“This is a very
aggressive schedule…we’re on the road, taking Naval
Aviation to the Heartland”. With those words, Lt. Mike
Blankenship, the Public Affairs Officer for the Blue Angels, grabs
my printed schedule and makes a quick correction, adding Niagara
Falls, New York to the schedule (a printing oversight).
34 stops in three countries, and an early October trip to Hawaii
for the team, the first at MCAS Kaneohe Bay.
They’re also heading east for a weekend visit to Bermuda
on 12-13 June, and their Canadian foray will be 11-12 September to
Shearwater, Nova Scotia.
“We’re adding three new pilots to the team this
year, including a Marine flying in the #3, or left wing
slot.”
Business is brisk around the Blue’s table at the ICAS
show.
Every airshow that has the team scheduled wants more press
material, wants to make arrangements now, and there’s a
steady stream of fans who hosted the Blues’ in past years,
just coming by to say “Hi” and pick up a bounty of
freebies.
The teams schedule finds them flying alongside the Snowbirds at
the Ft. Lauderdale Air and Sea show May 1st and 2nd (a great show,
if you’ve never been there!), then two weeks later, 15-16 May
at Andrews AFB in Washington, at Shearwater, Nova Scotia on 11-12
September, and for a fourth time at Salinas, California, October 2
& 3.
There’s also the possibility of doing the “team a
day” bit when the Blue’s fly Niagara Falls on 28-29
August, and the Thunderbirds are at the other end of Lake Erie,
Toledo, Ohio, the same weekend. That’s about a four hour
trip.
Nothing else has changed with the team. The brilliant Blue and
Gold paint remains the same. While the team looks forward to flying
the F/A 18E “Super Hornet” one day, they’re
flying to their winter training grounds at MCAS Yuma after the
first of the year, to weld the team into a single aircraft.
And one more note: I
have the printed schedule with the Snowbirds, Thunderbirds and Blue
Angels on it, from March through November, and I’m pretty
convinced that living in Florida is THE PLACE for airplane
lovers.
There are a total of 12 performances by the teams in the
Sunshine State. The Blue Angels with 7 different shows, the
Thunderbirds with 3 and the Snowbirds with 2. Most are two-day
appearances. Florida people: we envy you!
California follows with a total of 10 team appearances.
And by comparison: Texas has three team visits, and New York
state gets four.