The Blue Angel team practiced in Pensacola, FL today. The jets painted blue and gold sparkled as they flew straight upwards in the sunlight. The media here was all over the story of the Blue Angels returning to the Pensacola. Everyone was excited to see the return of the Blue Angels.
They have not flown since last April due to sequestration imposed by the Obama administration. The usual crowd of 18,000 was surpassed by 26,000 at the Naval Air Station today. People from around the country were wowed by the Blue Angels with their precision antics, the smoke and the fumes. I even had a surge of pride and patriotism seeing my tax dollars at work. The lady next to LeRoy was electrified by "her boys" as they went through their maneuvers. She goes to every Blue Angel practice and show in Pensacola.
The name Blue Angels was picked by the original team of demonstration pilots when they were planning a show in New York in 1946. It was named after the Blue Angel nightclub. The mission of the navy flight demonstration squadron is to showcase the pride and professionalism of the US Navy and Marine Corp as well as recruiting purposes. The pilots average 33 years of age and only serve on the team for two or three years. We learned that the smoke by any jet is turned off if it is out of position.
After the Blue Angels demo, Fat Albert the C-130 cargo plane that carries all the Blue Angel equipment took a turn at impressing the audience. It flew up at a 45 degree angle, made a head-on pass, a low altitude high-speed flat pass, minimum radius turn, and a short field landing. Despite these being navy planes, I could tell that LeRoy was enjoying the air show.
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| Fat Albert |
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