During the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) AirVenture 2017 at Oshkosh in Wisconsin there were scores of thrilling airshow performances by everything from single aircraft to group formations and mass flyovers. But the highlight of the show was, for many in attendance, the performance by the US Navy Blue Angels on Fly-In Friday. The Blues were able to perform their full “high” show thanks to CAVU conditions at KOSH that day. This video of that performance, uploaded to YouTube by our good friends at AirshowStuffVideos, showcases the Blue Angels and the raw power of their F/A-18C Hornet jets.
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One unfortunate aspect of the show was the conspicuous absence from the Oshkosh skies of Fat Albert, the Lockheed Martin C-130T Hercules support airlifter assigned to the team and flown by a Marine Corps flight crew. Due to the tragic crash of a Marine Corps VMGR-452 KC-130T in Mississippi on Monday July 10th 2017, the Marine Corps grounded the remaining KC-130T and C-130T aircraft until an investigation could be conducted. Fat Albert performed at airshows later during the Blue Angels 2017 performance season.
During 2017 the Blues flew 62 performances at 32 airshows and events along with more than 90 practice demonstrations- in front of millions of fans in places like Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake in California, Naval Air Facility (NAF) El Centro in California, Brunswick in Maine, Lakeland in Florida, New Orleans, Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Beaufort in South Carolina, Idaho Falls, Millington in Tennessee, and Barksdale Air Force Base (AFB) in Louisiana.
The Blue Angels also visited Seymour Johnson AFB in North Carolina, Rome in New York, Millville in New Jersey, Ocean City in Maryland, Milwaukee, New Windsor in New York, the Naval Academy at Annapolis in Maryland, Latrobe in Pennsylvania, MCAS Miramar in California, San Francisco, Huntington Beach, Seattle, Chicago, Ypsilanti in Michigan, NAS Oceana in Virginia, NAS Jacksonville and Pensacola in Florida, Fort Worth, Houston, and many more…including this very memorable performance at Oshkosh!
BONUS: Enjoy this compilation of some of the best Blue Angels sneak passes ever!
