The Blue Angels
The U. S. Navy’s Flight Demonstration Squadron

The mission of the Blue Angels is to enhance Navy recruiting, and credibly represent Navy and Marine Corps aviation to the United States and its Armed Forces to America and other countries as international ambassadors of good will.

A Blue Angels flight demonstration exhibits choreographed refinements of skills possessed by all naval aviators.  The Blue Angels’ C-130, affectionately known as Fat Albert, begins each demonstration by exhibiting its maximum performance capabilities during a ten-minute performance.  Shortly thereafter, you will see the graceful aerobatic maneuvers of the four-jet Diamond Formation, in concert with the fast-paced, high-performance maneuvers of its two Solo pilots.  Finally, the team illustrates the pinnacle of precision flying, performing maneuvers locked as a unit in the renowned, six-jet Delta Formation.

The team is stationed at Forrest Sherman Field, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, during the show season.  However, the squadron spends January through March training pilots and new team members at Naval Air Facility El Centro, California.

The Blue Angels are scheduled to fly 69 air shows at 35 air show sites in North America during the 2012 season, as the team celebrates our 26th year of flying the F/A-18 Hornet.

Last season, more than 11 million spectators watched the Blue Angels perform.  Since its inception in 1946, the Blue Angels have performed for more than 484 million fans.

For more information regarding the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, please visit www.blueangels.navy.mil