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Flying high with the Thunderbirds

Nellie Veitenheimer earns her stripes in F-16 flight experience

Tacoma native and Glee Project Season 2 contender Nellie Veitenheimer receives a framed photo from U.S. Air Force Thunderbird Capt. Michael Fisher July 19 after her flight in the F-16 fighter jet. /Marques Hunter

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It was an experience Nellie Veitenheimer will always remember.

A Glee Project Season 2 contender, Veitenheimer gracefully soared through the air with U.S. Air Force Thunderbird Capt. Michael Fisher, performing barrel rolls and loops July 19 in a F-16 fighter jet during a rehearsal prior to the start of Joint Base Lewis-McChord's Air Expo 2012 at McChord Field.

The Tacoma native and 2010 Franklin Pierce High School graduate was invited by JBLM Air Expo staff to sing the National Anthem on July 21 to open this year's Air Expo. But a couple days prior to her performance she donned an authentic U.S. Air Force flight uniform and was given a flight briefing as a co-pilot. The pair commenced an afterburner takeoff, pulling 6.9 Gs during their ascent to 1,800 feet, Fisher said.

"This was an absolute blast," Veitenheimer said. "It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. "The physical feelings and view were great."

They flew up and down the Western seaboard, as far north as the Canada border and around the scenic Olympic Mountains. She said the upside down flying and hanging there was her favorite part of the jet flight experience.

"I will remember this forever," she said.

Veitenheimer's family, including her mother Toni and father Charlie, were also in attendance. Toni said she was amazed to see what the JBLM Air Expo staff was doing.

But this wasn't the first time Nellie had visited McChord Field.

When Nellie was around eight or nine, she took piano lessons and performed at recitals at McChord Field.

"This is a totally different opportunity to be here and involved here, " she said.

Veitenheimer is a local singer/actor who recently began competing as one of 14 contenders on The Glee Project 2 that started June 5 and lasted 11 weeks.

TGP is an American reality TV series that airs on Oxygen. It serves as an audition for the FOX musical comedy series Glee and the prize for the winner is a seven-episode arc in the following season of the show.

The flight was a nice consolation prize for the local singer. Veitenheimer was the seventh contender eliminated on July 17, but won the week 3 homework assignment when she sang "My Life Would Suck Without You" by pop singer Kelly Clarkson.

The 20-year-old lives in Los Angeles and is pursuing an acting/singing career.

After stepping out of the F-16, Veitenheimer was given a certification that Fisher signed, in addition to a framed photo of the Thunderbirds.

"I'd like to thank the Thunderbirds and JBLM for this," Veitenheimer said. "Thank you times a million."

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