All-women flyover during Super Bowl Sunday to create history: 'Any pilot's dream'

A group of women is all set to create history this Super Bowl Sunday. There will be a flyover before Sunday's game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs at Phoenix's State Farm Stadium, and the best part is that it will be piloted by an all-women team, according to Good Morning America. This is a special tribute to honor 50 years of women flying in the U.S. Navy and they will be creating a diamond formation for it. "It was surreal," one of the four pilots, Navy Lt. Catie Perkowski said about being chosen to pilot the flyover. Another pilot, Navy Lt. Suzelle Thomas who will also be part of the tribute said, "I didn't believe it."

Reportedly, on Sunday, Thomas will be flying an F-35C, which is the newest aircraft in the Navy. She has already made history as the first woman to directly fly this aircraft without first training on any other jets. Moreover, Perkowski will be piloting the plane at the back of the formation as they fly over State Farm Stadium at around 345 miles per hour, which according to her is "any pilot's dream." "My dad did ask me to call him from the sideline on the Super Bowl," she said. She also delivered a direct message to her dad saying, "I'll do my best. But for me, as a football fan, when I got the call to do the Super Bowl flyover, it's almost like a dream initially for someone who loves the NFL," said Perkowski.

She has spent most of her military career flying on and off a 100,000-ton aircraft which mainly operates in the Indo-Pacific Region including the South China Sea, where there is no discrimination based on gender. “What it boils down to is that we trained to do this job together," she said. "I didn't join the Navy to be a female fighter pilot. I joined the Navy fighter pilot, so to me, it makes no difference." Moreover, on Sunday, Perkowski and Thomas will be flying with their fellow female pilots and Naval officers in jets that are also maintained by women. The flyover is also to honor women who were part of the Navy before them, like Captain Rosemary Mariner, the Navy's first female jet pilot.  

When Mariner died in 2019, the Navy carried out its first all-female flyover during her funeral service in Maynardville, Tennessee. Talking about Mariner, Perkowski said, "The wisdom that she had to share was really amazing. To have the ability to represent people like her that came before us and made everything that we do possible is truly an honor." That's not all. During the flyover, Perkowski and Thomas will be paying tribute to all the men and women in the service. "There are also men and women that we serve with every day. They work on my jet. They're the ones that make sure that I am able to fly," Perkowski said. "So to be able to carry them with us, it's really exciting."

Super Bowl flyovers have been part of the pre-game ceremonies since 1971 when four F-4 Phantoms from the US Air Force performed a flyover at the Orange Bowl in Maimi, Florida. This year, they are said to showcase some of the most advanced planes in the world, including the F-18s, the F-35s, and the mighty growlers from Luke Air Force Base, as reported by as.