In 1986, LCDR Donnie Cochran, joined the Blue Angels as the first African-American Naval Aviator to be selected. The Blue . Commander John Magda 8 March 1951: Blue Angels (1949, 1950; Commander/Flight Leader 1950): Magda was killed after his F9F-2B Panther was hit by anti aircraft fire while leading a low-level strike mission against North Korean and Chinese communist positions at, Commander Herbert P. Hunter 19 July 1967: Blue Angels (19571959; Lead Solo pilot): Hunter was hit by antiaircraft fire in North Vietnam and crashed in his, Captain Clarence O. Tolbert 6 November 1972: Blue Angels (1968): Tolbert was flying a, Captain Harley H. Hall 27 January 1973: Blue Angels (19701971; Commander/Team Leader 1971): Hall and his co-pilot were shot down by antiaircraft fire in South Vietnam flying their F-4J Phantom II on the last day of the Vietnam War, and they both were officially listed as. Bob Clarke replaced Butch Voris as the leader of the team. For 73+ years, the Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Squadron has flown air shows in front of millions of people around the world. The most recent Blue Angels fatal accident was in 2007 at the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in . [26], The original Blue Angels insignia or crest was designed in 1949, by Lt. Pilots maneuver the flight stick with their right hand and operate the throttle with their left. They're willing to risk anything to make that happeneven dashing t. Ronald Everett Narrator/Public Info. In 1961-1963 the Blue Angels performed for the first time formation landing of six planes in a Delta formation. 2 pilot Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Kuss Opposing Solo died just after takeoff while performing the Split-S maneuver in his Hornet during a practice run for The Great Tennessee Air Show in Smyrna, Tennessee. Anthony W. Walley signs autographs for fans at Sherman Field.jpg, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Category:Blue_Angels_(pilots_and_team)&oldid=44588716, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Mark Lambert, flight surgeon for the Navy flight demonstration squadron Blue Angels, visits with a resident of the nursing home care center at Spokane Veterans Administration Hospital.jpg, US Navy 080907-N-0411D-021 Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class Alisha Raper, plane captain for U.S. Navy flight demonstration team aircraft Blue Angel Five, gives final confirmation to her pilot, Lt. Cmdr. In December, the team left its home base for its first winter training facility at Naval Air Facility El Centro, California[49], In September 1956, the team added a sixth aircraft to the flight demonstration in the Opposing Solo position,[50] and gave its first performance outside the United States at the International Air Exposition in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. First held in 1981, the event has become . Control sticks are tensioned with 40 pounds (18kg) of force to allow the pilot minimal room for non-commanded movement of the aircraft. [72], On 29 July 2011, a new Blue Angels Mustang GT was auctioned off for $400,000 at the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture Oshkosh (Oshkosh Air Show) annual summer gathering of aviation enthusiasts from 25 to 31 July in Oshkosh, Wisconsin which had an attendance of 541,000 persons and 2,522 show planes. [53][54] The Blues mission was more on Navy recruiting. Lt. Cmdr. The U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, The Blue Angels, announced officers selected for the 2022 air show season July 10, just hours before they performed for their hometown crowd at the 2021 Pensacola Beach Air Show. On 15 March 2014, the demonstration pilots numbered 17 wore gold flight suits to celebrate the team's "return to the skies" during their first air show of the season;[82] there were only three air shows in 2013. The US Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron selected Lt. Amanda Lee to be the first woman to serve as a F/A-18E/F . May God Bless . The "Blues" perform at both military and non-military airfields, and often at major U.S. cities and capitals; also locations in Canada are often included in the air show schedule. On 22 May 2011, the Blue Angels were performing at the Lynchburg Regional Airshow in Lynchburg, Virginia, when the Diamond formation flew the Barrel Roll Break maneuver at an altitude lower than the required minimum. Lt. Jim Ross (Lead Solo) April 1980: unhurt when his Skyhawk suffered a fuel line fire during a show at. Blue Angel Solos perform an opposing pass. If we did that, we'd get all the other side issues. Subscribe to the Blue Angel Phantoms YouTube channel for the latest features. Most of the show alternates between maneuvers performed by the Diamond Formation and those performed by the Solos. [3] Since 1946, the Blue