Thunderbirds honor local school teacher with Hometown Hero flight

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jason Burton
  • 75th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah (AFNS) --  A flight suit, G-suit, harness and helmet: not the usual daily outfit Megan Funk wears to work. As a second grade teacher at Majestic Elementary School in Ogden, Utah, she is used to working in normal business clothes.

However, June 4 was not a normal day for the Ogden native as she was about to take the ride of her life.

Mrs. Funk was selected as a Hometown Hero for service to her community, and her reward for this selection was the chance to ride in the back seat of a U.S. Air Force Thunderbird F-16 Fighting Falcon.

"The Hometown Hero program is our way to salute everyday Americans for their extraordinary contributions to their neighborhoods, communities and country," said Capt. Jason McCree, Thunderbird public affairs officer.

Mrs. Funk is no stranger to bettering her community.

As a teenager, she would wash windows for older people and help clean parks and roads. She also tutored young people and provided activities for children at homeless shelters and the Boys & Girls Club.

She recently got her second grade students together to gather fruit from neighbors, and she helped raise money during the winter months for people in danger of losing their homes. She also got her students to collect clothes and blankets, and she raised money for United Way programs.

Robert Hunter, CEO and president of the Northern Utah United Way, nominated Mrs. Funk as a Hometown Hero and said she is very deserving of this honor.

"Megan is a great role model and through her students is teaching a whole new generation about the importance of giving," said Mr. Hunter. "When I was asked to nominate a community member for this program, Megan was an easy choice to make ... she is a true hero."

When Mrs. Funk was nominated as a candidate for the Hometown Hero program, she said she was in absolute disbelief.

"I got a message on my voicemail saying I was nominated for this flight and I thought it was a prank," said Mrs. Funk. "I called my mother and told her to listen to the prank call."

Megan's mother, Jeanne Hall, had to play along because she was working with Mr. Hunter and the Hill Air Force Base public affairs office in the nomination process for the Hometown Hero program.

"We wanted to keep it a surprise for Megan, and I had to keep it a secret for more than two weeks," said Mrs. Hall. "We were happy it worked out because she was so thrilled and excited when she realized it wasn't a prank."

Mrs. Funk arrived at Hill AFB around noon on June 4 to complete several hours of preparation including harness fitting, egress training, breathing technique training, a flight briefing and a medical screening.

Her pilot for the day was Lt. Col. Derek Routt, Thunderbird No. 7, the operations officer for the team. During the pre-flight briefing, Colonel Routt explained to Mrs. Funk all of the maneuvers she would experience during her hour-long flight.

Maj. Rick Goodman, Thunderbird No. 6, the opposing solo pilot, spoke with local media before the flight and said that during her flight Mrs. Funk will be run through all of the same maneuvers the Thunderbirds will execute during their air show performance.

"She will experience things she never experienced before while flying in this nine-G fighter," Major Goodman said. "The Hometown Hero program helps us recognize local heroes and we hope to give her a memorable flight."

Before climbing into the cockpit of the high performance fighter Mrs. Funk said she was excited and nervous.

"I had some Honeybunches of Oats for breakfast and I hope they stay right where they are," she said with a smile.

With her family and friends cheering and waving American Flags, the F-16 soared off the runway, then Colonel Routt pulled the aircraft straight up to 17,500 feet.

During the flight Colonel Routt performed loops and barrel rolls, and flew Mrs. Funk to the west side of the Utah Test and Training Range and back to the base.

After landing, Megan gave her family the thumbs up sign while the jet was taxing past the crowd.

"It was amazing," she said after stepping out of the cockpit. "My students will be blown away when they hear about it."

Mrs. Funk said her favorite part of the flight was the take off.

"I really liked the takeoff," she said. " We went straight up to 17,500 feet. Then we did some different rolls, and then my stomach said, 'that's enough!'"

Mrs. Funk then praised the Thunderbirds crew for her flight.

"Thank you all for this amazing opportunity," she said. "I never, ever expected to do anything like this in my life. This is something I will never forget."

Before departing the flight line, Mrs. Funk said she would do it again as long as she didn't have to do the barrel rolls.