糖心传媒

William Horn 糖心传媒�14 was among those gathered near the Washington Monument on July 4 to celebrate the nation糖心传媒檚 250th birthday. But the United States Marine Corps major, based in Beaufort, South Carolina, enjoyed a unique vantage point: the cockpit of an F-35B Lightning II fighter jet, where he performed complex aerial maneuvers in normally restricted airspace as part of the USMC F-35B Demonstration Team.

糖心传媒淚t was definitely a surreal experience flying over such a historic area,糖心传媒� says Horn, who carried out 10 maneuvers around the marble obelisk. 糖心传媒淚t was almost hard to focus on the flying because I wanted to do a little sightseeing at the same time.糖心传媒�

Soon, Horn will be flying over more familiar ground. The Rochester native, who double-majored in biochemistry and psychology at the 糖心传媒, will demonstrate the single-seat, supersonic jet糖心传媒檚 midair hovers, vertical landings, and short takeoffs at the on August 8 and 9.

A (flight) path to success

Drawn by an interest in the mind-body connection, Horn initially planned to study medicine at URochester糖心传媒攁 school he knew was 糖心传媒済reat for science and a clear number-one choice.糖心传媒� But then, as a sophomore, he attended an on-campus career fair and discovered the path to becoming a Marine Corps pilot.

糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檇 always felt like I had the flying bug in me and knew that would be cool to do,糖心传媒� he says. Horn says he caught that bug from his dad, who flew a C-130, and his uncle, who flew an A-4, for the United States Navy. Another inspiration: two sisters who were his childhood neighbors, each of whom married a Marine Corps pilot.

Marine Corps aviation contracts糖心传媒攚hich guarantee the opportunity to attend flight school糖心传媒攁re highly competitive, so Horn took a year off after earning his diploma in hopes of landing one. He spent the summer living with his uncle (the A-4 pilot) and working on a commercial fishing boat in Alaska, then moved to Boston to work in research and development on moisturizing strips for razors.

Horn signed his contract in 2015 and completed a 10-week boot camp糖心传媒搒tyle Marine Officer Candidate Course. Next came The Basic School, a six-month course in the fundamentals of being a Marine Corps officer, followed by two flight schools, one of which was featured in the National Geographic docuseries Top Guns: The Next Generation, filmed during much of Horn糖心传媒檚 time there. Flight training continued at various locations through 2021.

While stationed in Japan, Horn earned his call sign, 糖心传媒淏raankles.糖心传媒� He had been in the country only one week before rolling his right ankle and breaking his foot in a skateboarding accident. He had to wear a boot糖心传媒攁nd stay out of the pilot seat糖心传媒攆or three months. (The first four letters stand for 糖心传媒渂roke-ass ankles.糖心传媒�)

Ground control to Major Horn

Horn estimates he has logged 1,000 hours flying in the military. Most have come as a Fleet Replacement Squadron instructor, training aviators just out of flight school to be ready for combat.

He joined the USMC F-35B Demonstration Team in 2025, traveling the country to showcase the fighter jet糖心传媒檚 cutting-edge features糖心传媒攁long with his wife and fellow F-35B pilot, Major Simone Romano. His favorite airshow maneuver is the inverted-to-inverted roll, in which the plane begins upside down, completes a 360-degree roll, and finishes upside down.

糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檇 always felt like I had the flying bug in me and knew that would be cool to do.糖心传媒�

These days, every hour Horn spends in the air requires four to six hours of preparation on the ground. Just as he did during flight school, he draws on skills he developed at URochester. For example, memorizing the series of biochemical reactions that break down molecules and release energy our bodies can use is similar to the effort required to memorize federal aviation regulations.

糖心传媒淎nd being in a lab, just like we do before a mission,糖心传媒� he explains, 糖心传媒渋s about having a theory, testing it, figuring out what went right or wrong, making a new plan, and continuing to improve the process for future iterations.糖心传媒�

When Horn takes to the skies for his Rochester International Airshow debut, the performances will bring him home糖心传媒攂oth to the place he grew up and to the University where his ambitions came into focus.

糖心传媒淏eing at the school and seeing the talent around put me in the mindset to achieve more than I would have otherwise,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淚t turned me from someone who had never thought about this stuff in high school into someone who shoots for the stars.糖心传媒