Blue Angels airshow attendees to number 15M across America

The Blue Angels arrive at their jets on March 15 in El Centro, CA.

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- The U.S. Navy expects nearly fifteen million visitors will attend airshows across America to witness the aerobatic performances of the Blue Angels during 2014.

The Navy's Flight Demonstration Squadron began their new season in storied fashion as the team's six pilots arrived dressed in their throwback gold flight uniforms and boarded their FA-18C Hornets in El Centro, California on Saturday.

The inaugural demonstration saw an estimated 35,000 witness the Blues' forty minute performance over the city which hosts the team for six weeks during their intensive winter training.

The squadron will perform their next shows in California, Texas and Florida.

"By publicly demonstrating the skills and abilities of naval aviators, the team's goal is to inspire young men and women not just to purse a career in naval aviation or the military, but to aspire to excellence in all areas of their lives," said Blue Angels spokesperson Chief Russell Tafuri.


Angel 6 opposing solo pilot Lt. Mark Tedrow is excitied about the new season.

"It's pretty incredible being part of the solo routine for the Blue Angels," Lt. Tedrow said to this aerospace reporter. "Number five and number six pilots demonstrate the maximum performance capabilities of the FA-18. We're the ones that wow the crowd with some of the amazing maneuvers."

Tedrow added, "We fly our jets at just below the speed of sound, and pull between 7 and 8 G's during the demonstration. It's hard to describe to the person who has never felt G-forces before, but actually they're pretty painful but good at the same time."

This year will mark the Blue Angels 68th year performing to public crowds.

(Charles Atkeison reports on aerospace, science and technology. Follow his updates via Twitter @AbsolutSpaceGuy.)

Blue Angels maintenance teams prepare for 2014 season

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- As the U.S. Navy Blue Angels gear up for this year's air shows, a group of unsung heroes will place their job dedication and professionalism on the line prior to each aircraft's departure.

The pilots of the U.S. Navy's elite Flight Demonstration Squadron are the first to say that the aerobatic jets they fly really belong to the mechanics and technicians who keep them operational each day.

They maintain the existing aircraft with new parts at their home at Naval Air Station Pensacola, while testing new aircraft systems prior to and during an air show to keep the high performance aircraft reliable.

The maintenance and supply teams are made up of nearly a hundred enlisted men and women of the Navy and Marines who bring special job qualities to maintain the aircraft.

Seven F/A-18 Hornet jets, each painted with a high gloss blue and yellow paint job, and a C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, affectionately known as "Fat Albert", will take to the skies for each air show during the 2014 season.

As the Gulf breeze blew across on the flight line, this aerospace reporter spoke with two of the Navy's most experienced engineers about the demands of their jobs -- both at home and away.
"I take care of that aircraft, making sure that everything is good for it's pilot," Aviation Ordinance First Class Eli Lang, the crew chief for the Angel 7 jet, said with a smile of pride. "My job details engine tune-up operations, check the flight control instruments and check though the pre- and post-flight inspections of the aircraft on a day-to-day basis."

Blue Angels Aviation Electrician Tyler Nuhfer said, "When you pull an all nighter to get the plane ready for the next day, it's a very big sense of accomplishment. When you get that jet off for an air show it's a really great feeling."

As the Hornets are put through the routines above, on the ground, the maintenance crews observe with binoculars and later record post-flight analysis to ensure the jets are performing as expected.
AE1 Nuhfer explained, "No air show has been cancelled due to a maintenance issue since the Blue Angels began in 1946. That's a huge bragging right we have on the enlisted side, keeping the aircraft in the air."

The Blue Angels will return to the air show circuit March 15 following a year off due to the government's 2013 sequestration. Today, the maintenance crews are preparing for the eight month season by working long hours as the Hornets are put through a strict practice schedule at their winter home at the Naval Air Facility at El Centro in southern California.

During this time, the Blue Angels team will work as one as the pilots practice for their first air show of 2014 at El Centro. The six Hornets will practice the speeds and maneuvers of each demonstration timed by the tick of the clock.

It's this dedication to detail which keeps the entire team ready during performance week.
"This is a good experience for anybody to have to come together from across the naval fleet to work together," AO1 Lang said.

The maintenance team are veterans who served aboard aircraft carriers for multiple years before volunteering to serve with the Blues.

2014 will see the team travel to show sites in Hawaii, California, Tennessee and Washington to name a few. The team will also perform a traditional fly over during the Naval Academy graduation ceremony in May.

