ROME, Ga. — The penultimate air show of the Blue Angels’ 75th anniversary season is underway as they arrived Thursday to perform during the Wings Over North Georgia air show.
Their blue and gold jets thundered across northwest Georgia arriving over the Richard Russell Regional Airport at 10:15 a.m. The squadron’s Super Hornets arrived in pairs, touching down on the concrete runway during a rain swept morning.
The ninth edition of the Rome air show is sold out on Saturday with tickets available for Sunday. The Air Force A-10C Warthog, the C-17 Globemaster II, and top civilian aerobatic pilots are also set to perform each afternoon.
“We’re super excited to be in Rome this weekend,” Blue Angels Boss Capt. Brian C. Kesselring told AvGeekery.com minutes after parking his aircraft. “To be able to close out our road show here in Rome where we haven’t been in a couple of years is going to be absolutely fantastic for us.”
This is Capt. Kesselring’s second season with the Navy’s flight demonstration squadron. He will return with the team to begin another season as their flight leader in March.
“What the Blue Angels are about is not the max performance or any particular maneuver,” Kesselring said. “It’s about six aircraft flying as one — much like our Navy and Marine Corp. across the fleet.”
The north Georgia air show will have drive-in format as each ticket will allow a vehicle of guests to park near the runway. Coolers and lawn chairs can be placed outside the vehicle during the family-fun aerial events.
Gates for the first vehicles open at 9 a.m. and the first performances are scheduled to begin at about 10 a.m. Guests can also participate in helicopter flights during the day.
(Charles A Atkeison reports on aerospace and technology. Follow his updates via social media @Military_Flight.)
