Angels in Wayne: U.S. Navy demonstration team Blue Angels visit SJAFB
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on December 5, 2016 8:08 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
The Blue Angels are one of only two flight demonstration squadrons in the American military, flying the F/A-18 Hornet in tight formations and performing acrobatic maneuvers at air shows all across the country.
On Friday, two Blue Angels arrived at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base to begin preparations for the Wings Over Wayne Airshow in May.
Lt. Dave Steppe, Blue Angels event coordinator, and Lt. Brandon Hempler, advance pilot and narrator, arrived at the base around 9:30 a.m., taking a pass over the flight line before landing.
The angels visited Seymour Johnson to meet with base leaders to discuss the upcoming show, as well as to get used to the layout of the base.
"We're really just long-term planning for May," Steppe said. "We're getting all the details so we don't have to stress out about it."
Blue Angels train for years before they join the team, which includes seven Blue Angel pilots as well as three "Flying Fat Alberts," another name for the C-130 Hercules, and a number of other support staff. Every member of the team is pulled from either the Navy or Marine Corps, and must go through an application and grading process before being accepted for training. Applicants must have at least 1,250 hours logged in tactical jet flight.
The official mission of the Blue Angels is to "showcase the pride and professionalism of the United States Navy and Marine Corps by inspiring a culture of excellence and service to country through flight demonstrations and community outreach." The team is a kind of public relations apparatus, through which the Navy and Marines can connect to people all over the country.
By the time they arrived at Seymour Johnson, Steppe and Hempler had already been on the move for a week, touring other future show sites.
As for the show itself, Hempler said that people can expect to see a classic Blue Angels performance. This includes their signature diamond formation, in which four jets fly together with hardly more than a foot of separation between their wing tips and the canopies of the other jets.
The angels perform a variety of rolls, close passes and tight turns designed to showcase the maximum performance of the F/A-18. In favorable weather conditions, the jets reach 700 mph, just under mach 1, at their fastest.
Maj. Matthew Olde, coordinator for the 2017 air show, said that planning for the event is already well underway.