Sunday, after I had taken Kelly to the airport, it started again. Jet after jet. I was ignoring it again, until Kyle and I decided to take Tucker for a walk around the neighborhood. It was a gorgeous day so I grabbed my camera (thank goodness I did!). Turns out, the Blue Angels were putting on a show at the base and we could see most of the action! How many people can say they watched a Blue Angels show from their backyard?!
It kind of turned into a game of "spot the jet" and "even though the sound is over here...where is the jet?" Turns out the jets they fly just under Mach 2, almost twice the speed of sound or about 1,400 mph. Yikes. The pilots consist of US Navy and Marines, and they put on these shows to more or less to enhance recruiting. The name was founded back in 1946 before the first show; one of the pilots saw an ad for the Blue Angel Nightclub in NY Magazine. One of my thoughts were how the Blue Angel pilots got be the pilots? Turns out you have to apply and you need to be career orientated; career-qualified; active-duty Navy or Marine Corps tactical jet pilot with at least 1,250 miles flight hours. They also average 33 years of age. Females are allowed and the number varies each year. This year there are 11 females on the squadron. The pilots are also not payed anything extra for being a Blue Angel pilot; it is all volunteer - it is very honorable just to be associated with the team.
Here are a few pictures I snapped of the loops and nose dives and formations they did. It was unreal to watch them maneuver such a massive machine with such finesse.
Some of them were so close to the rooftops I felt like if I stuck my arm up I could touch them. Of course I couldn't, but they were flying low enough that we could clearly see the blue and yellow and the words on the jets. On more than one occasion I got goosebumps (not sure if it was the site or the sound!)
I was able to capture a coupld short videos of the jets doing nose dives and what not, but of course Blogger is not cooperating. Maybe I'll get them posted to Facebook...
Either way, it was jaw-dropping to watch the jets lfy around so close to our rooftop...and then to realize there was a human being flying. I suddenly had an urge to watch Top Gun. ;) It was awesome, and if you ever get a chance to see a show, I would recommend it! Maybe I'll keep a watch on Randolph Air Force Base to see if they will every perform there again...
