I had a chance last weekend to go to the Airfest at the storied MacDill Airforce Base just a few miles from where we live. I walked through the belly of a C-5 Galaxy and a C-17 Globemaster. Looked inside a Blackhawk helicopter. Stood under the 8 engines of a B-52 Stratofortress. Saw a F-22 Raptor stealth fighter and an E-3 Sentry AWACS radar plane fly by. A demo by a C-130J Super Hercules. See my Instagram post for 10 photos from the visit.
But the highlight of the day was the US Navy’s Blue Angels.
Since 1946, the Blue Angels have performed for nearly 500 million fans. Since 2020, they have flown the F/A-18 Super Hornet E/F. During their demonstration, the Blues fly six aircraft split into the Diamond Formation (Blue Angels 1 through 4) and the Lead and Opposing Solos (Blue Angels 5 and 6). Most of the show alternates between maneuvers performed by the Diamond and those performed by the Solos.
There were 6 Angels in the show including
- Captain Brian Kesselring, Flight Leader and Commanding Officer
- Lt. Christopher Kapuschansky (right wing)
- Lt. Scott Goossens,(left wing)
- Major Frank Zastoupil (slot)
- Lieutenant Commander Cary Rickoff (lead Solo)
- Lieutenant Commander Julius Bratton (Solo)
Check out their bios here and those of Blue Angels 7 and 8 -Lieutenant Griffin Stangel who narrated the show and Lieutenant Katlin Forster, the event coordinator
They did several maneuvers including the Fleur de Lis where the pilots fly over center point, where they separate and do a 360-degree roll with the diamond shape reconnecting through a loop. Others included the Barrel Roll Break, the Diamond Dirty Loop and the Fortus.
My phone battery died just as the Blue Angels show started. Logan Sears who was with his family next to me in the stands came to the rescue. He kindly sent me half an hour of footage. I have edited in down to 6 minutes of thrilling maneuvers below.
Unbelievably, next weekend the US Air Force’s Thunderbirds in their F-16 Fighting Falcons are coming to a show in Lakeland, a short drive from us.
Try and catch one or both of these acrobatic teams in person if they are ever at a show near you. Quite a thrill to watch and hear their thunder up close.
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