The Navy’s precision flight team is part of Seafair, the largest summer celebration in the region that combines parades, hydroplane races on Lake Washington, and an airshow. The event is held the first weekend in August and this year marked its 75th anniversary.

The Blue Angels team stages from King County International Airport-Boeing Field (KBFI).

Despite temperatures hovering in the 90s and poor air quality due to forest fires in eastern Washington, fans turned out in droves to watch the famous blue jets. The balcony at the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field was packed with those straining to see the launch and recovery of the Blues.

• READ MORE: Soaring with Blue Angels: IMAX Documentary Release Date Set

This year little girls and not-so-little girls were delighted to see the aircraft flown by Lieutenant Commander Amanda Lee, the first woman to perform as a Blue Angel flight demonstration pilot.

According to the Blue Angels information page, Lee joined the team in September 2022. She flies as a slot pilot in the No. 4 four jet using the call sign “Stalin.” Lee’s experience includes more than 1,360 flight hours and over 225 carrier-arrested landings.

According to the Navy Times, Lee is just the second woman on the Blue Angels team since U.S. Marine Corps Captain Kate Higgins Cook joined in 2015, flying the C-130 transport known as “Fat Albert” in 2015.

• READ MORE: Blue Angels Name First Female Fighter Jet Demonstration Pilot

Other aerial acts taking part in the Seafair celebration (June 29-August 4) included the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team, a Marine F35b, an Air Force F35A, and a PBY-5A Catalina. The demonstration flights take place over Lake Washington located south of Seattle.

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The film chronicles a year in the lives of team members as they train for a new show season and fly a demanding schedule of performances. The story focuses on the latest class of Navy and Marine Corps pilots entering the team as well as veterans of the group who are finishing their tours of duty before returning to the fleet.

• READ MORE: Navy Blue Angels and Canadian Snowbirds to Perform in October Reno Air Show

The Blue Angels marks the first time the famous blue and yellow F/A-18 Super Hornets will be featured in the impressive IMAX format. The film also captures the team’s inner workings, including support staff on the ground and family members at home. As a unit, the Blue Angels include a total of 158 active duty Navy and Marine personnel. 

This year marks the 78th anniversary of the Blue Angels’ operation, which was designed to demonstrate the excitement and power of Naval aviation for audiences in the U.S. and abroad.

• READ MORE: Blue Angels Name First Female Fighter Jet Demonstration Pilot

“This fascinating and layered documentary is wholly representative of the kind of work ethic, teamwork, and perseverance that goes into being a Blue Angel,” Brianna Oh, head of documentary features at Amazon Studios, said last year when Amazon acquired worldwide rights to the film. “We are incredibly honored to join this talented filmmaking team in bringing their story to audiences around the world.”

Said John Turner, head of documentaries for IMAX: “The Blue Angels will be the theatrical documentary experience of the year, and we’re thrilled to share it with a global audience. Our partnership with Amazon Studios marks an exciting chapter for IMAX as we reimagine how to broaden our original documentaries for a streaming audience.”

Award-winning filmmaker Paul Crowder directed and edited the documentary, which was produced by Academy Award-winning producers Glen Zipper of Zipper Bros Films, Mark Monroe of Diamond Docs, and Sean Stuart with Sutter Road Picture Company. Bad Robot Productions’ J.J. Abrams and Hannah Minghella also produced, as did Glen Powell with Barnstorm Productions.

“One of the most remarkable aspects of the Blue Angels’ story is their relentless pursuit of excellence,” said Abrams. “It’s a message that I think will be as inspiring to the audience as it has been to the filmmakers.”

Watch the Trailer for ‘The Blue Angels’

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The Reno Air Racing Association said it will commemorate its 60th anniversary with an airshow at Reno-Stead (KRTS) from October 4-6. The event will feature a rare combination of military aerobatic teams: the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and theRoyal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds.

• READ MORE: Reno Air Races Reveal Final List of Participating Pilots, Aircraft

Other performers scheduled to appear include the U.S. Air Force F-16 Viper Demo Team and a range of top civilian aerobatic acts. RARA said the Reno Air Show will include static displays, a racing heritage area and its STEM Discovery Zone. The organization also said it has planned “a few surprises” for the event.

“Even though we are not racing, we are planning an epic celebration of our history and certainly our future that promises to be yet another amazing event for Northern Nevada,” RARA said.

