SocialFlight Live! - The First Female Thunderbirds Pilot - Col. Nicole Malachowski, USAF (ret)

[@LyleKary]

What an amazing person. Nicole is an inspiration to all. This video should be shared in all of our schools!

[@Pbeas52]

Thanks Col. Malachowski for your service! You are a very modest person and have accomplished more in a year than some people accomplish in a life time. Sorry about your medical condition but you have made the best of your situation and kept a positive attitude. You are an exceptional individual and have exceptional aviation skills. You are also an excellent communicator and would make a great U.S. senator!!

[@jaywoo4156]

Hi Jeff ... the aviation community owes you a debt of gratitude for your outstanding efforts and contributions with SocialFlight. In addition to bringing together amazing speakers like Col. Malachowski, your efforts bring in a wave of positivity and inspiration that the world needs right now. Col. Malachowski's story is awe-inspiring and to hear her devote her life to serving and inspiring others, and to then hear about her resilience after battling her illness is truly incredible. Thank you, Jeff ... and thank you, Col. Malachowski.

[@SocialFlight]

Thank you SO much for the kind words. It inspires me to continue this labor of love on behalf of everyone in General Aviation.

[@jesseketcham6154]

I LOVED this interview and was blown away by this amazing and inspirational woman. What a blessing to listen to her story and see her indomitable spirit. This nation is blessed to have people like Nicole serve in so many wonderful ways. Thanks, Nicole, and God bless.

[@artd.]

Absolutely the best interview ever. What a remarkable Pilot. Defiantly a cut above, thank you for doing this......:-) it makes my day.

[@jfg375]

I so much appreciate your energy, your enthusiasm, your achievements, your contributions, your service to our country, your humility. Thank you thank you.

[@marcpost4034]

Fantastic interview. Enjoyed this so much. Col. Malachowski has lived, and and continues to live, an amazing life.

[@richs6205]

This interview absolutely blew me away. What a wonderful and inspirational story Col. Malachowski shared. Her dedication and perseverance is something to behold. Terrific presentation by you both.

[@SocialFlight]

Thank you so much!

[@paul2486]

what a fantastic woman... and a total delight!!!!!! a fantastic show and what an inspirational story!!!!!

[@psengineeringinc3233]

What an excellent interview with a person who exemplifies excellence and humility.

[@SocialFlight]

I couldn’t agree more. Col. Malachowski is truly amazing.

[@elnach3240]

Wow what a great interview. Nicole is so impressive and so humble. Outstanding job.

[@mattwiser8406]

Thank you for your service, Colonel. I had hopes of becoming an F-15E WSO at one point, but that path didn't bear fruit. An excellent presentation, and best of luck to you!

[@batphink2655]

Col Nicole is very humble and personable I admire that considering how skilled and determined she is! Young women out there try aspire to great things!

[@rockyvillarreal3119]

Amazing interview with an wonderful person and pilot. I couldn’t stop watching.

[@teresak1177]

So amazing. I have no words. She’s such an inspiration. ❤❤❤

[@walt8089]

Thank You for this Video. What an incredible and inspirational story ! I saw Nichole fly in an airshow at the 2007 Gathering of Mustangs and Legends in Columbus, OH. I like her have loved airplanes ever since I can remember as a young kid. I wanted to be a Pilot too but, because of my eyesight was Blessed to fly and work on Aircraft for 31 years years as an USAF Flight Engineer and Crew Chief. My Brother was a USAF C-130 Pilot for over 20 years and was also a Col. My wife has MS and can't walk or stand and I am her 24/7 caregiver. I can really identify with her life story. GOD Bless Col. Nicole Malachowski and her Family !

[@SocialFlight]

Thank you for the kind words and for watching. I sincerely appreciate it!

[@paulazemeckis7835]

Way to go Col. Malachowski! Thank you for being such a great role model for women... and MJ Shults too! 🤩

[@kevinbrown3017]

Bless you Nicole, thank you for sharing and being open to share your life.

[@flyifri]

Wow, very amazing story. Thank you both for caring and sharing.!

