Posted on 02/15/2014 7:26:41 AM PST by equaviator
The U.S. Navy Blue Angels and their thrilling, high-precision maneuvers will highlight the 2014 Selfridge Air National Guard Base Open House & Air Show, in September.
Flying F/A-18 Hornets, the pilots are scheduled to perform on both days of the show, Sept. 6-7 at the Harrison Township base.
“They fly an extremely high-precision demonstration. They take the aircraft to the limits of their flying, very close to each other. It’s very exciting,” said Technical Sgt. Dan Heaton of the 127th Wing at Selfridge.
The Blue Angels last performed at the Selfridge Air Show in 2005.
In 2013, the federal government budget sequester grounded the world-renowned team from performing after April 1.
“We took some time off in Pensacola (Fla., where the team is stationed) to kind of focus on our mission as a whole and how we want to function as a team from here on out in 2014 forward. So we’re doing more community outreach,” Navy Lt. Ryan Chamberlain said in a 127th Wing video.
“Selfridge asked for us and we were able to support in 2014. We’re excited to be back,” he said.
Chamberlain and Lt. Commander Michael Cheng, the Blue Angels’ events coordinator, recently visited the Harrison Township base to meet with Selfridge and air show officials to discuss safety details of the event.
The September air show will be a homecoming for Navy Commander Thomas Frosch, the Blue Angels’ flight leader and commanding officer. Frosch, a native of Clinton Township, graduated from Fraser High School in 1988.
In 2003, he was a department head for Strike Fighter Squadron 192 and deployed with the USS Kitty Hawk and few in support of Operations Southern Watch and Iraqi Freedom. In 2005, he reported to a NATO headquarters in Belgium and during his tour, deployed as an individual augmenter with a NATO security force to Kabul, Afghanistan.
Frosch joined the Blue Angels as commanding officer in November 2012. In additional to numbers medals, he has logged more than 3,000 flight hours and 830 landings on aircraft carriers.
Other aerial performers scheduled to perform at the Selfridge show include the ethanol-powered Vanguard Squadron; Patty Wagstaff, the first woman to win the title of U.S. National Aerobatic champion and multiple award-winner in international competitions; skywriter Melissa Pemberton; John Klatt; and Randy Ball.
The attractions on the ground are equally popular. More than a dozen aircraft from all branches of the military are on display for an up-close look. In fact, a few can be boarded, and pilots are often on hand to discuss the aircraft and field questions from show-goers young and old.
Some military veterans are often seen accompanied by their grandchildren, pointing to specific aircraft they worked on during times of war.
“One of the reasons why the commander wants to have these open houses is we want people to come out and see what the aircraft are. Quite frankly, your tax dollars pay for this stuff. You deserve the right to periodically look at them,” said Heaton, the 127th Wing spokesman.
As with past open house/air shows at Selfridge, parking and admission to the event is free. Officials expect attendance to reach approximately 150,000 over the two days. Tens of thousands more watch the skies from properties within a few miles of the base, while many others view the aerial displays from boats anchored in Lake St. Clair.
Heaton expects the participation of the Blue Angels will make the always popular event a bigger hit.
“That definitely draws attention,” he said. “There’s just something about seeing those Blue Angels – you can feel that roar in your gut.”
This year’s open house and air show is the first since 2011, which was marred by tragedy when a wing walker fell to his death during a performance in front of thousands of onlookers.
The first Selfridge air show was in 1922, when the first air speed record not set in France, was recorded.
For more information about the 2014 Selfridge Open House & Air Show, go to selfridgeopenhouse.com.
...was there in ('77?) checking out one of their classics when some idiots threw red paint-filled balloons at the B-29(FiFi)to protest "the glorification of war"(or something).
Go the day before and watch practice at the Walmart parking lot. It’s awe inspiring. The noise inside the store is staggering.
bkmk
Love how the latest Android update turns F/A-18s into F-111s. Facepalm.
My primary instructor said he did it in an F-4 and the air speed indicator was moving clockwise, albeit very slowly in a vertical 90 deg angle climb with afterburners on. I don’t think it would be possible without after burners.
He said the ASI needle was moving very slowly, ok it was probably hardly moving at all. But he said it moved clockwise during the climb. I guess he was BS-ing me.
I’m not saying rocket acceleration in the vertical, I am just saying holding current airspeed with a slight increase in AS.
“holding current airspeed with a slight increase in AS”
How much would a sustained straight-up climb depend on the altitude at which the AB’s are applied? I’m thinking it would indeed make a difference.
I’m only about 7 miles west of Selfrige and while I’ve heard the jets in the show, I’ve never gone over to watch it.
I wish a pilot with high performance jet experience would let us know what really happens....
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