• READ MORE: 6 Cities Competing to Host Next National Championship Air Races

Regarding the future, RARA previously disclosed that it was reviewing proposals from six cities interested in hosting the National Championship Air Races in 2025, which had been held in Reno since 1964. The candidate cities are: Buckeye, Arizona; Casper, Wyoming; Pueblo, Colorado; Roswell, New Mexico; Thermal, California; and Wendover, Utah. RARA said it expects to decide on a new host city this year.

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Over the years, the arrival and steady improvement of radios, radar, and flight instruments bumped the watch to limited supporting roles in the cockpit. Still, when I was learning to fly a decade ago, my instructor insisted that I wear a watch and synchronize it with his (and our smartphones) before each flight.

Today one could easily fly around the world and leave the watch at home, but I do not know any pilots who would do such a thing. If nothing else, pilot watches make great accessories—and great holiday gifts—whether you fly or not. I still glance at mine regularly because doing so is easier than digging the phone out of my pocket. It is more satisfying, too, especially when approaching my destination airport.

Here are a few aviation-inspired timepieces that can bring an extra measure of joy to your next sortie:

AVI-8

Hawker Hurricane McKellar Dual Time

Price: $285

This watch honors Archibald Ashmore McKellar and the aircraft he flew. McKellar, a squadron leader and flying ace of the Royal Air Force during World War II, was renowned for his skill as a combat pilot. During the Battle of Britain he racked up aerial victories so quickly that he became “ace in a day,” an extremely rare distinction.

Sporty’s

Trintec Automatic Altimeter Chronograph

Price: $549.95

Keep track of changes in field elevation wherever you go with this substantial watch designed to look and feel like you just plucked it from an aircraft instrument panel. It features an automatic movement that can also be hand wound. The case has a sandblasted finish and stainless steel back that reveals some of the watch’s inner workings. The watch is water resistant to 300 feet.

Undone

Aero Commando

Price: $295

Promoted as “your everyday aviation watch,” the Aero Commando is a tribute to the development in the 1930s of the rotating bezel for watches. The graduated ring that surrounds the clock face and is handy for timing flight legs is credited to Philip Van Horn Weems, a U.S. Navy officer.

Marathon

Official USAF Pilot’s Navigator

Price: $480

Air-Force approved with tactical blacked-out styling, this watch is sure to spark conversation at social gatherings and would be the perfect way to count down the minutes to the new year. This design traces its history to 1986, when the Navigator Class of watches was developed in conjunction with Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio and has undergone numerous improvements since.

MyPilotStore

Citizen Blue Angels Atomic Promaster Skyhawk A-T Eco-Drive

Price: $521.25

Here is a pilot watch that can hold its own at formal gatherings or on the ramp of a remote airport you happen to be visiting over the weekend. The design honors the legendary U.S. Navy Blue Angels aerobatic team, and the rear case cover is emblazoned with the team’s crest. Powered by light, the watch never needs a battery.

Aircraft Spruce

Garmin D2 Mach 1 Aviator Smartwatch

$1099.99

Garmin’s aviation smartwatches manage to cram much of your aircraft’s instrument panel behind a screen that fits on your wrist. The watch has a range of functions including navigation, moving map, HSI, flight planning, airport information, heart rate, pulse oximeter, health snapshot, and many other flight and human measurements. To a degree, it combines and streamlines a number of preflight tasks that many pilots perform during the drive to the airport, such as Flight Services briefings and AWOS.

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The Blue Angels joined the festivities in 1972 flying F-4J Phantom IIs.This year, for the first time the team will be flying F/A-18 Super Hornet E/Fs. 

The team has not performed in Seattle since 2019. They’ll be staging out of King County International Airport/Boeing Field (KBFI).

“Our tradition is back,” said Ted Huetter, senior manager, public relations and promotions for the Museum of Flight (MOF). The Blue Angels arrived in Seattle earlier this week. They practice each day, and Heutter noted that the museum parking lot was filled with spectators and the road next to the airport was lined with cars.

“The first flight was delayed because of weather, but it was a great time. There were little kids and old-timers and overall it was a festival feeling as people waited for the airplanes to take off, and when it happened, it was wonderfully, wonderfully loud! There was applause—and, of course, car alarms going off.”

The Seafair Airshow is sponsored by the Boeing Company.

During the weekend, the MOF hosts the Jet Blast Bash, which entails the west campus of the museum hosting an outdoor festival complete with food trucks, bounce houses, a beer garden, community booth, and a live remote from a local radio station. Jet Blast Bash activities are included with the price of museum admission.

