Posted on 11/06/2020 1:53:23 PM PST by AF_Blue
The U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron conducted the last flight using its F/A-18 A/B/C/D Hornets on Wednesday. The aircraft, which the Blue Angels have flown for 34 years, will be replaced with F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets beginning with the team’s 2021 show season. The Hornets departed Florida’s Naval Air Station Pensacola at around 4 p.m. local time for a 30-minute flyover ranging from the Pensacola area to Alabama’s Fort Morgan.
(Excerpt) Read more at avweb.com ...
Wow, I remember the first time I saw the Blue Angels flying those planes at an air show at the Naval Academy. The planes were almost brand new, then. I was 7 years old.
For your interest.
Beautiful little fighters. I thought of them almost as sports cars.
Have been fortunate to see several BA shows.
Additionally, I worked with a fellow for a few years who’s brother was the Captain (Squadron Leader, Lead Pilot?) of the BA’s so we had numerous overflights of our smallish town that year as he was born and raised here. It was cool!
34 Years, if I have it right? I think they got legacy Hornets in ‘86 or ‘87 when the Skyhawks went to the boneyard? That has to be a record for type longevity.
You young whippersnapper. When I was 7 they were flying F11s. Your generation totally missed out on seeing them wind up the rubber bands before take-off.
Under Harris such things will be canceled and the planes sold to the highest Chinese bidder
I & my family were on the beach at Gulf Shores to watch the flyby, amazed at how many were there since we learned of the flyby around noon.
BTW I used to fuel the Blues when they flew A4’s at NASP.
I remember working with the Hornets B/C Models when I was in the NAVY. The Old Salts use to call them “Flying Lawn Darts” “Non Mud Movers” and finally “ Drink, Blow and S**k) this was because the amount of fuel they drank up just waiting to be launched of the Carrier! I remember when the F-14s and A-6s were forced into a safety stand down off Bosnia in 1996 and the Hornets were the only choice, we would fill the up and tow them to the Cats. When needed the pilots got in started the engines and we would launch them every 45 seconds just to save fuel. The Supers are better on fuel mileage by 45%, but still.
Talking about longevity, I saw a NASA T-38 over my office in downtown Houston yesterday. Those have been flying for 59 years.
The T-38 is one of my favorites ;)
(I always called them turbo mosquitoes) :D
In 1968 I was training in San Diego for Interior Communication Electrician. I remember trying to volunteer to cross train as a Blue Angel pilot.
Im still waiting, they havnt gotten back to me yet.
T-38 is a great looking little machine. Also like the F-5 variant that we exported all around the world.
The first time I saw them, they were flying the Grumman F11F-1 Tiger.
Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Aircraft
F6F Hellcat 1946
F8F Bearcat 1946 - 1949
F9F-2 Panther 1949 - 1950
F9F-5 Panther 1951 - 1955
F9F-8 Cougar 1955 - 1957
F11F-1 Tiger 1957 - 1968
F-4J Phantom II 1969 - 1974
A-4F Skyhawk II 1974 - 1986
F/A-18 Hornet A/B 1986 - 2010
F/A-18 Hornet C/D IN TRANSITION
https://www.blueangels.navy.mil/history/
F11s when I was a kid, Naval Air Station Dallas - then I was an air traffic controller with the Marine Corps Reserve there 20 years later.
man, i bet they are happy to be getting the newer upgraded models.
Well that MODEL of F-18.
To the untrained eye, the replacements will look pretty much the same.
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