[@petesmith8362]

Great interview! Such an amazing Lady! Thank you for all of your service and God Bless you!

[@christiankirkwood3402]

Make no bones about it. We think Col. Nicole Malachowski is just about the most wonderful, engaging, switched on, intelligent, confident and purely delightful person we've ever seen and heard. And she's drop dead beautiful. What an inspiration to us here, what a credit to herself and her humanity and humility. What we see here is a person with enough surplus character, enthusiasm and energy to light a city and become the folk hero she is. All power to you Col. Malachowski. We send you especially BIG love from Lottie, Desiree, Gina, mum & dad (of course) here in Tuckombil via Alstonville and East Ballina 800km north of Sydney. MATE! 🤙

[@SocialFlight]

I am passing this directly on to Nicole. Thank you! - Jeff

[@SocialFlight]

BTW - Nicole will be back on SocialFlight Live on September 13th at 8pm ET. Register at www.SocialFlightLive.com

[@christiankirkwood3402]

@@SocialFlight Thank you sir, we'd appreciate her knowing how highly we regard her 👍

[@EK-px3ei]

Twice a hero. Twice an inspiration!! Thank you!!

[@scottiboi41]

I remember when I was, I think 12 years old? Went to a Tbirds air show in Duluth, Minnesota. Didn’t know she was one of the pilots and got to be one of the lucky ones that got her autograph and a picture with her! Young me was in LOOOVE! 😂 I’ll never forget her!

[@lennytropianoatx]

Incredible and inspirational. Love this interview!

[@drbooo]

Nothing in this world worse than having someone you don't know who will never know you tell you. "You are medically unable to fly." especially when you know you can. In the center of that now. this was a fantastic story.

[@BAfan2024-n5n]

She represents the best of America. Amazing story.

[@cknowles3980]

Thank you Nicole you are an amazing, awesome, intelligent, inspirational great American. 🇺🇸 Thank you!!! You are also brilliant and very modest, I wish you and your family the very best !

[@theodorecook5884]

Nicole you are absolutely wonderful! We share the same beginnings of interest in our passion for military aviation, I too fell in love literally at first sight by the sight and sound of two F-4 Phantoms at Andrews AFB at the age of 8, sadly my path never led to me being a fighter pilot as you were but my passion for military aviation is shared!

[@drbooo]

I've done business with Avidyne and Lynx. in your background. great aviation products.

[@gregorymiely8049]

You must have Col. Nicole back again!

[@kusumdutta9463]

Woman were. Prohibited from becoming fighter pilot Nicole is the first fighter pilot which is amazing and very nice for all

[@MrSango123]

inspiratiional amazing

[@TDog-ic7do]

She’s great! Get that lady a beer!

[@lawrencetate145]

The only other speaker that comes close to her, as a personal favorite, would be Brian Shul. Her talk at the Smithsonian brought Brian to mind, right away!

[@Groduke1011]

She is a dead wringer for Elizabeth Shue without the blonde hair, they should get Elizabeth to play her in a movie of her life.

[@kusumdutta9463]

Nicole is lovely and honest heart of femel fighter which is the opener as entered in to air pilot which is the inspiration to all that originally woman were not allow to join as fighter pilot it is the best quality of life

[@oliviermagniant5175]

Bonsoir Nicole Je suis Français, je vous suggère, de la musique " Beetrooz " très belle musique.

[@donaldshannon1496]

What a lady.

[@nanang394]

indonesia semangat suka singkong enak 🤙🍠☕

[@waistgunner3930]

Want to keep this nation strong and secure ??? Reinstate the laws that ban women in combat (this, included) and uphold what's called the "glass ceiling". And this time, use a force field....

