Tailhook Daily Briefing

Blue Angels 2010 and 2011 Air Show Schedule

It’s that time of year again, as the snow falls and the mercury plummets, our daydreams yearn for summer skies filled with lazy clouds and the roar of 12 GE-F404-400’s in full grunt!

Yep… December is when the US Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, The Blue Angels release their coming year show schedule.  But this year there is a twist!  They're releasing the schedule for 2010… AND… 2011!

2010 Schedule
March
13 NAF El Centro, CA
20-21 MacDill AFB, FL
27-28 NAS Kingsville, TX
April
10-11 NAS Key West, FL
17 Charleston AFB, SC
24-25 Vidalia, GA
May
1-2 St. Joseph, MO
8-9 Tuscaloosa, AL
15-16 Andrews AFB, MD
22-23 MCAS Cherry Point, NC
26 USNA, Annapolis, MD
28 USNA, Annapolis, MD (fly-over)
29-30 Jones Beach, NY
June
5-6 Eau Claire, WI
12-13 Milwaukee, WI
19-20 Cape Girardeau, MO
26-27 St. Cloud, MN
July
3-4 Traverse City, MI
10 Pensacola Beach, FL
17-18 Dayton, OH
24-25 Idaho Falls, ID
31 Anchorage, AK
August
1 Anchorage, AK
7-8 Seattle, WA
14-15 Chicago, IL
28-29 Portsmouth, NH
September
4-6 Cleveland, OH
11-12 Scott AFB, IL
18-19 NAS Oceana, VA
25-26 MCAS Kaneohe Bay, HI
October
1-3 MCAS Miramar, CA
9-10 San Francisco, CA
16-17 Dobbins AFB, GA
23-24 NAS Jacksonville, FL
30-31 Ft. Worth Alliance, TX
November
6-7 Homestead AFB, FL
13 NAS Pensacola, FL

2011 Schedule
March
12 NAF El Centro, CA
19-20 Keesler AFB, MS
28-29 NAS Meridian, MS
April
2-3 Sun-N-Fun, Lakeland, FL
9-10 NAS Corpus Christi, TX
16-17 Fort Worth JRB, TX
30 MCAS Beaufort, SC
May
1 MCAS Beaufort, SC
3-4 NAS Pensacola, FL
7-8 NAS New Orleans, LA
8 Flight Academy Fly-over, Pensacola, FL
14-15 La Crosse, WI
21-22 Andrews AFB, MD (reunion show)
25 & 27 USNA show and graduation fly-over
28-29 Millville, NJ
June
4-5 Rockford, IL
11-12 Evansville, IN
18-19 Davenport, IA
25-26 North Kingston, RI
July
2-3 Muskegon, MI
9 Pensacola Beach, FL
16-17 Rochester, NY
23-24 Ypsilanti, MI
30-31 Kalispell, MT
August
6-7 Seattle, WA
13-14 Fargo, ND
27-28 Brunswick, ME
September
3-5 NAS Patuxent River, MD
10-11 Lincoln, NE
17-18 Millington, TN
24-25 NAS Oceana, VA
October
1-2 MCAS Miramar, CA
8-9 San Francisco, CA
15-16 NAS Lemoore, CA
22-23 El Paso, TX
29-30 San Antonio, TX
November
5-6 NAS Jacksonville, FL
12 NAS Pensacola, FL

CAPT John E. "Jack" Taylor, USN-Ret.

With the neck down in platforms, officer accession and student naval aviator (SNA) training pipelines, there is a certain homogenization characterizing Naval Aviation today. Not that that is all bad mind you, especially when one considers the reduction in mishap rates and capabilities today's anchor-winged warriors bring to the fight. Still, for those of us who had the opportunity to train, fly and fight with those who entered in the 40's - 60's we had the fortune of knowing some real characters and, occasionally, some real pioneers and pillars of the community. For that was a period of interesting, challenging and oft times, awkward growth as Naval Aviation moved past the breakout period of WWII and through the early days of the jet age to arrive at the version more recognizable today, repleat with super carriers and supersonic fighters. Getting to that point, however, required a distinct breed of aviator, formed in a time before NATOPS, honed on the small decks of 27C's and the early "supercarriers" of the Forrestal class CVA, with new missions and (then) leading edge technology to master and fight with.

One of the signature aircraft of that period was the A3D/A-3 Skywarrior, aka "Whale." Originally designed to be the Navy's contribution to long-range nuclear strikes, the Whale eventually morphed through a number of other platform variations and missions -- tanking, photo-recce, ELINT, electronic warfare, DV hauling, and the like. It was at once a typical life that the Whale led, compared to some of its contemporaries (viz., AD/A-1 Skyraider and F3D Skynight) - yet it outlived all those and many of the more modern and specialized aircraft that followed.

Like their aircraft, the men who worked on and flew the Whale were (are) of a particular bent and were central in establishing the tenor and tone of that era. Today, courtesy Andy Niemyer (A-3 Skywarrior Association) we learn of the passing of a true pioneer and pillar of the VQ community from that era - and Naval Aviation Pilot, CAPT John E. Taylor, USN-Ret:

Pearl Harbor... Not One of Our Better Days

68 Years ago today...

 

Caught napping... We vowed to never allow that to happen again... in a post 9-11-2001 world, most would say we forgot that lesson a bit.  Unfortunately our memories may be fading again.

Head over to SteelJaw Scribe's joint for a refresher in December 7, 1941 history.