PENSACOLA BEACH, Fla. — Beach-goers along the Emerald Coast will pause this week as the U.S. Navy Blue Angels take to the skies to perform before their hometown during the Red, White, and Blues Beach Airshow.
Top civilian aerobatic pilots will join the Blue Angels on July 9 and 10, for the return of the Pensacola Beach air show. Pilots Gary Ward, Kevin Coleman, Skip Stewart, and the World War I-era aircraft of Veterans Flight are scheduled to perform off Casino Beach.
“The Blue Angels are extremely excited to have the opportunity to perform over Pensacola Beach,” Blue Angels Boss CDR Brian C. Kesselring expressed. “Our primary focus after months of preparation and training is to demonstrate the teamwork, professionalism, and precision of Navy and Marine Corps aviation to the members of (the) community.”
Red, White, and Blues Airshow Week Schedule
Civilian aerobatic aircraft will fly on Friday and Saturday beginning at 11:30 a.m. The Super Hornets of the Blue Angels will perform at about 2 p.m.
The beauty of this air show comes with a price — traffic. Expect longer delays crossing the bridge to Santa Rosa Island each day.
Area officials ask the public to arrive early as traffic traveling over the bridge will take hours by late morning. The Casino Beach parking lot will likely fill up by 7 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
“There is simply just something extra special about watching your hometown heroes perform over the most beautiful place in the world, Pensacola Beach,” Santa Rosa Island Authority Director Robbie Schrock said. “It doesn’t matter how many times I have seen them perform, I literally still get chills watching them.”
An aircraft performance box lies along the beach line and swimmers will need to exit the Gulf waters prior to each performance. A boat anchored a mile off Casino Beach east of the pier will serve as air show center.
The Blue Angels are scheduled to practice over the beachline on Wednesday at 8:00 a.m. during Breakfast with the Blues. They will perform practice flights on Thursday and Friday, both at 2:00 p.m., prior to Saturday’s official airshow.
The squadron’s new C-130J Super Hercules known as Fat Albert is also scheduled to fly. The six blue and gold jets will demonstrate close formation flying and high speed passes.
Standing on the sugar beach Schrock smiled and added, “If you ever have the opportunity to watch the Blue Angels over Pensacola Beach, I can assure you it will be your new favorite holiday.”
(Charles A. Atkeison reports on aerospace and technology. Follow his updates via social media @Military_Flight.)
