Michelle “MACE” Curran

Michelle “MACE” Curran
Former F-16 Instructor/Thunderbird Pilot, USAF

Michelle “MACE” Curran is an F-16 Mission Commander with over 1800 hours in the aircraft. MACE is a 2009 received her degree from the University of St. Thomas where she graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Criminal Justice. Recently, MACE was called back to St. Thomas to receive their Distinguished Alumna of the Year award.

MACE started her career at Undergraduate Pilot training, earning one of only two fighter aircraft spots available and going on to fly the F-16. During her ten years flying the Viper, MACE flew combat sorties in Afghanistan and taught Polish Air Force pilots in their aircraft. Four years into that time she became the first female pilot to fly for the 457th Fighter Squadron. MACE served as Chief of Scheduling, Chief of Standardization and Evaluation, and a Flight Commander at various squadrons. Her last assignment was with the Air Force’s elite demonstration squadron, The Thunderbirds. MACE flew as Thunderbird #6, the Opposing Solo, for the 2019 season and as #5, the Lead Solo, for the 2020 and 2021 seasons. During that time, she performed for millions of spectators, appeared in several national level news interviews, and did flyovers for the Super Bowl, Daytona 500, and Indy 500.

MACE currently lives in Las Vegas with her family. She has founded her company, Upside Down Dreams, to inspire others to overcome setbacks and achieve their goals. She also volunteers with Veteran’s Outdoor Advocacy Group, helping use the healing power of the outdoors for Veteran’s struggling with mental health. MACE uses her experience in high performance, teamwork, risk assessment, and debriefing to inspire clients to overcome their own challenges and increase performance using the tools of Flawless Execution.