Brian Udell: A Fighter Pilots Courage, Dedication, and Passion

Alright, so listen up, y’all. I’m gonna tell ya ’bout this fella, Brian Udell. They say he was a fighter pilot, you know, one of them flyboys. Sounds fancy, but lemme tell ya, it ain’t all peaches and cream.

Brian Udell, the Flyin’ Man

Brian Udell: A Fighter Pilots Courage, Dedication, and Passion

Now, this Brian fella, they called him “Noodle.” Can you believe that? Noodle! I guess that’s what them pilot fellas do, give each other funny names. Anyway, back in ’89, April 18th to be exact, this Noodle and his buddy, Dennis White, they went up in one of them fancy airplanes, an F-15 they called it. Two seats in that thing, like a car, but way up in the sky. They were doin’ some trainin’, pretendin’ to fight, I reckon. War games, they call ’em.

But somethin’ went wrong, real wrong. I ain’t sure exactly what happened, but that plane, it started fallin’ apart, or somethin’. Next thing ya know, Noodle’s gotta get out, and fast. He had to punch out, they say. Eject, that’s the fancy word. But lemme tell ya, it weren’t no gentle ride down. This here Noodle, he got thrown out of that plane goin’ near 800 miles an hour! Can ya imagine? That’s faster than anything I ever seen, even faster than that ol’ Johnson boy’s souped-up pickup truck.

A Rough Ride Down

Now, when you’re goin’ that fast and suddenly gotta stop, things ain’t gonna be pretty. They say his helmet got ripped right off, his oxygen mask too. Even his earplugs and gloves, gone! And his life vest, that thing that’s supposed to keep ya floatin’, it was all tore up. Poor fella, he musta been a sight. Blood vessels burstin’ in his face, a buckle pokin’ into his ribs… Sounded like a whole lotta hurt.

  • Ejected at 800 MPH
  • Lost helmet, oxygen mask, gloves
  • Life vest destroyed
  • Injured ribs and face

But you know what? That Noodle, he was tough. He landed in the ocean, 65 miles out, all alone. The water was cold, 60 degrees they say, and the waves were five feet high. He was out there for four long hours, bobbin’ around like a cork. Four hours! Can you imagine bein’ in that cold water, hurt and alone, for that long? I tell ya, that’s somethin’.

Brian Udell: A Fighter Pilots Courage, Dedication, and Passion

A Real Fighter

They say he’s a record holder, this Noodle fella. Survived the fastest ejection ever from one of them U.S. fighter planes. Guess that makes him somethin’ special. Some folks call ’em “aces,” these pilots who shoot down a bunch of enemy planes. Five or more, that’s the magic number. I don’t know if Noodle shot down any planes, but he sure as heck fought for his life that day. And he won. He survived. That’s what matters.

He was flyin’ outta Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, that’s what they said. A long way from here, I reckon. But stories like this, they travel far and wide. About folks doin’ brave things, facin’ danger head-on. Makes ya think, don’t it? About what folks are capable of when they gotta be.

So that’s the story of Brian Udell, the fighter pilot they called Noodle. A tough fella who went through somethin’ awful and lived to tell the tale. Or, well, other folks tell the tale for him, I guess. But it’s a story worth hearin’, even if it’s just an ol’ woman like me tellin’ it.

And that’s the truth, plain and simple.

Brian Udell: A Fighter Pilots Courage, Dedication, and Passion

Tags:[Brian Udell, Fighter Pilot, F-15, Ejection, Survival, Air Force, Military, Record, Supersonic, Ace]

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