“It is also a flight line event, we will have Blue Angel No. 8 on display along with some other specialty aircraft, including a Growler of NAS Whidbey to the north. We’ll also have a car club with some vintage Corvettes.” said Huetter.

The Blue Angels have multiple shows which are weather dependent. They have a “low show” and a “high show,” which are both predicated by the cloud ceiling.

Special Guest

Seafair is such a popular event that people come from out of town to partake in it. Getting the award for traveling the farthest distance is 17-year-old Mac Rutherford, a Belgian-British pilot who is attempting to set a record for being the youngest person to fly around the world solo. Last year, his sister Zara, 19, became the youngest woman to fly around the world solo.

Mac Rutherford is flying a Shark.Aero Shark microlight. He began his journey on March 23, 2022, from Sofia, Bulgaria, and as of 9 a.m. August 5, he was on his way to Seattle from Alaska. According to Heutter, Rutherford will be stopping in Seattle this weekend.

About Seafair

The first Seattle Seafair started as a 10-day festival focusing on water activities and music. There were concerts, clowns, parades, and a symbolic coming ashore of pirates. People dressed up and spent days on the water.

When the team is performing, often bridges and roads are closed and a temporary flight restriction shuts down local airspace. Many flight schools and FBOs host barbecues and parties for their clients during the event. 

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The Navy announced that Lt. Amanda Lee, a F/A-18E/F demonstration pilot currently assigned to the “Gladiators” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 106 based at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Virginia, had been selected to join the Blue Angels team for the 2023 season.

In the past 55 years, “hundreds of women have served with the Blue Angels,” according to the Navy. In 2015, for example, Marine Corps Maj. Katie Cook flew the Blue Angel’s “Fat Albert” C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft, but she wasn’t a demonstration pilot, according to the Washington Post. Currently, there are 25 women serving on the team, which the Navy said represents the fleet average of about 20 percent female manning. 

Lee, however, is the team’s first female fighter jet demonstration pilot.

Lee joins the 2023 team with the selected roster, including:

• Lt. Cmdr. Thomas Zimmerman, F/A-18E/F demonstration pilot currently assigned to the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 11
• Lt. Cmdr. Brian Vaught, naval flight officer currently assigned to the Naval School of Aviation Safety
• Marine Corps Capt. Samuel Petko, KC-130J Hercules demonstration pilot currently assigned to the “Sumos” of Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron (VMGR) 152
• Lt. Cmdr. Greg Jones, aviation maintenance officer currently assigned to Pre-Commissioning Unit John F. Kennedy (CVN) 79
• Lt. Philippe Warren, flight surgeon currently assigned to the “Fighting Griffins” of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 266

The lineup of elite aviation officers from the Navy and Marine Corps was selected after extensive interviews, which concluded at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, during the first week of July. In September, the new team members will report to the squadron for a two-month turnover before beginning a five-month training program at NAS Pensacola and Naval Air Facility El Centro, California.

• READ MORE: Flying Fancy: USAF Fighter Pilot Demos F-35 Aerobatics

“We had an overwhelming number of applicants from all over the globe this year,” Capt. Brian Kesselring, commanding officer and flight leader of the Blue Angels, said in a statement. “We look forward to training our fantastic new team members, passing on the torch, and watching the incredible things this team will accomplish in 2023.”

History Nothing New For Lee

It’s not the first time Lee has made history as a Navy pilot. In 2019, Lee was selected to fly in the service’s first ever all-female flyover as part of the funeral service for retired Navy Captain Rosemary Mariner.

Mariner made history as among the first group of women to earn flight wings in the Navy in 1974.

“Capt. Mariner really was the starting point of female aviation,” Lee said at the time of the flyover, crediting Mariner with breaking down gender barrier doors. “She’s one of the first eight original female pilots allowed in the Naval pipeline,” Aviation Geek Club reported.

• READ MORE: When Women Earned Their Wings: the USAF’s First Crop of Female Pilots

Blue Angels’ Legacy

Making aircraft perform incredible feats in the sky has been the hallmark of the Blue Angels flight demonstration team since its 1946 inception by the Navy to raise public interest in naval aviation. Since that time, the team has featured nine fighters: the F6F Hellcat, F8F Bearcat, F9F-2 Panther, F9F-8 Cougar, F11F-1 Tiger, F-4J Phantom II, A-4F Skyhawk, F/A-18 Hornet and the F/A-18 Super Hornet.

