World News

Buzz Aldrin Becomes Oldest Man to Fly With the Thunderbirds

By  | 
Tony Maples Photography

 

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin made history at the Melbourne Air & Space Show in Florida by becoming the oldest person to fly with the Thunderbirds at age 87. Though Aldrin took flight on Sunday around 10 a.m., before the official start of the Air & Space Show, news networks were there to watch as Aldrin and the Thunderbirds set off for a 22-minute journey through the skies.

The executive director of Orlando Melbourne International, Greg Donovan, told Florida Today, “The camaraderie between the astronaut and the airmen was one of mutual respect, with expressions of understandable awe on the young airmens’ faces. He was especially impressed with the caliber of our airport operations and the air show.”

According to AVGeekery, Aldrin took the backseat of Thunderbird 7 where he was flown over in a diamond formation over Kennedy Space Center and launch complex 39-A , the same spot he departed for space in Apollo 11 in 1969, the first flight to land humans on the moon’s surface.

Even though the Thunderbirds usually hit around 700 miles per hour in flight, Aldrin walked out of the plane with gusto and didn’t feel unwell from the powerful plane ride, even at age 87.