Angels have flown for more than 505 million spectators. . The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head. The current shades of blue and yellow were adopted when the first demonstration aircraft were transitioned from the Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat to the Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat in August 1946; the aircraft wore an all-yellow scheme with blue markings during the 1949 show season. To the crowds at the air shows and to the public at hospitals and schools nationwide, you are a symbol of the Navy and Marine Corps' finest. Commander Raleigh "Dusty" Rhodes[34] during an air show at Beaumont, Texas and added a sixth pilot. My objective was to beat the Army Air Corps. Alfred 'A' Taddeo, an original member of the U.S. Navy flight demonstration team.jpg, US Navy 101023-N-1776T-107 Capt. [22] They changed their name to the Blue Angels after seeing an advertisement for the New York nightclub The Blue Angel, also known as The Blue Angel Supper Club, in the New Yorker Magazine. THE BLUE ANGELS TEAM A total of 16 officers voluntarily serve with the Blue Angels. For 76 years, the Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Squadron has flown air shows in front of millions of people around the world. 7, a two-seat F/A-18F Hornet, to show sites. 15 episodes. The Blue Angels also produce a yearly Lithograph featuring a photo of the team flying in the 6-plane delta formation with a noted landmark in the background. [34] By the end of the year the team consisted of four Bearcats numbered 14 on the tail sections. The team, composed of six Navy and one Marine Corps demonstration pilot, fly Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets. The Blue Angels use a United States Marine Corps Lockheed C-130J Super Hercules, nicknamed "Fat Albert", for their logistics, carrying spare parts, equipment, and to carry support personnel between shows. The Blue Angels appointed its first female jet pilot to join the squadron on Monday. The Blue Angels is a flight demonstration squadron of the United States Navy. [62], In 2000, the Navy was conducting investigations in regard and connected to the loss of two Blue Angels pilots in October 1999. The next day, the Blue Angels announced that they were initiating a safety stand-down, canceling their upcoming Naval Academy Airshow and returning to their home base in Pensacola, Florida, for additional training and airshow practice. The three bad-boy bachelors of Snowdon, Maine have to make a friend's Christmas Eve wedding on time or die trying! The Blue Angels have performed at military and civilian air shows across the country since 1946. Katie Higgins may be the first female pilot of the Blue Angels, but she will tell you that she didn't get there alone. Lt. Ross "Robby" Robinson 29 September 1946: killed during a performance when a wingtip broke off his F8F-1 Bearcat, sending him into an unrecoverable spin. Lt. Cdr. Plane cost: $21 million each. The Blues use these jets for backups, and to give demonstration rides to VIP (civilians). In July 1964, the Blue Angels participated in the Aeronaves de Mexico Anniversary Air Show over Mexico City, Mexico, before an estimated crowd of 1.5million people. Blue Angel No. In July 1963 the team performs its 1000 demonstration in California. [19][90], The "Blues" have flown ten different demonstration aircraft and six support aircraft models:[91][92]. Drone flew dangerously close to Blue Angels FAA investigating; fines possible but infrequently imposed May 21, 2020 By Jim Moore Drone pilots were as outraged as the rest of us by the near-midair collision between the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and what's believed to have been a small consumer quadcopter. John Saccomando, assigned to the U.S. Navy flight demonstration team, the Blue Angels, signs autographs after their performance.jpg, US Navy 050202-N-3874J-002 Crew Chief Aviation Ordnanceman 1st Class Eric Velazquez of Ceiba, Puerto Rico, moves to a safe location, as his Blue Angel F-A-18A Hornet starts to taxi prior to take off.jpg, US Navy 050202-N-8977L-004 A crew coordinator for the Blue Angels prepares to taxi four of the Blue Angel's F-A-18A Hornets prior to launch for a morning training exercise during their annual winter training on board Naval Air.jpg, US Navy 050203-N-0962S-170 Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) Terry Scott climbs from the back seat after taking a flight in an F-A-18D Hornet while visiting the Blue Angels' winter training facility on board Naval.jpg, US Navy 050203-N-0962S-204 After receiving a flight in a Blue Angel F-A-18D Hornet, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) Terry Scott speaks to the pilots and maintenance team at the Blue Angels' winter training facili.jpg, US Navy 050203-N-0962S-209 After receiving a flight in a