Kellie Pickler Soars With the Blue Angels

Kellie Pickler bravely faced the competition on "American Idol," and has since taken off to unimaginable heights in her career, all the while climbing the country charts with hit albums and singles. But those adventures may ultimately pale in comparison to her latest.

On Wednesday morning (May 9) at the Smyrna Airport just south of Nashville, the singer strapped in to a United States Navy F/A-18 Hornet jet as Blue Angels #7 Pilot, Lt. Mark Tedrow (pictured with Kellie above), took her from ground level to 2,000 feet in just four seconds!

"I just landed! It was INCREDIBLE!!! Biggest adrenaline rush EVER!!" she tweeted yesterday afternoon. She soon added: THANK YOU @BlueAngels for the fastest most badass ride of my life!!!! Let's fly again soon!!!"

Back on solid ground at the airport after the 45-minute flight, Lt. Tedrow presented Kellie with a personalized lithograph to commemorate her flight.

The Blue Angels will be flying this weekend at the Great Tennessee Air Show at the Smyrna Airport. Their mission is to enhance Navy recruiting and credibly represent Navy and Marine Corps aviation to the United States and its Armed Forces to America and other countries as international ambassadors of good will. At each of their show sites they give three backseat flights to selected personnel, who fly with the #7 pilot in the two-seat jet. Two of those riders are selected from the Key Influencer (KI) program and one is a credentialed media representative. The KI program selects individuals that have a strong impact on recruiting youth and/or a specific target audience. Flying these candidates, in coordination with media presence, is intended to promote the Navy and Marine Corps as professional and exciting organizations in which to serve.

The first Blue Angels team was established on April 24, 1946 by order of the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. The first Blue Angels air show was held at Craig Field, in Jacksonville, Fla., on June 15, 1946. The name was chosen by the original team when they were planning a show in New York that year. One of them came across the name of the city's famous Blue Angel nightclub in New Yorker Magazine. An estimated 11 million spectators view the squadron during air shows each year. Additionally, the Blue Angels visit more than 50,000 people a show season (March through November) during school and hospital visits.

Kellie will be touring (at a more normal speed) throughout the summer. Keep track of her upcoming shows here.