Here is a thread dedicated to the Blue Angels. I have always been a fan of tail draggers. So you can understand my interest here.



A special note to all these are not my images but are from a former Admin Chief of the Blue Angels

Think you can see where he smacked a squirrel in the head running across the air strip Those guys are great technical pilots

Here the USS Constitution and some of her younger sisters get the thrill of a flyby. Ghost Rider the pattern is full!

Look Ma! No hands!

Lol, just stunning!

Dude you ruined my camera shot now we have to go around again.

Alright gents just like Annapolis in the 60's we are stacked 4 deep in a space. No one sneeze please.

wow

here are my shots from 2 weeks ago:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shawnmanny/sets/72157624818248735/

Excellent Shaun! I want everyone with Blue Angels images to feel free to post them. Any one remember what aircraft the first Blue Angel flight used?



In WWI this was known as a cavalier's start - But Grandpa never did this at this altitude or pulling these kind of Geeeeeeeeeeeees!.

Hellcat?

Give that man a cupie doll!

"On April 24, 1946 Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Chester Nimitz issued a directive ordering the formation of a flight exhibition team to boost Navy morale, demonstrate naval air power, and maintain public interest in naval aviation. However, an underlying mission was to help the Navy generate public and political support for a larger allocation of the shrinking defense budget. In April of that year, Rear Admiral Ralph Davison personally selected Lieutenant Commander Roy Marlin "Butch" Voris, a World War II fighter ace, to assemble and train a flight demonstration team, naming him Officer-in-Charge and Flight Leader. Voris selected three fellow instructors to join him (Lt. Maurice "Wick" Wickendoll, Lt. Mel Cassidy, and Lt. Cmdr. Lloyd Barnard, veterans of the War in the Pacific), and they spent countless hours developing the show. The group perfected its initial maneuvers in secret over the Florida Everglades so that, in Voris' words, "...if anything happened, just the alligators would know." The team's first demonstration before Navy officials took place on May 10, 1946 and was met with enthusiastic approval.

On June 15 Voris led a trio of Grumman F6F-5 Hellcats, specially modified to reduce weight and painted sea blue with gold leaf trim, through their inaugural 15-minute-long performance at their Florida home base, Naval Air Station Jacksonville.[1] The team employed an SNJ Texan, painted and configured to simulate a Japanese Zero, to simulate aerial combat. This aircraft was later painted yellow and dubbed the "Beetle Bomb".

The team thrilled spectators with low-flying maneuvers performed in tight formations, and (according to Voris) by "...keeping something in front of the crowds at all times. My objective was to beat the Army Air Corps. If we did that, we'd get all the other side issues. I felt that if we weren't the best, it would be my naval career." The Blue Angels' first public demonstration also netted the team its first trophy, which sits on display at the team's current home at NAS Pensacola. . . " from Wikipedia

F6F-5 Hellcat to be exact. The Blues have been my favorite ADT since I first saw them fly in 1976 (Skyhawks).

Their second a/c was the F8F-2 Bearcat . This photo was taken the day the Blues picked up their new planes. At the time of this photo #1 was u/s. So they used #2.



Of course the Blues have used F/A-18A's for over 20 years now and have, finally, flown around the world in the Hornet, but my 2 favorite picture still have to be;



Blue Liberty

and


Never to forgive, never to forget

Later

Man all of you fighter Jocks are killing me.

Now this is beauty!!!


There's a reason its still flying after 58 years!!


Herky

Didn't they have to give up the R/JATO demo because the Navy ran out of the pods??

Lets take a wing tip to wing tip view.

Now if you want another shot of Big Bird lets try this one.

Or how about this shot as she does a flyby over Alcatraz.

As everyone knows #7 is the P.R. bird. An F/A-18B



So the question becomes, just how many #7's are there



At least 2 plus an no number A and of course Fat Albert.

A view of Niagra Falls that only a few have seen previously.

and some more.......opps sorry wrong colour aircraft !




paul

Tiger

Panther

Cougar

Phantom

Skyhawk

THE highlight of my 27 year military career was a reward flight in Fat Albert at an airshow at the Fort Wayne ANG base some years ago.

The weightless sensation at the apex of the JATO takeoff defies description,sadly it's only a few moments. But I'll never forget it.

Working with the Blue Angels was great.The professionalism is awesome and a credit to the US NAVY.

Jake

Correction above: This should have been the picture for the Skyhawks (edit function is missing right now)

found these while i was poking around,