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Opening the show: Fat Albert, a Hercules C-130, is
taking off.
Contrails in the sky
At this time, twelve of the jets are on active
duty, of which ten are single-seat F/A-18As
for the show and two are two-seater F/A-18Bs
for VIP flights. The Hornets are practically in
production configuration, except that the
M61 Vulcan cannons were removed, and for
better aircraft handling during inverted flight
a spring has been added to the control stick.
Arranged between the engines is a tank holding
smoke oil. The oil is injected into the
engines to create condensation trails in the
sky to enhance the safety and orientation of
the pilots. Also, contrails help spectators on
the ground track the aircraft.
With all its extreme maneuvers, the show
invariably follows the same pattern. For optimum
flying weather, visibility should be at
least 5.5 kilometers and the cloud ceiling at
least 2.5 kilometers. That’s when the Blues go
the whole hog. Opening the show is a C-130
Hercules, also known as Fat Albert, which
Daredevil aerobatics thrill the crowds.
34 Anecdote
normally carries the ground crew and spare
parts. When it takes off, its rocket bottles are
a spectacular sight in the jet-assisted take
off. Fat Albert gets airborne after a takeoff
run of less than 500 meters, climbs to 300
meters above the ground, flies a tour above
the airfield and then lands again.
Then the Hornets take off. The first four aircraft
join in a 45 centimeter wingtip-tocanopy
diamond formation. The Blues are
renowned the world over for this stunt, never
replicated by any other aerobatic team. The
two other airplanes are the opposing solos,
their first maneuver being the opposing knife
edge pass when in low-level flight they rush
directly toward each other to pass only a few
meters apart. Next on the agenda are a plurality
of other maneuvers.
After a sneak pass, a solo aircraft roars
across the runway merely 15 meters or so
above the runway and accelerates to almost
700 knots. In breathtaking succession, spectators
then witness about 30 maneuvers. In
the section high alpha pass the Hornets
point their noses into the sky, sitting on their
tails. Together, the six airplanes fly a roll in
delta formation before four of them, in diamond
formation, paint the signature of the
formation into the sky, a stylized fleur-de-lis.
In closing, the Blues return to the center of
the airfield and fly over it simultaneously at
different heights. After one more flyover in
delta formation, the Hornets then separate
and land.
Roaring across the runway at low altitude.
The United States’ best pilots
After a greatly exciting history, the squadron
is presently commanded by Kevin Mannix. It
was formed by directive of Admiral Chester
W. Nimitz on April 24, 1946, dubbed Navy
Flight Exhibition Team. World War II ace
Lieutenant Commander Roy “Butch” Voris
was assigned to recruit its first pilots. Not an
easy job, considering that even then, only
the best were good enough. Passing muster
were just a pair of pilots that together with
Voris were then stationed on the Naval Air
Station in Jacksonville, Florida. In June 1946,
the trio flew their first exhibition on
Grumman F6F Hellcats at the Southeastern
Air Show in Jacksonville. Their first show,
lasting about 17 minutes, included a number
of formation flights. During the next several
weeks, the squadron displayed its art at several
locations in the United States. During a
stay-over in New York City the squadron
agreed on an official name, Blue Angels,
probably with reference to a famous New
York night club.
Blue Angels pilots to this day remain among
the best in the United States. They are stationed
in Pensacola, Florida. From January to
March they train at the Naval Air Facility in El
Centro, California. That’s the place to go,
too, for pilots wishing to join. Applicants are
cycled through a grueling screening process
with various training units. Fifteen of them
are put on the short list to be selected by the
squadron by roll-call vote for one of the few
slots being vacated. For the 2008 flying season,
four of them made it. Since the
squadron’s inception, a total of 232 pilots
and 32 flight leaders sat in the cockpits of
the Blues. Their average age is 33.
A tour of duty on the squadron lasts two
years. There’s no special pay attached to it.
Every pilot in the squadron is a member of
the U.S. Navy or U.S. Marine Corps. He must
have qualified for deck landings and logged
at least 1,250 hours on jet aircraft. Aircraft
Number 1 is reserved for the commanding
officer (the “Boss”). He is named by the
Chief of Naval Air Training. For credentials,
he needs flying experience in excess of
3,000 hours and must have commanded a jet
aircraft squadron. Fat Albert is flown exclusively
by Marines having qualified as Aircraft
Commanders. In all, acceptance requirements
are just as exacting as the formations
being flown.
For additional information, contact
Heidrun Moll
+49 89 1489-3537
For further information on this article go to:
www.mtu.de/108BlueAngels_E
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