Military Star Lighter F9F-6 COUGAR 1954 1957 BLUE ANGELS
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The Blue Angels typically perform aerial displays annually in at least 60 shows at 30 locations throughout the United States and 2 shows at one location in Canada. The “Blues” still employ many of the same practices and techniques used in the inaugural 1946 season. An estimated 11 million spectators view the squadron during air shows from March through November each year. Members of the Blue Angels team also visit more than 50,000 people in schools, hospitals, and community functions at air show cities. Since 1946, the Blue Angels have flown for more than 505 million spectators. As of November 2011, the Blue Angels received $37 million annually out of the annual DoD budget. Mission The mission of the United States Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron is “to showcase the pride and professionalism of the United States Navy and Marine Corps by inspiring a culture of excellence and service to country through flight demonstrations and community outreach.” Air Shows The Blue Angels’ current show season has 61 shows at 32 locations from the middle of March through the beginning of November 2019.[7] The “Blues” perform at both military and non-military airfields, and often over major U.S. cities and capitals such as the Chicago Air and Water Show, Cleveland’s annual Labor Day Air Show, Jacksonville’s Sea and Sky Spectacular, Milwaukee Air and Water Show, Oklahoma City’s Star Spangled Salute Air Show, San Francisco’s “Fleet Week” Maritime Festival, and Seattle’s annual Seafair Festival.[8] A show is also performed annually each May for the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, including a flyover of graduation ceremonies. Canada is also included in the Blue Angels schedule for air shows, such as the Greenwood, Nova Scotia, Canada Air Show Atlantic. During their aerobatic demonstration, the Blues fly six F/A-18 Hornet aircraft, split into the Diamond Formation (Blue Angels 1 through 4) and the Lead and Opposing Solos (Blue Angels 5 and 6). Most of the show alternates between maneuvers performed by the Diamond Formation and those performed by the Solos. The Diamond, in tight formation and usually at lower speeds (400 mph), performs maneuvers such as formation loops, rolls, and transitions from one formation to another. The Solos showcase the high performance capabilities of their individual aircraft through the execution of high-speed passes, slow passes, fast rolls, slow rolls, and very tight turns. The highest speed flown during an air show is 700 mph (just under Mach 1) and the lowest speed is 120 mph.[3] 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). The Solos join the Diamond Formation near the end of the show for a number of maneuvers in the Delta Formation. The show’s narrator flies Blue Angel 7, a two-seat F/A-18D Hornet, to show sites. The Blues use this jet for backup, and to give demonstration rides to VIP civilians. Three backseats at each show are available; one of them goes to members of the press, the other two to “Key Influencers”. The No. 4 slot pilot often flies the No. 7 aircraft in Friday’s “practice” shows. The Blue Angels formerly used a United States Marine Corps Lockheed C-130T Hercules, nicknamed “Fat Albert”, for their logistics, carrying spare parts, equipment, and to carry support personnel between shows. Beginning in 1975, “Bert” was used for Jet Assisted Take Off (JATO) and short aerial demonstrations just prior to the main event at selected venues, but the JATO demonstration ended in 2009 due to dwindling supplies of rockets. “Fat Albert Airlines” flies with an all-Marine crew of three officers and five enlisted personnel. The current “Bert” (BUNO 164763) was retired from service in May 2019 with 30,000 flight hours. The Blue Angels will be replacing it with an Ex-RAF C-130J. In August 2018, Boeing was awarded a contract to convert nine single-seat F/A-18E Super Hornets and two F/A-18F two-seaters for Blue Angels use, the converted aircraft are due to be completed 2021. Team members There have been 267 demonstration pilots in the Blue Angels history (includes the 2019 season) All team members, both officer and enlisted, pilots and staff officers, come from the ranks of regular Navy and United States Marine Corps units. The demonstration pilots and narrator are made up of Navy and USMC Naval Aviators. Pilots serve two to three years,[3] and position assignments are made according to team needs, pilot experience levels, and career considerations for members. Other officers in the squadron include a Naval Flight Officer who serves as the Events Coordinator, three USMC C-130 pilots, an Executive Officer, a Maintenance Officer, a Supply Officer, a Public Affairs Officer, an Administrative Officer, and a Flight Surgeon. Enlisted members range from E-4 to E-9 and perform all maintenance, administrative, and support functions. They serve three to four years in the squadron.