Air Show!!
Friday morning brought a quick breakfast at the Courtyard and then a day at NAS Pensacola for the Blue Angels Homecoming air show. It was a beautiful day for an air show. 75 degrees and only a few clouds in the sky. It was an amazing day of air show antics topped off by an always amazing Blue Angels performance.
I grew up on Corry Station (which is adjacent to NAS Pensacola) and saw practice sessions, both air shows each year and even had a pilot show up at one of my birthday parties as a kid. (I’d be ok with that happening now as an adult too.. just sayin’) The Blue Angels and this area is part of who i am and I’m having a blast on this trip.
I’ve uploaded some of the better pictures I took today while at the air show. They’re all uploaded to Flickr. Feel free to browse. Airshow Nov 09
We arrived onsite for the air show:
Had our picture taken next to an F/A-18 Hornet flown by the Blue Angels:
The GEICO Skywriters drew 3 American flags in the sky during the National anthem.. it was pretty cool:
But not as cool as the sky diver that flew the Flag as he descended to the flight line. The Skywriters circled him as he descended. This was amazing:
Fat Albert lifted off using JATO. Marie hadn’t seen this before… it’s far more cool in person..
Fat Albert then executed a parade pass:
The Angels passed the flight line in a diamond:
And.. The Angels flew past the flight line mostly upright:
All 6 Angels climb in formation:
Again in formation as they fly toward the flight line:
And then roll out.. this was pretty awesome to see.
Beyond the pictures, the experience was amazing. Seeing the jets again was great. Over NAS Pensacola, they could fly faster than at some air shows at which I’ve seen them. The F-16 fly over at 600 mph was breathtaking.. literally. Seeing the power and grace of the jets can’t really be described by a picture… if you have the chance, find an air show. Spend some time wandering the display areas and check out the planes they have on display. Talk to the pilots and the crew that make themselves available. You won’t be disappointed.
I didn’t make a post on Facebook or Twitter on Veterans’ Day for a reason. I knew I’d be here two days later. My love and respect for veterans’ runs deep and can’t be summed up in 140 character posting. I prefer to show my support in person. I prefer to celebrate as I do everything else, quietly and in my own way.
