Maybe it is time to switch planes. They are
getting overly confident with what they have
now. This formation is just crazy.
Posted on 04/22/2019 4:33:54 AM PDT by DFG
Get a good look at the U.S. Navy Blue Angels while you have a chance. They will be changing to a new plane in a couple of years.
The Pensacola News Journal reports the team plans to switch from the F/A-18 Hornet to the F/A-18E Super Hornet in 2021 to mark the team's 75th anniversary.
"The jet is more powerful, especially at lower altitudes, so we believe that our maneuvering will be more visible to the crowd and more impressive overall," Cmdr. Frank Weisser, a former Blue Angel pilot, told the Journal.
(Excerpt) Read more at wfaa.com ...
One hopes this will not be a replay of when the Blue Angels switched to the F-4.
The super hornet seems to be to the hornet about what the hellcat was to the wildcat.
Yep - many remember the F-4 as ‘the best and baddest” because of the engine sound and smoke but it wasn’t a prime machine.
The blue Angel’s airframes are about the oldest in the fleet. They’re due for an upgrade.
CC
I seem to recall a F4 pilot shot down during Vietnam said that with the engines out it had the flying characteristics of a brick.
CC
That’s a pretty good analogy.
Two weeks ago, we watched the Blue Angels practice at their home at NAS Pensacola. There were an estimated 6,000 of us sitting on the grass at the flight line. The location is actually on grounds of the Museum of Naval Aviation.
They practice weekly I think, check their web site for the schedule.
The museum of Naval Aviation is one of the best aviation museums
It’s a great road trip venue
A Phantom loaded with "Snakeyes" and a full load of 20mm was a beautiful sight when one was engaged in fisticuffs with an NVA battalion.
” They are getting overly confident with what they have
now. This formation is just crazy.”
It’s OK, they’re Navy pilots.
Photoshop.
I hope so.
Back when the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels both used the F-4, I was sitting on my parents car hood at the end of the active runway during a Thunderbirds show. The single “fill-in” plane came screaming in from behind me at less than 500 ft AGL and blew me off the hood. Good day for a kid.
Forced perspective. They’re really close but not THAT close. Lol
The blue Angel’s airframes are about the oldest in the fleet.
...
I recall an article saying they take used aircraft from the fleet. I wonder if their new models will also be used.
I was hoping for KC 135s or even 737s. That would be cool.
I would tend to think so. Makes sense that the newest aircraft be at the pointy end of the sword, i.e. on active duty.
CC
I’d like to see them do it with C17s.
Personally, they should disband the group and put those pilots on combat flight duty against Islamic terrorists. Redirect the money used by this and other demonstration teams to combat operations. If not that, then to building the wall.
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