When you visit Gulf Shores and hear a rumbling, look up! One of America’s most iconic institutions is likely flying overhead.
To the uninformed spring breaker, the sound might be alarming. But to those who live here, we know it’s just another day with the Blue Angels right in our backyard!
A Brief History of the Blue Angels
With the intention “to keep the public interested in naval aviation,” as ordered by Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, the Blue Angels were founded in 1946. The war had just ended, and Nimitz was bracing for the defense budget to shift towards a newly forming Air Force come 1947. Once built with a team of highly skilled pilots, the goal of the Blue Angels would be to outshine the Air Force by using a team of planes to create aerobatic maneuvers in formations at high speeds in front of crowds.
The Blue Angels perform at air shows and events across the country and often act as an exclamation point to mark any celebration or sporting event. Through hundreds of pilots various airplane models, the Angels currently settled on the McDonnell Douglass F/A-18 Hornet twin-engine supersonic combat jet since 1986. The squadron celebrated their 70th year anniversary last year, and are the world’s second largest formal flying aerobatic team.
Home Sweet Gulf
The Angels train each winter at the Naval Air Facility in El Centro California. Once training concludes, the team returns their home in neighboring Pensacola each March to continue practicing through their show season. The traditional practice days are Tuesday and Wednesday, as most shows take place on Saturdays and Sundays.
Each practice lasts for about 55 minutes and can be witnessed far and wide around Gulf communities. Around these parts, we affectionately refer to them as simply, “Our Blues.”
And if you’re in town over the next month or so, you can check out the Blues up close on select Wednesdays. It’s simply an hour drive or so from Gulf Shores, and well worth the day!
Please contact Century 21 Meyer – Kris Powell if you’re looking to buy or sell in the Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Fort Morgan areas in 2017.
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