Fantastic timing on Eldo's part---We didn't know it, but the day we arrived here in Gulf Shores, AL, we found out that the Blue Angels Homecoming Show was Friday and Saturday at the naval air station in Pensacola. Woo-hoo! We had always wanted to see the Navy's Blue Angels, the "Blues", but just missed them last year when we were in Pensacola at Fort Pickens, we came in too late in the season. We seemed to be one step behind them on our travels this year, always just missing them. We did manage to see the Aviation Museum on base when we were in the area last year, and that was one of the best museum tours we ever have done. Photos today are all from the airshow....
So-o-o-o...off we went today to the Naval Air Station to see the FREE homecoming air show, and what a show it was! The lineup was incredible! Some of the acts we saw were: Team RV, the world's largest airshow team, with 12 aircraft flying as close as THREE feet at times...wow! They performed "Cuban 8's", hammerheads, and barrel rolls and formed basic shapes such as the delta, arrow, and diamonds, something the Blue Angels do as well. At the end of the Team RV performance, they do a pivot turn on the tarmac in formation, blowing full smoke out behind them. Cool!
There was the famous C-130 "Fat Albert"--the C-130, David Martin and his Breitling plane that did unbelievable aeronautical contortions, Otto the Helo, a helicopter that did amazing feats, and the Black Daggers, who are the U.S. Army Special Operations Command Parachute Jumping Team. We saw a V22 Osprey with amazing maneuverability that had propellers like a plane that could be converted upright for operating like a helicopter..... We saw them change from full forward as the plane took off, to fully upright, hovering in mid air. Awesome!
There was the famous C-130 "Fat Albert"--the C-130, David Martin and his Breitling plane that did unbelievable aeronautical contortions, Otto the Helo, a helicopter that did amazing feats, and the Black Daggers, who are the U.S. Army Special Operations Command Parachute Jumping Team. We saw a V22 Osprey with amazing maneuverability that had propellers like a plane that could be converted upright for operating like a helicopter..... We saw them change from full forward as the plane took off, to fully upright, hovering in mid air. Awesome!
Can't forget the Stearman Formation... and much more..The Emerald Coast Skydivers jumped in an American flag while the Star Spangled Banner was played. THAT was awesome!
One of the aeronautical pilots in one of the best displays of aeronautical talent was a 70+ year old guy! For a more detailed lineup, you can click on the lineup link above for a more thorough explanation of each act. It was just amazing to see how these pilots whipped these planes around, twisting, curling, diving, climbing straight up, plunging straight down, defying laws of gravity and G forces with themselves and their planes, maintaining control all the while. Very impressive!
At the show, you could see old warbirds on display....
Out on the tarmac, there was a Chevy pickup that had been outfitted with a JET ENGINE....Did he ever put on a fiery show! He demonstrated a top speed over 300 m.p.h. on the landing strip!
Later in the show that same truck created a wall of fire that we think some planes flew through, but everything happened so fast with a BOOM! we're not sure how that was done or if the planes DID fly through the wall of flames. There was a collective "WHOA!!" gasp from the cloud as the wall of flames and black smoke erupted.
The show was free, but if you want reserve seating, you can pay for "box seats"--very comfortable chairs which are the first few rows right by the fence front and center where everything takes place, for fifteen dollars a person for the entire day...Get up, walk around, go see the old planes, talk to cute pilots, (is that where you were for so long? wonders E.) come back and sit down for more of the show--your seats are reserved. For twenty dollars, you could stay for the day AND the early evening show. Plenty of choices of food to eat (Sparky said, "yay!" and that's where she was wandering around--checking out the food and not the pilots :-) and stuff for the kids, music by the Navy band, a FREE concert by Big and Rich for the Saturday night show if you came the next night......Fun time!
The Blues performed twice today for their homecoming show today...Fantastic maneuvers....Check this out....Two of them are upside down within a very short distance of each other....
All the acts had fantastic maneuvers...It was an amazing, patriotic display of aerobatics, skill and talent today...makes you proud to be an American! We're so glad we got to see America's Blue Angels...Welcome home, guys! The end.... :-)
We watched them from the beach at Pensacola NAS ... but this was a true show, not a practice ... we'll have to plan for this one.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it a GREAT show? I got to see it in 2010, when i was in, FL Navarre for the winter!!
ReplyDeleteVery cool! We're going to be at Fort Pickens from Thursday the 8th thru the 15th. I hear that the Blues practice on Tuesdays, so maybe we'll see them from there.
ReplyDeleteThat sure looks like fun, we have gotten back two days too late:(
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