Blue Angels coming to Wayne
By From staff reports
Published in News on December 8, 2015 1:46 PM
The United States Navy Blue Angels Demonstration Team is scheduled to perform for audiences during the 2017 Wings Over Wayne Air Show at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, it was announced late Monday.
The Blue Angels are the U.S. Navy's premier aerial demonstration team. The mission of the Blue Angels is to showcase the pride and professionalism of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps by inspiring a culture of excellence and service to country through flight demonstrations and community outreach.
"We are thankful for this opportunity to host the Blue Angels," said Col. Mark H. Slocum, 4th Fighter Wing commander at Seymour Johnson. "There are many bases and cities that request a world class team like the Blue Angels or Thunderbirds to perform and never get any team. This speaks to the greatness of this community and base to be able to draw them here. Seymour Johnson is also the only Air Force base named after a Navy pilot, so this will be a great tie to our heritage."
The last time the Blue Angels flew during the Wings Over Wayne Air Show was in 2007.
The Blue Angels is the United States Navy's flight demonstration squadron, with aviators from the Navy and Marines.
The unit was formed in 1946, making it the second oldest flying aerobatic team in the world.
The Blue Angels' six demonstration pilots fly the F/A-18 Hornet in more than 70 shows at 34 sites across the nation each year, where they still employ many of the same practices and techniques used in their aerial displays in 1946.
An estimated 11 million spectators view the squadron during air shows each full year. The Blue Angels also visit more than 50,000 people in a standard show season in schools and hospitals. Since 1946, the Blue Angels have flown for more than 260 million spectators.
More than 200,000 people attended the last Wings Over Wayne airshow, a record.
During their aerobatic demonstration, the Blues fly six aircraft, split into the Diamond Formation, considered its trademark, and the Lead and Opposing Solos. Most of the show alternates between maneuvers performed by the Diamond Formation and those performed by the Solos.
The Diamond, in tight formation and usually at lower speeds (400 mph), performs maneuvers such as formation loops, barrel rolls, and transitions from one formation to another.
The Solos showcase the high performance capabilities of their individual aircraft through the execution of high-speed passes, slow passes, fast rolls, slow rolls, and very tight turns. The highest speed flown during an air show is 700 mph and the lowest speed is 120 mph.