[@RemyRAD]

Nicole is certainly beyond, Awesome! Yup. It was in her blood to fly. I always wanted to serve. I wanted to become a fighter pilot in the US military. I didn't qualify. But I already knew how to fly. My dad became a private pilot starting when I was 13. That would take his flying lessons on the weekends, every week. For the next three years. He took longer than normal. And I would frequently go up with him and his instructor. In the backseat of a Piper Cherokee 140 or 180. We had a Piper Arrow, once. I think with retractable landing gear. It was awesome! Well beyond that Cherokee 140. We mostly flew. Yeah going up with dad. He even paid his instructor. To take me up on some flying lessons. And dad would be in the backseat. I don't have any of those pictures. They been lost forever since dad died. Of me flying that Piper Cherokee 140 in the pilot's seat. And I learned how to take off and land on both paved runways and grass strips. And it was obvious. I was a much better pilot than dad. I could've soloed by the time I was 15. But my folks got divorced. Dad moved away and never flew again. And to this day. I don't know why he got that private pilot's license? Just to see if he could I guess? And I never flew a plane again. Well not exactly. For the next 35 years. When one day. After not flying for 35 years. I found myself a Professional Video Camera Operator. For, 7 years running. For the US Air Force Association Conventions. In Washington, DC. And I was asked on the fifth year. If I had gone down to the, Convention Floor? I said no. I wasn't in the military. They said but I'm one of the video camera media people. So I can go down there. Cool! And so I saw these military fighter pilots. Checking out the new Glass Cockpit. Of the just entering service, Lockheed letter F-22 Raptor. With the brand-new Boeing cockpit. As it was just entering service. This is what they would be flying. And it looked like a difficult aircraft to fly. Watching all of those military fighter pilots using this, $12 million, Boeing F-22, simulator. And so at the end of the day. I went up to the Boeing guy. And asked him if I could try the F-22 simulator out? He asked me if I had flown, F-14's, 15's or 16's? I said no, never. Just a Piper Cherokee with my dad. Between the ages of 13 and 15, 35 years ago. So he sat me down in the cockpit. And he starts to point things out. But I'm a step ahead of him. Identifying what he points at. Before he describes it. Yes I know. And that's the artificial horizon. That's the turn and bank indicator. There is my mag compass. There's the Gyro compass. There's my altimeter. And so on and so forth. And then he asks me again about the F-60? No… Never. Never a jet. Never multiengine. Never Glass cockpit. Never in the military. And I'm flying the simulation. I'm lighting up the targets. I'm getting the targets. Following his instruction. When suddenly. Something he tells me to do isn't working. He's like, hmmm? We been running the simulation all convention long. But apparently this Silicon Graphics computer has crashed? I asked him what was it? He said it was the preprogrammed flight plan or something? I said can we use it without that? He said I would have to go to full manual. Okey-dokey. And he flips some switches. By this time I had overflown my last target. He asked me what I wanted to do? I said I want to double back and get that missed target I flew over. When the computer crashed. He told me to go for it. So I put it into a fairly aggressive bank. And I start losing airspeed and altitude. So I shove the throttles up. But it's not enough? And he tells me to push the throttles further. I said it stopped. It won't go any further. He said push harder. And it goes clunk. After it goes clunk. All my displays started to change. I asked him what happened? He said I'm in afterburner. Holy cow! It was going faster than I could think. And I throttle back. And I lined my target I had missed. And I take out the target. And I come to the end of the simulation. That was awesome! Who we! It took my breath away. And so I get out of the cockpit and I turn around. To find, 5 US military fighter pilots. That had been watching me. Then they asked me. If I had flown, F-14's? 15's? Or, 16's? I said no, never, ever. They asked me why I didn't join the military? I told them I tried. I was lousy in mathematics. I had no