By Beth Velliquette
bvelliquette@heraldsun.com; 918-1042
CHAPEL HILL -- The roar of four Marine fighter jets likely will rattle the town today and tomorrow as part of the yearly tradition of jets flying over Kenan Stadium for a UNC football game.
The Marine F/A-18 Hornet Jets are scheduled to make practice runs today between 2 and 3 p.m. In past years, the screaming jets have taken residents by surprise as they've flown just over the treetops of the town. The F/A-18 Hornet jets, which are used by the Navy demonstration team Blue Angels, are capable of flying at speeds up to Mach 1.7, or 1,294 miles per hour.
On Saturday, the jets, which are part of the VMFA-122 squadron known as the Werewolves, will fly over Kenan Stadium just prior to the kickoff of the game with the University of Miami Hurricanes at 3:30 p.m.
The Werewolves are based out of the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, S.C., and one of the pilots is UNC alumnus Capt. Benjamin Apple of the class of 2003, according to an e-mail from Linda Convissor, director of local relations for UNC.
The practice runs and the flight over the stadium are generally considered a training exercise for the pilots.