Blue Angel F-A-18D Hornet, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) Terry Scott speaks to the pilots and maintenance team at the Blue Angels' winter training facil.jpg, US Navy 050203-N-1539M-006 Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) Terry D. Scott answers questions from members of the Blue Angels maintenance team.jpg, US Navy 050203-N-8977L-003 Sailors of the Blue Angels Power Plants Department remove the engines from an F-A-18A Hornet for maintenance during their annual winter training on board Naval Air Facility (NAF) El Centro, Calif.jpg, US Navy 050401-N-2360K-013 Dallas Cowboy football legend, Roger Starbach, presents the members of the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Team, Blue Angels, with autographed footballs.jpg, US Navy 050401-N-2360K-014 James Reagan and Rebecca Bennet receive signed lithographs from the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Team, Blue Angels, as congratulations for their achievements.jpg, US Navy 050401-N-8110K-058 U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Team Blue Angels Maintenance Master Chief, William Casttilla, left, and Command Master Chief, Kevin Harris, center, greet retired Tuskegee Airman Dick Macon.jpg, US Navy 050402-N-1328C-631 F-A-18A Hornet Slot Pilot, Lt. Cmdr. Lt. Amanda Lee. The Blue Angels were formed in 1946, a couple of years after the end of World War II. The "Blue Angels" are the United States Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron. Members of the Blue Angels team also visit more than 50,000 people in schools, hospitals, and community functions at air show cities. Pilots Ken Rieder and Adam Baker with Redline Aerobatic Team take to the skies in. This category has the following 6 subcategories, out of 6 total. For the first time in 19 years, the Blue Angels, the cream of the U.S. Navy's crop of elite aviators, took to the skies above Loveland to impress a crowd of thousands on Saturday. Kieron O'Connor and Lt. Kevin Colling 28 October 1999: flying in the back seat and front seat of a Hornet, both were killed after striking the ground during circle and arrival maneuvers in. Lt. Cmdr. Section High-Alpha Pass: (tail sitting), the show's slowest maneuver, Solos Pass to Rejoin, Diamond flies a loop, Loop Break Cross Delta Break (After the break the aircraft separate in six different directions, perform half. An estimated 11 million spectators view the squadron during air shows from March through November each year. blue angels seattle 18,170 Blue Angels Premium High Res Photos Browse 18,170 blue angels stock photos and images available, or search for us navy blue angels or blue angels jets to find more great stock photos and pictures. Navy Commander Anthony Less became the squadron's first "commanding officer" and "flight leader". The military legacy in Higgins' family was strong. [18], The Flight Leader (No. Craig Olson.jpg, US Navy 080907-N-0411D-023 Blue Angel Plane Captains run from the runway as part of the U.S. Navy flight demonstration team The Blue Angels performance at The Great State of Maine Air Show.jpg, US Navy 090502-N-9712C-001 Lt. Manuel Sanchez, a maintenance officer assigned to the Blue Angels, administers the oath of enlistment to delayed entry program recruits from the New Orleans area.jpg, US Navy 090530-N-1928O-163 Vice Adm. Dirk J. Debbink, Chief of the Navy Reserve, receives a gift of appreciation from Marine Corps Maj. Drew Hess, and crewmembers of the Blue Angels C-130 Hercules.jpg, US Navy 090829-N-1928O-113 A Sailor assigned to the U.S. Navy flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels, prepares for take-off during the Defenders of Freedom Air Show at Offutt Air Force Base as part of Omaha Navy Week.jpg, US Navy 090916-N-6220J-003 Cmdr. Greg McWherter, commanding officer and flight leader of the U.S. Navy flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Ange.jpg, US Navy 111015-N-IR859-047 Members of the U.S. Navy flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels, prepare to recover six F-A-18 Hornets.jpg, US Navy 111015-N-IR859-049 Capt. Capt. As the Blue Angels' commanding officer, Cmdr. [28][29][30][31], The Navy Flight Exhibition Team was reorganized and commissioned the United States Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron on 10 December 1973. [73][74], Between 2 and 4 September 2011 on Labor Day weekend, the Blue Angels flew for the first time with a fifty-fifty blend of conventional JP-5 jet fuel and a camelina-based biofuel at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland. Greg McWherter presents Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus an autographed memento of the Blue Angels flight demonstration team in flight.jpg, US Navy 100625-N-0092J-029 Members of the U.S. Navy flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels, rest on the vertical