college degree. I didn't qualify to become a fighter pilot. So I didn't join. I told them. They told me that I had missed my calling. I said no. The military missed a great pilot. They all agreed with me shook my hands and we went our separate ways. The Boeing guy said I did really good. I was totally amazed. The following year, my last year. I went up to the Northrop Grumman guy. And I asked him if I could try out the A-D 10 Warthog? As I had lived near Martin State Airport. In Essex, Maryland. An eastern suburb of Baltimore.. And they had a bunch of A-10's and a bunch of F-117 Stealth bomber/fighters. And I would see them fly regularly. We even had a F-117 crash. Someone's backyard barbecue. When the tip of his wing came off. And he crashed their party. Quite literally. He ejected. He was safe. It destroyed their barbecue. And there's actually some footage that was gotten of that. When you see the tip of the wing come off. As it was just carbon fiber composite.. And obviously had a fault. They found over home territory. And that was the end of that F-117. It all just crumpled up and broke. But flying that F-22 and A-10 simulator was beyond awesome! I'll never get the chance to do anything like that ever again. And I found the A-10 harder to fly than the F-22. It was so manual. And all steam gauge. Of the cockpit before the most recent one. Which has gone mostly glass, now. But not the Grumman version I flew. That was all steam gauge and a radar screen. And all under hydraulic control with forced feedback. That nearly tore my arm out of my shoulder socket! And so I asked the Grumman guy. Why this plane was banking so hard to the left? He said the pilot that flew the simulation before I did. Released all the ordinance under the right wing but not the left. I said that's the drag from the ordinance on the left wing? He said Yep. Oh my God! You got to be some kind of strong. To overcome a 40 pound pull on your shoulder! Trying to keep that beast straight and level. Having ordinance under one wing but not the other. I mean what the hell? Is that what they trained pilots to do? Drop all the ordinance from only one wing first? And then deal with that instability? That can't be right?? That must've been some other wannabe. Like me. To do something stupid, like that. Because it became difficult to control that way. And I wasn't firing at anything. I was out for a Sunday flight. When I almost collided with the F-16 he told me was in my airspace. And then the Grumman guy got mad. I asked him why he was upset? I said it's only a computer simulation. He said no it wasn't. He told me. That there simulation. Was connected to the military simulation. And I was flying with the guys from Ramstein, in Germany. And he told me there were three other A-10's also in my airspace. And I saw them. But I almost collided with that F-16. He told me. I really wasn't supposed to be flying that simulation. Because it was hooked up to the official military high-speed Internet simulation. And there would have been an inquiry. Had I collided with the F-16. He was only supposed to allow actual military pilots to fly the simulation. I was dumbfounded. That he let me loose with those professional pilots. This 100% rank amateur beginner.. With no instruction. Out for a Sunday flight. At the end of the convention show. Oh my goodness. And then I almost crashed it. When I flared out, too high, for landing. The Grumman guy came around and grabbed the stick from me! So that I didn't crash on landing. Because I should have never been let loose to fly that thing. Under those circumstances. I just thought it was computer simulation like the F-22 was? It wasn't.. The F-22 was a standalone Boeing simulator. Not connected to anything on the outside. I guess Grumman does it differently? At the convention. What was funny at the convention 20 years ago. They were showing this $250,000 helmet. Allowing guys to fly a F-16. Without touching the controls physically. Flying it under mental power. They wouldn't let me near that thing. I asked. I wonder if I could control a fighter jet with just my mind? But you need special training for that. And they were not going to put a $250,000 helmet on my head.. Oh well? And that was like 25 years ago now. When I was only in my mid-40s not my late 60s like I am today. But those just took my breath away. (More flighty in next post)