Seventy-six years after their first performance, the Blue Angels continue to draw huge crowds. Each year, the team, which was named in honor of the Blue Angel nightclub popular in New York City in 1946, performs for an estimated 11 million spectators.

Among the most popular spectacles performed by the Blue Angels is the Diamond 360 maneuver, where the fighter aircraft fly as close as 18 inches. During the Sneak Pass maneuver, aircraft fly as fast as 700 mph and as low as 50 feet.

The roster of military pilots who have flown for the Blue Angels since 1946 include 260 demonstration pilots and 37 commanding officers.

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When shows take place at airports, rather than on military bases or over beaches and harbors, it is usually easy for private pilots to fly in for the event. Indeed, part of the fun for the audience often comes from watching general aviation aircraft arriving and departing during breaks in the action. Flying in can make you feel more like a participant than a spectator.

Check with the airport manager in advance regarding special rules and procedures during the show. Make sure you have time to spare once you arrive, because getting out before the end of the show can be difficult because the event schedule generally takes priority over yours.

Below are five springtime airborne displays that provide possible destinations while helping you stretch out the airshow season. There are many more listed at Air Show Center. 

Vero Beach Air Show

April 30-May 1, Vero Beach Regional Airport (KVRB), Vero Beach, Florida

Don’t fret if you miss the Blue Angels a week earlier at Vidalia, because they are back for Vero Beach. On the Air Force side is the F-16 Viper Demo Team showing just how much an F-16 can do. Other performers in this packed program include well-known names Matt Younkin and the Franklin Flying Circus. Don’t miss Jim Peitz’s routine in a Beechcraft F33C Bonanza—a model designed and certified for aerobatics.

Oregon International Air Show

May 20-22, Portland-Hillsboro Airport (KHIO), Hillsboro, Oregon

There’s a lot of variety at this show, from the U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II Demo Team and the U.S. Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet “Rhino” Demo Team to the Misty Blues All-Woman Skydiving Team, which has been active on the air show circuit since the 1980s. Ukraine-born aerobatics instructor and performer Anna Serbinenko flies a routine in an American Champion Super Decathlon and Vicky Benzing performs in her 1940 Stearman.

Go Wheels Up! Texas

May 28, San Marcos Regional Airport (KHYI), Austin, Texas

Aerobatic performances, aircraft displays, a car show, a concert and food trucks all come together at this event, which is in its third year. The U.S. Air Force a-10C Thunderbolt II Demo Team is scheduled to perform and the Commemorative Air Force will offer rides in its C-47 Skytrain “That’s All, Brother,” which led the main airborne element on D-Day. Rides are also available on the CAF’s T-6 Texan “Miss Red Tail.”

Chippewa Valley Airshow

June 4-5, Chippewa Valley Regional Airport (KEAU), Eau Claire, Wisconsin

If you like vintage military jets, this is your show. Gregory Colyer, known for his Lockheed T-33 called Ace Maker is on the program, as is Jerry Conley, who puts his de Havilland 115 Vampire through an aerobatic routine. For something more modern, the Blue Angels are here. There is also plenty for piston fans, including solo aerobatics, the Commemorative Air Force fleet and Kent Pietsch,who lands his Interstate Cadet on top of a moving RV. 

Wild Wednesday Air Show

June 8, Willow Run Airport (KYIP), Ypsilanti, Michigan

For something a bit different, and if your weekends are booked with other activities, here’s a mid-week event that features the Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 Demonstration Team. Willow Run is home to the Yankee Air Museum, which will fly demos with certain aircraft from its collection. The museum will also offer rides in its Bell UH-1 “Huey” helicopter. The collection also includes a Boeing B-17, North American B-25, Douglas C-47, and a Ford Tri-Motor. 

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The Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum (PHAM) on Ford Island in Honolulu, Hawaii, is offering a very rare socially-distanced public opportunity on February 10 to 12, 2021 to watch the reassembly of their collection’s newly-acquired Blue Angels F/A-18C Hornet in PHAM’s Hangar 79. The airplane was demilitarized in San Diego, California, and shipped to Honolulu Harbor via Pasha Hawaii’s M/V Jean Anne, before being offloaded last week.

The museum’s Hornet has supported the Blue Angels team in a variety of slot positions throughout the years before ending its service as Blue Angel Number 4. The US Navy retired and demilitarized the F/A-18C Hornet at the end of 2020 and began using the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet, which is 25 percent larger, for its famous precision flight demonstrations in 2021.

