WATCH: The Blue Angels Made a Full-Length Movie

Blue Angels: Around the World at the Speed of Sound Does Not Disappoint

In 1992 the United States Navy Flight Demonstration Team, The Blue Angels, departed their home base at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola in the Florida panhandle bound for destinations no American demo team had ever been before. During August and September 1992, the team performed 16 shows in eight countries throughout Asia and Europe. During this tour, the Blue Angels became the first U.S. military flight demonstration team to perform in Russia, Romania, and Bulgaria. They also performed in England, Sweden, Finland, Spain, and Italy. Here is the documentary film Blue Angels: Around the World at the Speed of Sound uploaded to YouTube by Charles Atkeison.

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The Team

During that memorable 1992 season the Blue Angels pilots were US Navy Commander Greg “Boss” Wooldridge flying lead in #1, Navy Lieutenant Larry Packer flying right wing in #2, Navy Lieutenant Doug “Dino” Thompson flying left wing in #3, Navy Lieutenant Commander Pat “Irish” Rainey flying slot in #4,  Navy Lieutenant Commander John “Gucci” Foley flying solo in #5, Marine Corps Captain Ken “Thumper” Switzer flying opposing solo in #6, narrator Lieutenant Dave “Hoops” Stewart in #7, and events coordinator Navy Lieutenant Commander Randy Duhrkopf in #8.

Going Hollywood

The 1992 European Tour was also memorable as the first such tour after the fall of communism. As a result the Blues became the very first American military presence over Moscow. But support for a European Tour was far from unanimous. In fact Boss Wooldridge met resistance when he attempted to obtain approval for the historic tour. However, during winter training at NAS El Centro, Wooldridge approached former child actor Rob Stone, who had just started his own production company.

Turning Out an Award-Winner

Because (of course) Woodbridge had no budget for such a project, he informed Stone that he would have to secure his own funding in order to produce the documentary. Well Stone did just that though A&E Network. They went to El Centro and began filming there, then followed the Blues on their tour shooting what has been called the best F/A-18-era Blue Angels film. Actor Dennis Quaid narrated and the film was released in 1994, seen in limited theatrical engagements,  and then aired on cable channels Discovery, History Channel, and others. The film won A&E Network a Cable Ace award in 1995. The film is even available on DVD and can be streamed from Amazon.

A New Era in Relations

Once the Blues were in the former Soviet Union, the pilots were given the opportunity to fly in the Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker of the Russian Knights flight demonstration team or the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 Fulcrum of the Swift – another Russian demonstration team. The Russian team pilots flew in the backseats of the Blue Angels F/A-18B Hornets. The teams also flew mixed formations with the Russian Knights and Swift jets. It was a tremendously successful tour for the Blues at a most momentous time.