[@RemyRAD]

Later I got a nice, joystick and Microsoft Flight Simulator. It's such a joke! I cannot play with this toy. I have been totally spoiled rotten. Having tried out the real simulators. Routers the whole 9 yards. The whole actual cockpit! Millions of dollars worth of cockpit. And then the specialized computers (multiples) to run it upon. These computers were freestanding, 6 feet high. 3 for that Grumman simulator and 6 for the Boeing/Lockheed F-22 simulator. It was quite the installation. And yet none of those F-22 were on sale for any of our allies. They can get anything and everything else but not that plane. And they changed their F-22 line over to that of the F-35 now. And apparently they can't go back? It's cost prohibitive. But you already knew that. And that's a damn shame. That is one hell of a plane. But I guess it's only 5th generation? And can't be upgraded to 6th Generation? Or so I've been told? I had brain surgery 17 years ago. So there wouldn't be any more flying for me, anyhow. After that. But I will always hold that experience dear to my heart. Flying those official military simulators. Of those legendary aircraft still in our current arsenal. I was very honored they gave me a shot. And I guess I could, fly and/or land an aircraft if I had to. Thanks to the Dave Grohl song, Learn to Fly. One of my favorite music videos! It's precious. And I'm the pilot that had that pot in the video. But I'm really not. I'm not Dave Grohl. Though people tell me I look like Howard Stern. Plenty of people have asked me for my autograph. Then they asked me who is Remy David? I smile at them and tell them I am not Howard Stern. It happened quite a few times to me 30 years ago. It was always very funny. I don't even personally know Howard. I know his sidekick host, Robin Quivers.. We went to the same Broadcasting School. 2 years apart. And that's the only job she's ever had in broadcasting is with Howard Stern. She is a retired Air Force Capt. And today a cancer survivor. She's great. A great person. And another American military veteran of the US Air Force. Tell her I send my best. Drop her a line why don't you. She's still on Howard's show. To see what I look like. Get Howard Stern's hardcover book called Private Parts. The picture of him on the cover looks like me. I don't know why he did that? I don't even know him personally. Even though we were on competing FM radio stations at the same time. I was in Baltimore when he was in Washington DC. I was on the big rock station from Baltimore. I was the overnight guy. And so maybe there's a reason why we look similar and sound similar? We were both rock 'n' roll FM DJs. Until I went to work for NBC-TV News in Washington, DC. And I never said anything on the air again. Except one day. Years later. One of the part-time DJs was a no-show for his show. And the other guy had to leave. And so I went on the air for couple of hours. But that was a different union. I wasn't part of that union. Oh well? I was the engineering union. But hey. Once an FM Rock Jock. Always an, FM Rock Jock. It never goes away. Especially when your voice sounds like clanging brass balls and/or the late Don Lafontaine. In a world of awesome voices. There is but one now. Me. See? Can you hear it? No? No of course not. I'm in type. But just imagine if you will. Don Lafontaine. And now you know what I sound like. Or Howard Stern. We kind of sound the same. Yes we are both Jewish. Only I had a more radical circumcision some years ago. And Caitlin Jenner, ain't got nothing on me.. And that's why the cover of Howard Stern's book is so strange. Why is he in drag? Trying to steal my thunder? Somebody told him there was a transsexual woman that looked and sounded like him? I guess so? Somebody must've told him about me? This is so strange. I mean why would he do that? When was the last time you saw Howard Stern in drag? Get the book. He's on the cover. Looking like me. Somebody gave me the book as a present. And asked me why I was on the cover? What the FUCK!?!? I couldn't believe it when I saw it. Why would Howard do that to me? I don't even know him. Though I would like him to hire me. As I have a plan for the show. That nobody has ever done before. And nobody else could do except me. Okay picture this. Howard Stern in jail in the ladies jail. Where you find all of those lesbian prostitutes who got arrested. I can interview them inside the jail. All I have to do is get busted for a joint. They will lock me up with the other girls. But I look and sound like Howard Stern. With a vagina. My, man-made vagina I paid a lot of money for. In Montréal, Canada. Back in February 2001. When I could still drive into Canada. Before 9/11/2001. Since then. I'm no longer allowed to drive in Canada. But they allowed me months earlier. They are not being very consistent. They are Canadians, eh. And all they get is, Molson's Beer,, eh. It's still beer, eh. Even if they call it Fosters.. It still made by Molson's in Canada for American distribution. Of fake, Fosters! Look at the can. It's not from Australia.. It's from Molson's of Canada. It's a ripoff! I've had the real stuff when I was in New Zealand. It's more potent. And it doesn't taste like Molson's. Just so you know. I'm just saying……… I mean Molson's is just bad Canadian Budweiser. I'd rather have some Gay Bud Light. Taste great. Less filling. Knee-deep. Knee-deep. Knee-deep. Croak! Croak! I'm making like a frog. Croak! Knee-deep. Knee-deep. Thankfully one day I'll die. RemyRAD