The purchase of general admission tickets allows close quarter, in-person viewing of the Blue Angel Number 4 as it is reassembled in historic Hangar 79. While the general public is allowed to drive onto PHAM grounds and watch the reassembly of the newly arrived Blue Angel Number 4 from a short distance away at no cost, a general admission wristband is required to enter Hangar 79. Adult tickets are $25, with children’s tickets for ages 4 to 12 priced at $12 and children three years of age and under free. Members of PHAM will also be admitted free to the reassembly viewing. Also, the viewing will not be live-streamed, but PAHM officials said they would be posting frequent photos to their Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts.

“The Blue Angels are larger than life and have left audiences thunderstruck for 75 years,” said Elissa Lines, executive director of PHAM. “We are honored to display this Blue Angel F/A-18C, a symbol of strength, discipline, and innovation, within the context of our historic site. It will be a source of inspiration, especially for youth who dream of flight.”

Lines added the blue and gold livery of a Blue Angel F-18 triggers excitement in people of all ages. “Positioned alongside aircraft that supported World War II victory in the Pacific and beyond, the F-18 takes a position of prominence in our museum display, presenting the continuum of aviation and technology advancement that followed WWII, and sharing history through the stories of the men and women who flew and serviced the aircraft,” she said.

The shipping company that brought Blue Angels Number 4 to Honolulu considered the airplane to be special cargo. “Transporting Blue Angel Number 4 on its final voyage to Honolulu was a privilege,” said George Pasha, IV, president and CEO of Pasha Hawaii. “The Blue Angels are one of our nation’s most revered symbols of our military’s greatness and commitment to service. Pasha Hawaii is proud to support the PHAM’s mission to share such an important icon with the general public.”

Located on Historic Ford Island, PHAM is steeped in WWII history centered around the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack on the base. The museum presents a very long list of aircraft in their collection, with a few highlights including: North American Aviation F-86L Sabre, Boeing B-52E Stratofortress (cockpit), Douglas C-47 Skytrain/DC-3A, General Dynamics F-16A Fighting Falcon, Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress, Douglas A3D/NTA-3B Skywarrior, Boeing-Vertol CH-46E Sea Knight, Sikorsky CH-53 D Sea Stallion (Heavy Lift), Bell AH-1 Cobra, Lockheed T-33 T-Bird/Shooting Star, Lockheed F-104A Starfighter, Convair F-102A Delta Dagger, General Dynamics F-111C Aardvark, McDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagle, Grumman F-14D Tomcat, Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat, and a North American B-25B Mitchell bomber.

PHAM is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that depends on membership, volunteers, and donations for support. To join, volunteer or support, visit PearlHarborAviationMuseum.org. The museum is open five days a week, Wednesday through Sunday, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Visitors to the museum must stay in the pod or bubble of people they are traveling with. Masks are required at all times. The Raytheon Pavilion, currently housing PAHM’s Above & Beyond exhibit, is closed, however, the Fighter Ace 360 Flight Simulators are open and meticulously sanitized between riders. Among new COVID-19 precautions in place are increased sanitation of high-touch spaces and office spaces, and both staff and volunteers are temperature-checked each day.

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If you’re planning to be in central Florida later this week, you have the opportunity to test out one of the industry’s first live events, specially designed to follow current pandemic restrictions. The Sun ‘n Fun Holiday Flying Festival and Car Show takes place on December 4 and 5 in Lakeland, Florida, and pilots can attend in person or virtually. A STOL competition is planned, as is a visit from the Blue Angels.

The new event plays off of the popular Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo, which was cancelled in April 2020. Organizers invite pilots to fly or drive in to visit for the day—or to camp in an RV or tent. Airplane camping was available, but has been sold out. More than 200 aircraft have already registered.

Activities begin on Friday, December 4, with a STOL competition all day—which will be delivered to virtual visitors via livestream on Flying’s Air Show Hub—and an evening airshow and balloon glow, along with vendors and other community activities.

On Saturday, December 5, the day starts with the Sun ‘n Run Airport 5K at 7 am, and continues with a balloon launch, car show, and afternoon airshow—with the USAF F-35 Lightning II and F-16 Viper demo teams, and the US Army Black Daggers Parachute Team. An Aviation Town Hall at 10 am features Mark Baker, president and CEO of AOPA; Jack Pelton, president and CEO of EAA; and Sun ‘n Fun’s own John Leehouts. Santa flies in at noon—kids are welcome, and they can bring their own letters for delivery to the North Pole.

Parking is $20 and entry is free to the event—and aircraft flying in park for free too. The event is meant to preview the April 2021 Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo.

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