"When we go to an air show, we take about forty team members with us," Nuhfer explained. "We arrive a day early to get everything set up as far as support equipment, and learn what hanger will we work out of and then the pilots fly in. We are there to support them until the air show starts."

Each 56-foot long Hornet carries 11,000 pounds of fuel to stay aloft for a nearly 45 minute performance.

The aircraft also endures untold stress during parts of the aerobatic performance as they pull up to 7G's (seven times one gravity). One demonstration has the jets soar upside down at over 400 m.p.h while only eighteen inches apart from another Hornet.

Although the jets can soar past the speed of sound, the Blue Angels keep their aircraft from going super sonic over land as not to crack windows of homes or cars on the ground.

A long time aviation electrician, Nuhfer discussed his role with the Blues, "The whole F/A-18 is practically fly by wire. Anything that has a wire going to it, we fix."

"Flight controls are not cables going to your surfaces but it's wires that go to a sensor that tells a computer to move a surface. Anything from the fuel, to flight controls, air speed, everything is wired and keeps us busy," Nuhfer continued. "We have the oldest jets in the Navy, some are 20 to 30 year old jets, that makes the wires that much older and that much easier to break."

As you listen to both Lang and Nuhfer talk about their jobs, one can hear the pride in their voices as they discuss just how they prepare each jet to go dazzle the crowds.

Nuhfer calls it an honor to work with the Blue Angels, and one of the last traditions still around in the Navy.

Lang echoed the sentiments of the team by saying, "We did our job to make these aircraft get in the air for the American public see what we have here, and it's satisfying to see the smiles on the children's faces as they utter 'Ooh and Aah's' during each show."

(Charles Atkeison reports on aerospace, science and technology. Follow his updates via Twitter @AbsolutSpaceGuy.)

U.S. Navy Blue Angels look forward to 2014 season

PENSACOLA, Fla -- As the sunshine and blue sky lay above the warm waves on Pensacola Beach, a pair of high performance jets soar high over the northern gulf waters in a aerobatic display which captures the attention of the sunbathers below.

The twin U.S. Navy jets quickly break away in a planned maneuver and begin to soar higher into the cloudless sky. Suddenly, the jets ignite a white smoke trail which begins to trace their aerobatic flight path of twin circles.

The United States Navy's elite Flight Demonstration Squadron is known to the public as the Blue Angels. The team's blue and gold jets are a familiar sight and sound along the sugar sand beaches along the northern Gulf Coast just a few miles from their home at the Naval Air Station Pensacola.

The team's public demonstration flights is the Navy's most popular recruiting tool to attract interested young adults into a career with the military. One of those young adults is a pilot today with the Angels.

For many on Pensacola Beach, the sight of the unexpected air show above is in reality only a low level practice flight by two of the six Blue Angels.

A typical week may find all six Blue Angels in flight as they practice flying wing tip to wing tip, just eighteen inches apart; and perfecting a stunning performance which has two of the jets speed toward each other before each jet breaks into a left and right hand 180-degree turn.

This year, however, the Blue Angels' F/A-18 Hornet jets were ordered to stay home. Their practice hours limited to only eleven hours a month.

2013 marked a year of major budget cuts in the U.S. military, cuts which grounded the team from performing at any of their planned air shows during their annual March to November season.

For the first time in sixty years, the Blue Angels were not allowed to perform at any of the planned thirty-five airshows across North America.

This aerospace journalist soared with Angels pilot Lt. Mark Tedrow in 2012 in Angel 7 jet, a two seater F/A-18D Hornet, and experienced nearly every maneuver these incredible pilots endure during an air show performance.

This year would have marked Tedrow's first year as Angel 6, one of two solos performing fast paced, highly intense flight demonstrations along with Angel 5.

As the aerobatic pair take center stage over an airshow runway, Angels 1, 2, 3 and 4 are typically lining up in a formation to soar high above as 5 and 6 finish.

As Lt. Tedrow and I stood on the flight line at the Blue Angels home base this week, we began to discuss about this season, and what inspired him to join this elite flight squadron.

Charles Atkeison: Lt. Tedrow, take us in the cockpit with you and explain what it's like to soar with your team.


Lt. Mark Tedrow: "It's really hard to describe for people who have not done it before, luckily you have so you what the feelings and sensations are like... it's pretty incredible being part of the solo routine for the Blue Angels, number five and number six because unlike the one thru four pilots, we demonstrate the maximum performance capabilities of the FA-18. We're the ones that wow the crowd with some of the amazing maneuvers, we fly our jets at just below the speed of sound and pull between 7 and 8 G's, during the demonstration. It's hard to describe to the person who has never felt G-forces before, but actually pretty painful but good at the same time because you know you're max performing the aircraft and it's definitely a crowd pleaser.

