For Air Force B-1 Lancer bomber pilot Topoff, flying over the Super Bowl as the final notes of “The Star-Spangled Banner” linger in the air isn’t just a stunning flourish for the game; it’s also a way of highlighting the precision that bomber pilots train for.
“A big part of what we do in the bomber force is making sure we show up somewhere exactly on time,” said Topoff, a captain who asked to be identified only by his call sign for operational security reasons.
“And you look at some of the operations that take place across the world — timing and flying from the U.S. to somewhere is a really big part of making sure everything happens.”
The flyover, a rare joint Navy-Air Force display for the Super Bowl, is set to include eight aircraft total: two B-1s from Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota; two Air Force F-15C Eagles from Fresno Air National Guard Base, California; and a pair each of Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets and F-35C Joint Strike Fighters, all from Naval Air Station Lemoore, California.
The aircraft will all take off from Moffett Federal Airfield, less than 10 miles away from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, where the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks are set to face off on Sunday.
“We’ll set up in an orbit about 10 to 15 miles south of the field,” Topoff said. “We know the time for when the National Anthem starts, and how we’ll be able to alter [the flyover] based on the pace that we actually see the National anthem going.
“We have computer software in the jet that enables us to see, to the second, what our time over a point will be. So, we’ll manage our air speed, our timely turn in and everything to get right over the top of the field exactly on time.”
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Grier, who will pilot one of the F/A-18s in the flyover, said having two services involved in the demonstration made preparation vital.
“We fly close-formation very frequently, but we don’t always do it with the Air Force,” he told Military Times ahead of a mission rehearsal flight on Friday. “We want to make sure everything goes flawlessly. … We’ve already gone through the brief ad nauseam, line after line. Everybody kind of knows their role, and today we’re going to put it into practice.”
According to Navy ground coordinator Lt. Cmdr. Dewayne Hooper, VFA-2 — the Navy’s F/A-18 fighter squadron also known as “The Bounty Hunters” — got tasked with the Super Bowl mission shortly after returning from a carrier strike group deployment to the Pacific last fall.
“All through the Christmas holidays, we’re getting timelines down,” Hooper said. “It’s pretty funny how quickly you go from getting used to life on the boat … to getting back home and back in the swing of things here. It just really highlights how flexible we are as a unit, being able to kind of go from the expectations that we have on deployment to the expectations that we have back here at home.”
While Topoff, a Cardinals fan, doesn’t have a rooting interest in this year’s Super Bowl, getting selected to participate in the nation’s biggest sporting event is still a thrill.
“We’re very professional in the military, but the honor of the Super Bowl is not lost on us,” he said. “It puts a little bit more pressure on what we do. Specifically as bomber people, a big part of what we do is long range strikes, showing up somewhere … right place, right time. … The added stress that comes from being on a national stage helps us train with a little bit less artificiality and a little more authentic stress.”
Grier will bring with him in the cockpit several American flags given to him by Navy retirees to fly over the Super Bowl. He said he’s also excited about keeping the distinctive Super Bowl uniform patch as a memento. Then there’s the thrill of being able to attend the big game — a first for both Grier and Hooper.
Following the flyover, “It’ll be a sprint back here to hop in a van to get to the game, to get to go watch some good football,” Hooper said. “And everybody, the maintainers, the support crew, all the air crew that participate in the flyover will get recognized at the beginning of the third quarter.”
On the Navy side, one of the Super Hornet pilots, Lt. Dalton Stewart, is a Patriots fan who will be able to root for his team and see the stadium from the sky. For Grier, who roots for the Baltimore Ravens, getting picked for the flyover was nonetheless thrilling.
“I was ecstatic,” he said. “I grew up a big-time football fan. Just having the opportunity to play a small role in this has been really exciting.
“A lot of pride for my community as well, from where I grew up. And hearing [from] people back home when they heard I was doing the flyover, it just kind of brings a smile to my face. I’ve just been so proud to just be a part of it.”