[3] After serving with the squadron, members return to fleet assignments. The officer selection process requires pilots and support officers (flight surgeon, events coordinator, maintenance officer, supply officer, and public affairs officer) wishing to become Blue Angels to apply formally via their chain-of-command, with a personal statement, letters of recommendation, and flight records. Navy and Marine Corps F/A-18 demonstration pilots and naval flight officers are required to have a minimum of 1,250 tactical jet hours and be carrier-qualified. Marine Corps C-130 demonstration pilots are required to have 1,200 flight hours and be an aircraft commander.[18] Applicants “rush” the team at one or more airshows, paid out of their own finances, and sit in on team briefs, post-show activities, and social events. It is critical that new officers fit the existing culture and team dynamics. The application and evaluation process runs from March through early July, culminating with extensive finalist interviews and team deliberations. Team members vote in secret on the next year’s officers. Selections must be unanimous. There have been female and minority staff officers as Blue Angel members,[19] including minority Blue Angel pilot Lt. Andre Webb on the 2018 team. Flight surgeons serve a two-year term. The flight surgeon provides team medical services, evaluates demonstration maneuvers from the ground, and participates in each post-flight debrief. The first female Blue Angel flight surgeon was Lt. Tamara Schnurr, who was a member of the 2001 team.[20] The Flight Leader (#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. Pilots of numbers 2–7 are Navy lieutenant commanders or lieutenants, or Marine Corps majors or captains. The number 7 pilot narrates for a year, and then typically flies Opposing and then Lead Solo the following two years, respectively. The number 3 pilot moves to the number 4 (slot) position for his second year. Blue Angel No. 4 serves as the demonstration safety officer, due largely to the perspective he is afforded from the slot position within the formation, as well as his status as a second-year demonstration pilot. Flight Leader/Commanding Officer Captain Eric C. Doyle is the 37th Blue Angels Flight Leader/Commanding Officer.[21] He is from League City, Texas and graduated from Texas A&M with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 1996. After college, Doyle went to Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, Florida, where he was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy in December 1996. Doyle became a naval aviator in 1999, and has accumulated more than 4,000 flight hours and has 750 carrier-arrested landings. He also is a graduate and former staff instructor at the Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN). He joined the Blue Angels in September 2017,[22] and took command of the squadron on 12 November for the 2018–2019 seasons.[23] His military awards include the following decorations: Meritorious Service Medal, seven Air Medals (Strike/Flight) with Combat “V”, five Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals with Combat “V”, and Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. Training and weekly routine Annual winter training takes place at NAF El Centro, California, where new and returning pilots hone skills learned in the fleet. During winter training, the pilots fly two practice sessions per day, six days a week, in order to fly the 120 training missions needed to perform the demonstration safely. Separation between the formation of aircraft and their maneuver altitude is gradually reduced over the course of about two months in January and February. The team then returns to their home base in Pensacola, Florida, in March, and continues to practice throughout the show season. A typical week during the season has practices at NAS Pensacola on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. The team then flies to its show venue for the upcoming weekend on Thursday, conducting “circle and arrival” orientation maneuvers upon arrival. The team flies a “practice” airshow at the show site on Friday. This show is attended by invited guests but is often open to the general public. The main airshows are conducted on Saturdays and Sundays, with the team returning home to NAS Pensacola on Sunday evenings after the show. Monday is an off day for the Blues’ demonstration pilots and road crew. Extensive aircraft maintenance is performed on Sunday evening and Monday by maintenance team members. Pilots maneuver the flight stick with their right hand and operate the throttle with their left. They do not wear G-suits because the air bladders inside repeatedly deflate and inflate, interfering with that stability. 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.[24] History