only female pilot for the Air Force Thunderbirds and performed for millions across the country and internationally. "There was still definitely a surreal moment, while holding short of the runway, where I was in a bit of disbelief that I had actually been selected and was about to take off for my first flight.". I'll go from 150 feet above the ground to 15,000 in a few seconds while rolling. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. Just two years earlier, women were granted the honor of flying fighter jets by the U.S. Air Force (USAF). Michelle is related to James Curren and Samantha Robles as well as 3 additional people. Eventually she was selected. Most call signs are not flattering.. Michelle Curran: Taking Action Towards Your Goals. Im hoping to continue to do that through this platform, public speaking, a childrens booklets just say I have a lot of goals and I hope youll continue to come along for the journey. So that was cool.. Her evolution from struggling with a crippling fear of failure to flying inverted only inches from other aircraft at 500 mph will inspire audiences to get comfortable being uncomfortable. My passion is to inspire individuals and teams to make bold decisions, empower them to face fears, and help them find inner strength to reach their true potential. Mace shares her struggles with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and finding her identity in a high-performance, type-A culture. Red Bull Air I actually helped buckle Brie Larson into this very seat, one replies. Initially I credit the breathtaking beauty and the roller-coaster-like thrill of the experience for this, but then I remember another thing the flight surgeon told me: Women tend to have a lower center of gravity, giving them something of a natural advantage against high g-forces. a different plane from the Oracle Challenger 3 biplane. cbsnews.com Female Thunderbird pilot inspiring others to chase their dreams The Air Force turns 72 years old this month. Curran has been featured on several leading media publications and programs, including The Kelly Clarkson Show, CBS Evening News, and Glamour. Drawing on over a decade in high-performance aviation and her own transformation, Mace teaches audiences what they are capable of when they let go of fear, lean into vulnerability, and make bold choices. Since transitioning out of the military, she has founded her company, Upside Down Dreams, and is committed to empowering men and women of all ages to overcome obstacles and the fear of failure. "But if they go out and they, you know, chase a dream that they didn't think they could do because they saw what we can do, then our mission's achieved," she said. This often begins at Crunchbase, where we find out the basics of the company and its founders, launching points for further research. US Air Force Major Michelle Curran is aware that she is such an inspiration to women and girls everywhere a role she embraces, along with her mission, as a member of the Thunderbirds demo team to recruit, retain, inspire. It is hard to say which she enjoys more the look on a young girls face when she realizes that Curran was flying those death-defying maneuvers in her F-16 fighter jet, or the thrill of flying those death-defying maneuvers in her F-16 fighter jet, going from 1500 feet altitude straight up to 15,000 feet in a matter of seconds. She applied, picking the Air Force as her military arm of choice on a bit of a whim. it has been awesome to be part of that, to be in this position, in this time of history. She serveda two-month deployment in the skies over Afghanistan in 2016, flying 125 hours in combat and was serving in the 355th Fighter Squadron in Fort Worth, Texas, whenshe was chosen for one of the coveted spots in the Thunderbirds, who train at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. See photo galleries of Jones Beach Air Shows from 2019 and 2018: By Karen Rubin, Travel the same aeronautical techniques as the original Wright Brothers plane in 1903. a demonstration performance. Maj. Curran is widely known as a member of theU.S. Air Force Flight Demonstration Team, the Thunderbirds. Maj. Curran is broadly referred to as a member of the U.S. Air Force Flight Demonstration Team, the Thunderbirds. A native of Orlando, Florida, he reflects that he first saw the Thunderbirds when he was just four or five years old, and was so awed, he wanted to fly. Noted. This button displays the currently selected search type. Curran has flown more than 1,500 hours in the F-16, including 163 combat hours over Afghanistan in support of operations Resolute Support and Freedoms Sentinel. In a Facebook post from Wednesday afternoon, October 27, 2021, USAF Maj. Michelle Curran, call sign Mace, announced she is, about to make a big career pivot and will be leaving the Active Duty Air Force in the new year. She flies position #5, lead solo, one of the most visible positions on the