My flight in Fat Albert at the recent Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In ranks up there as one of the most bizarre flying experiences I’ve had in my more than decade long aviation career. Strapped to a couch in the cockpit of a highly modified C-130 next to another aviation journalist, I watched crewmembers become airborne in the cockpit as the pilots maneuvered the heavy airplane in steep banks and mind-blowing pitch attitudes.
Since 1970, Fat Albert has been a part of the Blue Angels air show team, flying more than 140,000 miles each season. Powered by four Allison turboprop engines, producing more than 16,000 shaft-horsepower, Fat Albert cruises at more than 320 knots at 27,000 feet.
