Blue Angels NAS Pensacola Homecoming 2024

[BajaDan]

More Blue Angels stuff.

This weekend is their final show of the season and is held at their home base, NAS Pensacola. Tomorrow will feature a flyby over the beach with the Blues and the Thunderbirds. More on that later.

The show is expected to attract 180,000 spectators over two days, and that is the on-base crowd. We will be watching from the water, so we don't count.

But today, Fat Albert was up and about and graced us with his presence. We actually got two flybys, the second was really nice.

So here are some of the big boy.

And a couple over the treetop shots of practice earlier this week.

Enjoy.

Dan

[BajaDan]

Nothing quite like a boat getting ready for a great day on the water. Gives me goosebumps every time.

The flyover was a disappointment. Low ceilings and they did not come this far west.

The weather looks nice today though, and we have heard that the Thunderbirds will actually be performing independently and not just do a "Super Delta" flyover.

Super Delta picture curtesy of AL.com (hope it posts as it is some weird format).

Lots of other planes in the air today also.

Have a good day guys.

[MMarsha]

Tell #4 to call me

[BajaDan]

An interesting day last Friday. The weather was a little iffy late in the show. As a matter of fact, we were wondering if the Blues would fly at all, but they did. Attendance was beyond expectations with 275,000 on the base alone over the two days. This is about 100,000 greater than "normal". And cars parked everywhere outside the base, on the beaches, Fort Pickens and heaven only knows how many boats.

The only downside to it all was the Blues and Thunderbirds did not fly together like I thought (hoped) they would. I was sure we would get the Super Delta flyover at the end, but perhaps the weather played a part.

As a general note, the Thunderbirds generally performed much closer to the airfield than the Blues. I haven't a clue whether this is show doctrine, the difference between the F-16s and the Super Hornets, or the Blues just wanting to give the hometown folks that were not on base a better view.

Tons of photos, but you will get the idea from these. NAS Pensacola is just over the sand island behind the boat in the first picture. When the planes disappeared behind the island, they were low. And unfortunately, the photos make the aircraft appear farther away than they did in person.

[BajaDan]

The Thunderbirds went first.

[BajaDan]

Notice the little puff of smoke in the third picture. The Thunderbirds did this often when closing on another plane. I imagine it helps the pilots see each other. White planes against white sand, white clouds...

[BajaDan]

Fat Albert. Tell me that's not a ride!

More on the Blues later.