The B-2 Stealth bomber made a roaring return in the skies above Pasadena on Monday morning, Jan. 1. And it’ll be back over the Rose Bowl later in the day, too.
The giant stealth bomber missed last year’s parade after the Air Force grounded the fleet out of safety concerns. B-1B Lancer Bombers from Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota flew over last year to mark the moment.
But not this year. The B-2 – based out of Whiteman AFB in Missouri — was back as it soared over Colorado Boulevard, leaving spectators awestruck, just as it has for several years.
- Read more Rose Parade coverage here.
In case you’re wondering, we reached out to the Air Force, curious about the pilots. We were curious about their morning routine. How do they prep for the flyover? The Air Force got back to us. So note here, the pilots preferred going by their call signs. The Air Force said Maj. “Thunder” Beck and Capt. “Nitro” Tencati, both are B-2 pilots assigned to the 393rd Bomb Squadron and will be flying to support the parade and the Rose Bowl, officials said. Here’s a quick Q&A:
Q: How many pilots are actually in the bomber when it flies over? And if, say, two, what do they do… like their specific roles/duties. Does the flyover actually have like a mission name?
Nitro: The B-2 is a bomber with only two pilots, each with their own responsibilities. The first pilot will be in charge of physically flying the aircraft and talking with the controllers (and making sure the jet is on time), while the Mission Commander manages the aircraft systems, communicates with our team on the ground during the flyover, provides updates to our team back at Whiteman and holds overall authority over the execution of the mission.
Q: Would love to get some sense of how it works. Do you as the pilots do a briefing before the flyover, where you talk about the logistics of the flight?
Thunder: For this mission, we allocate an entire day to thorough planning. This involves a…
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