stabs of an F-A-18 Hornet after performing at The Great Minnesota Air Show.jpg, US Navy 101022-N-8102J-044 Retired Cmdr. In 2004, a Blue Angels pilot ejected safely when his F/A-18 hit the water near Pensacola. You have survived the ultimate test of your peers and have proven to be completely deserving to wear the crest of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels. Capt. This aircraft was later painted yellow and dubbed the "Beetle Bomb". [1] Formed in 1946, the unit is the second oldest formal aerobatic team in the world, after the French Patrouille de France formed in 1931. Gerald Larson Solo 1961-1962 [56][57] He served for two more years with the squadron flying the left wing-man position in the No. 6 jet and crashed due to G-force-induced Loss Of Consciousness (G-LOC) during an air show at the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in Beaufort, South Carolina. [37][38] The F8F-1 "Beetle Bomb" was relegated to solo aerobatics before the main show, until it crashed on takeoff at a training show in Pensacola on 24 April 1950, killing "Blues" pilot Lt. Robert Longworth. [71] On 26 May, the Blue Angels announced they would not be flying their traditional fly-over of the Naval Academy Graduation Ceremony and that they were canceling their 2829 May 2011 performances at the Millville Wings and Wheels Airshow in Millville, New Jersey. The first Blue Angels pilots were Naval Advanced Training Command flight instructors with wartime experience flying the F6F Hellcat, so it was a natural fit for the exhibition to team to fly. The main airshows are conducted on Saturdays and Sundays, with the team returning home to NAS Pensacola on Sunday evenings after the show. Some of the maneuvers include both solo aircraft performing at once, such as opposing passes (toward each other in what appears to be a collision course) and mirror formations (back-to-back, belly-to-belly, or wingtip-to-wingtip, with one jet flying inverted). Anthony Walley, talks with Jimmie White I, father of fallen Arkansas State Trooper Jimmie White II prior to the dedication of the Jimmie White II Memorial Park in Jacksonville, Ar.jpg, US Navy 061103-N-2908O-003 Lt.Cmdr. LAKELAND - For the past 75 years, the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron has been bringing skilled maneuvers to thousands of onlookers. The Blue Angels replaced it with an Ex-RAF C-130J (BUNO 170000). He was replaced by Captain Greg McWherter, the team's previous commanding officer. 1) is the Commanding Officer and is always a Navy commander, who may be promoted to captain mid-tour if approved for captain by the selection board. John J. Magda 1950, Killed in Action March 1951, Russell J. Bartlett Sept 2002 to Sept 2004. In May 1947, flight leader Lt. Cmdr. The pilots signatures appear below the photo. [72] The squadron canceled performances at the Rockford, Illinois Airfest 45 June and the Evansville, Indiana Freedom Festival Air Show 1112 June to allow additional practice and demonstration training under McWherter's leadership. Val was just great. These lithographs are given to individuals . Selections must be unanimous. [64] At the next performance at Lackland Air Force Base following the announcement the No. 1 . "Christmas or Bust!" What do a Blue Angels pilot, a bounty hunter and an ex-NFL football player have in common? Jeff Kuss (Opposing Solo, #6) 2 June 2016: died just after takeoff while performing the Split-S maneuver in his F/A-18 Hornet during a practice run for The Great Tennessee Air Show in, Lt. John R. Dewenter 2 August 1958: landed wheels up at, Lt. Ernie Christensen 30 August 1970: belly-landed his F-4J Phantom at, Cmdr. Jim Tomaszeski, right wing pilot assigned to the U.S. Navy flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels.jpg, US Navy 060429-N-4657D-025 Lt. Anthony Walley, the number two pilot for the Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron signs autographs.jpg, US Navy 061103-N-2908O-001 Lt. Cmdr. The parameters of each show must be tailored in accordance with local weather conditions at showtime: in clear weather the high show is performed; in overcast conditions a low show is performed, and in limited visibility (weather permitting) the flat show is presented. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 2002 with a Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering. To prevent blood from pooling in their legs, Blue Angel pilots have developed a method for tensing their muscles to prevent blood from pooling in their lower extremities, possibly rendering them unconscious. The investigation into the June 3 crash that killed the opposing solo pilot, Marine Capt. He suffered minor injuries. Today is a very special and memorable day in your military career that will remain with you throughout your lifetime. 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