INTRODUCTION

From the time the Wright brothers launched into history at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903, we have been fascinated by powered flight. The US Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, popularly known as the Blue Angels, fulfills that fascination for the public through dozens of air shows during the March-to-November air-show season. This is America’s oldest flight demonstration team, established in 1946 by Adm. Chester W. Nimitz. Millions descend annually on airfields throughout the nation, eagerly anticipating the sights, sounds, and smells of the best the Navy has to showcase.

The US Navy has been engaged in aviation since 1910, when Glenn Curtiss sent Eugene Ely soaring off a wooden makeshift platform on the deck of the USS Birmingham (CL-2) off the coast of Virginia, supported by a 50-horsepower engine. Research and development continues for the fastest, highest, and most powerful aircraft with the best and most-skilled pilots. In the years between the two world wars, the Navy and Marine Corps featured several groups who informally and unofficially performed aerobatics in groups at air races and for ceremonies. Today, the Blue Angels continue to exhibit the same skill and precision begun by the early pioneering aviators.

During World War II, those engineers developed and the aviators honed naval aviation into a force that helped America and its allies win the war. Much was learned during that critical time that is still being applied in today’s Navy. After the war, the Navy sought for a way to keep public appreciation and support for naval aviation alive. A flight demonstration team could “showcase the pride and professionalism of the US Navy and Marine Corps by inspiring a culture of excellence and service to country through flight demonstrations and community outreach,” as the Blue Angels’ mission statement reads.

Showcasing Naval Aviation’s “Pride and Professionalism” began with World War II ace Roy Marlin “Butch” Voris and his team at Cecil Field in Jacksonville in 1946 and continues today with the men and women of the Navy and the Marine Corps. Without those who fly and maintain them, the aircraft would be nothing more than interesting things to look at. But those men and women are a dedicated group who exhibit that Pride and Professionalism, both on and off the airfields. Both officers and enlisted members of the Blue Angels have passed a rigorous standard of qualifications, serve from two to four years, and are ambassadors representing the hundreds of thousands of officers, sailors, and marines serving all over the world. The teamwork, camaraderie, and the common bond of being a “Blue” inspire young and old wherever the Blues fly.

From the original Hellcat to today’s Hornets and, soon, Super Hornets, the Blue Angels’ aircraft represent the best in aviation technology. The current F/A-18 A through D models come from the fleet, and with slight modifications, could be returned to combat-ready state in 72 hours. They are capable of speeds of 1,400 miles per hour—almost twice the speed of sound. The highest speed typically flown in an air show is 700 miles per hour and the slowest a mere 120 miles per hour. From the solo pilot’s low Sneak Pass at 50 feet above the ground to the soaring heights of the diamond and delta formations, the Hornet climbs to a level of 15,000 feet at a lightning 30,000 feet per minute.

This work is carried out in part with the help of the US Marine Corps (USMC) in the form of a Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules painted in matching blue and gold and fondly known the world over as “Fat Albert.” The ancestors of “Bert” once served in the lowly role of workhorse, but today’s shows are proudly led off by Bert in a demonstration of the power and agility of one of the most versatile aircraft in the skies. According to the Navy, Hercules aircraft are a “global airlift” in 40 different versions that can be used as “gunships, weather watchers, tankers, fire fighters and aerial ambulances.” The “Herc” can be configured to carry almost any combination of 45,000 pounds of cargo (which may include an armored vehicle) or 92 troops.

With each new generation of aircraft, the maneuvers become more breathtaking. From piston-driven propeller planes to turbo jets with afterburners, the Blue Angels continue to push the envelope of physical laws. With the planes often flying within 18 inches of one another at hundreds of miles per hour, many hours of practice as well as the trust and teamwork among the pilots keep the Blues safe in the sky. However, from the basic diamond formation to the breathtaking Knife-edge Pass, those maneuvers are not stunts, but tactical combat moves that any qualified aviator in the US Navy performs on a regular basis in the fleet.

In his 1979 introduction to The Blue Angels: an Illustrated History by Comdr. Rosario Rausa, Butch Voris sums it up this way:

When I watch a performance nowadays, I feel like a cat on a hot tin roof. I am up there with the Blues in spirit, transposed vicariously from the ground to the cockpit. My limbs twitch restlessly. I tremble all over. I move the control column, play the rudders, and make all the miniscule movements necessary to guide my machine precisely through the maneuvers. It’s an emotional and physical evolution for me. Obviously, I am supremely grateful to have been a part of the Blue Angel experience. It will be with me forever.

Once a Blue, always a Blue.