It's incredible to go through what we go through."

Atkeison: With the Angels grounded due to the sequester, how do you continue to practice and stay prepared for a hoped 2014 season?

Lt. Tedrow: "We've been flying locally here since we got shutdown. We fly two to three times a week and we do basic maneuvers. We have a local working area out over the (Gulf) water there that we go and practice some of the airshow maneuvers that we do, so that's the way we stay proficient as we're waiting to hear about the 2014 season.

Are we flying as much as we normally would if we were doing a season this year? No. Are we proficient to do a demo tomorrow? No. But, we defiantly are keeping are skills sharp so that we will be able to fly a demo in '14. The knowledge is there all we have to do is sharpen our skill set with a bunch of practicing before we pick-up and fly during the 2014 season."

Atkeison: Blue Angel 1 is your "Boss" and is flown by commander Thomas Frosch. Run through with me a few of his speech techniques he uses to keep your team's mental edge prepared.

Lt. Tedrow: "I would not want to be in his shoes especially this season. He has done a phenomenal job and I do not know how everyday he comes to work - he's so optimistic. And, that is what he has passed on to us.

Throughout the weeks and the months we kinda hear different things, different stories, from 'Hey, we're gonna have a 2014 season' or 'Hey, we're gonna be flying in the Fall.' It's back and forth, up and down, we get different information, but throughout the entire process, he has been nothing but optimistic about what we're going to be doing in the future and the mission of this team in 2014.

The Boss always is optimistic 'Hey, we're still the Blue Angels... we have a mission to accomplish and it's still looking good for 2014". So, he's been great throughout, and without him, I don't what we would've done."

Atkeison: O.K., let's back up a few years... you grew up outside of Pittsburgh. What lead you into a career with the U.S. Navy and later, the Blue Angels?

Lt. Tedrow: "Growing up in Pittsburgh, we didn't have much of a Navy presence, and I didn't have many family members that were in the military. In that area, sports are a big deal - especially high school football - so I grew up playing a lot of football games. In high school, I was luck enough to be recruited by United States Naval Academy.

It kinda sparked my interest... I showed up to the Naval Academy and I started playing football there, and the first year I was there the Blue Angels performed at graduation and I had never seen them before. I said, 'Wow, that is one of the coolest things I've ever seen in my life. I'd love to do that one day'.

I went thru the four years at the academy. I was lucky enough I selected naval aviation, went through flight school and selected jets. I did a few combat deployments to Afghanistan and worked my way through the fleet... I was lucky enough to get picked up, so here I am living that dream that I had since I was eighteen years old, and I'm super lucky to be here, and I'm honored to be a part of the team."

Atkeison: So what's it like to perform a carrier landing? What's the sensation versus maybe an Angels flight?


Lt. Tedrow: "It's a lot different. What sets naval aviators apart from the rest of the aviators throughout the world is the ability to land on aircraft carriers and ships. It's one of the unique skill sets we bring to aviation, it's one of the hardest things that we do. So to learn it is a lot of pressure, it's a lot of stress. It's very hard briefs and debriefs to get to the point where you're ready to land on the aircraft carrier.

I'll tell you first hand, the first time I landed on the aircraft carrier was in one of those jets right there, a T-45, and It was the most terrifying experience of my life. You're coming around the corner and all you see is this ship. Aircraft carriers are huge, but from the sky at 500 to 800 feet, they look tiny, they look like a postage stamp. You're coming around the corner in the landing pattern thinking to yourself, 'There's no way I'm gonna land this thing'.

To land is the most abrupt stop and landing you can ever image going from 140 m.p.h. to 0 m.p.h. in about two seconds, so that's pretty incredible. And the take-off is even more incredible to go from 0 m.p.h. to 140 m.p.h. in a about a second and a half is pretty phenomenal as well. I think I screamed the first time I got launched from the carrier in a T-45 cause their so little and light. It's one of the hardest things we do.

I'm lucky to be apart of naval aviation."

As it stands for now, Tedrow and his Blues team are due to travel out to their winter base at the Naval Air Facility El Centro, California the first week of January for three months of intense training.

(Charles Atkeison reports on aerospace, science and technology. Follow his updates via Twitter and on Instagram @BlueAngels_7.)