April 4, 2025 - Sun 'N Fun
Blue Angels
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| My main personal reason for wanting to attend Sun 'N Fun was to see the Blue Angels. I haven't seen them in eight years, and never with their new ride: the F-18 SuperHornet. |
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But first, Fat Albert is on the roll.
Notice the guys on the control tower. Best seat in the house!
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| I flew in the Blue Angel's C-130 once, as a passenger, from Pensacola to El Toro, California. The price was right but the long flight was miserable. The Blue Angel C-130 may look good on the outside, but inside it's just another C-130 cargo plane. |
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Check out those six-bladed propellers!
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| The Boss (#1) and #2 taxi by for takeoff. |
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| The four-ship is off! |
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The solo planes, #5 and #6 takeoff going the opposite direction as the four-ship. Look at that steep angle takeoff!
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| He's going vertical! |
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It's amazing how close the Blue Angels fly. I think they are 18 inches or so from wingtip to canopy in this picture.
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| Whatever those pilots get paid, it's not enough. |
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| Now that's a head-to-head pass! |
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| Crazy. |
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The Blue Angel diamond is going vertical -- with gear extended.
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Rounding out the loop -- look at those tailhooks!
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| One of the solo pilots turning hard with a Navy SBD Dauntless dive-bomber sits at lower right. |
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| Right-echelon. |
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| Line abreast. |
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Coming out of a loop in line abreast.
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| Now all six Blue Angels are in the Delta formation. |
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| Executing a big barrel roll. |
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Splitting at the top.
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Now coming almost directly at us.
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| Starting to break apart. |
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There they go!
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| I like how the Blue Angels break when they come in for landing. They are in the six-ship Delta Formation. Lead (#1) pulls up 20-30 degrees, holds it for a second or two, then rolls up and to the left. The rest of the Blue Angels follow at a few seconds intervals. |
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There goes #1.
What a show! Nobody does it like the Blue Angels!
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