team. travels at 250 mph. They act as the public face for the USAF, performing jaw-dropping maneuvers at air shows around the country. Engine and a General Electric CJ610 (J85) Jet Engine with 3,000 lbs of thrust. The movie . During the latter part of her role on the team, many airshows were cancelled due to the global pandemic. I'm the first female to fly in that position, which is, I think, one of the hardest positions to fly," Curran said. Demerly is an experienced parachutist, holds advanced SCUBA certifications, has climbed the highest mountains on three continents and visited all seven continents and has flown several types of light aircraft. Drawing the audience in with action-packed stories tied to lessons of grit, perseverance, determination, and teamwork, she shares hard-won lessons on how to reframe challenges, shift your mindset to shift your trajectory, realize the power to success that lies within you, and turn the voice of self-doubt into your biggest cheerleader on the path to success. Meanwhile, the part of this job that I really love is inspiring others. They practice so much, it is all quite routine, even the communications between pilots. I started to grow an Adventure Mindsetone of curiosity, openness to new things, and a completely fresh perspective on failure. Michelle "MACE" Curran is an F-16 Mission Commander with over 1800 hours in the aircraft. The second best result is Michelle Lee Curran age 40s in Ocala, FL in the Silver Springs Shores neighborhood. He is in his second season with the team and hails from Beavercreek, Ohio. Michelle "MACE" Curran Expand search. And she does it upside down (almost the equivalent of Ginger Rogers doing it backwards and in heels?). Shed just landed from a Thunderbirds show in Sioux Falls and immediately jokes that she needs to fix her hair after sweating too much on the flight over. (Being in a spinning cockpit thousands of miles from the ground will do that to you.) We dip around a big thunderstorm and run through a set of increasingly intense maneuvers360-degree rolls, extended periods of upside-down flight, turns with increasingly high g's. I am a Venezuelan passionate about aviation, and at 44 years old I only see these from the screen, since I never dared to approach an Airplane because I am a woman. In the works are online coaching programs for personal development, and in person corporate leadership coaching. These reactions only made the problem worse. I confess that I have admired Michelle Curran, only the fifth woman (since 2005) to pilot one of the formidable F-16 jets, since I first saw her in the 2019 Bethpage Air Show, when she was the #6 (opposing solo) pilot. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Select Accept to consent or Reject to decline non-essential cookies for this use. This is Currans third season with the Thunderbirds. 5,000 ft. (they have a spare chute). Go fly girls! It turned out there was a lot more to being a fighter pilot than just flying the jet. Ranges are presented as a guideline only. Prior to commissioning, he flew as a commercial flight instructor, cargo pilot and airline pilot. Curran, whose call sign is "Mace," flies Thunderbird No. This shift in airshow schedules meant that Maj. Currans social media contributions grew to become much more vital for sustaining the relevance of the Thunderbirds for public audiences.Curran has labored with the Thunderbird group media personnel to convey scintillating in-cockpit viewpoint video of the lead solos dynamic routine throughout the Thunderbird demonstration, together with thrilling video of opposing maneuvers with Thunderbird #6 and her signature vertical rolls throughout the groups high show. Holy smokes. Flying under the callsign MACE, she was the second woman ever to fly in the lead solo position for the Thunderbirds since the teams founding in 1953. And I am not alone. It was during this time that she realized the flying was incredible, but the best part was inspiring others to overcome their fears and pursue their dreams. man would weigh 800 lbs. Most thrilling at this years Memorial Day weekend People come up and say Im so proud of you, something your mother would say. It can be seen onWABC-TV, as well as on WABCsConnected TV AppsonAmazon Fire TV,Android TV,Apple TV,andRoku. country, mimicking the astonishing stunts of Sean D. Tucker, a living legend Game on. She has accumulated over 1250 flight hours in three aircraft, including the T-6, T-38, and the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Send comments or questions to [emailprotected] Tweet @TravelFeatures. He has logged more than 1,700 flight hours, including more than 280 combat hours over Iraq and Syria in support of Operations Inherent Resolve. The Saturday performance was cancelled due to weather, but the rehearsal footage is being livestreamed on WABC . And the back-story I'll be honest I don't have a favorite in the Super Bowl," said Cook.