Steeler Fan
Here we go Steelers!
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2003
- Posts
- 635
A product of Thunderbolt, KCBM....Way to go Nicole! Congrats and best wishes!
June 17, 2005
Air Force Thunderbirds name first female pilot
[size=-2]ASSOCIATED PRESS[/size]
LAS VEGAS (AP) - The U.S. Air Force has named the first female pilot to its Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team.
Capt. Nicole Malachowski, 30, will join the unit at Nellis Air Force Base in November, Air Force officials said Friday. She is due to make her public debut in March with the unit's 53rd tour season.
Malachowski recently finished a four-month assignment flying with Operation Iraqi Freedom. She was on leave Friday and unavailable for comment.
Her parents, Robert and Cathy Ellingwood of Las Vegas, said she was vacationing with her husband, Air Force Maj. Paul Malachowski.
Robert Ellingwood told reporters his daughter always wanted to be a fighter pilot.
"She was just blessed at an early age to know what she wanted to do," Ellingwood said. "She kept her focus, and she didn't let anything deter her."
Malachowski graduated from Western High School in Las Vegas in 1992 and the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., in 1996.
Trained to fly the F-15E fighter, she is currently assigned to Royal Air Force Base Lakenheath in England.
When Malachowski joins the Thunderbirds, she will fly the F-16 Falcon.
Pilots selected for the Thunderbirds typically serve two-year commitments. Other newcomers for 2006 will include unit commander Lt. Col. Kevin Robbins and Capt. Ed Casey.
Robbins is currently assigned to the Air Force weapons school at Nellis, about 10 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Casey is assigned to the 56th Training Squadron at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.
Five other pilots will return from the 2005 Thunderbirds team. Since first performing in June 1953 at Luke Air Force Base, the Thunderbirds have flown 3,944 air demonstrations around the world.
June 17, 2005
Air Force Thunderbirds name first female pilot
[size=-2]ASSOCIATED PRESS[/size]
LAS VEGAS (AP) - The U.S. Air Force has named the first female pilot to its Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team.
Capt. Nicole Malachowski, 30, will join the unit at Nellis Air Force Base in November, Air Force officials said Friday. She is due to make her public debut in March with the unit's 53rd tour season.
Malachowski recently finished a four-month assignment flying with Operation Iraqi Freedom. She was on leave Friday and unavailable for comment.
Her parents, Robert and Cathy Ellingwood of Las Vegas, said she was vacationing with her husband, Air Force Maj. Paul Malachowski.
Robert Ellingwood told reporters his daughter always wanted to be a fighter pilot.
"She was just blessed at an early age to know what she wanted to do," Ellingwood said. "She kept her focus, and she didn't let anything deter her."
Malachowski graduated from Western High School in Las Vegas in 1992 and the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., in 1996.
Trained to fly the F-15E fighter, she is currently assigned to Royal Air Force Base Lakenheath in England.
When Malachowski joins the Thunderbirds, she will fly the F-16 Falcon.
Pilots selected for the Thunderbirds typically serve two-year commitments. Other newcomers for 2006 will include unit commander Lt. Col. Kevin Robbins and Capt. Ed Casey.
Robbins is currently assigned to the Air Force weapons school at Nellis, about 10 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Casey is assigned to the 56th Training Squadron at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.
Five other pilots will return from the 2005 Thunderbirds team. Since first performing in June 1953 at Luke Air Force Base, the Thunderbirds have flown 3,944 air demonstrations around the world.
Last edited:
