DIAMOND IN THE SKY

[Music] you just try to give no matter what the size of the crowd you just try to give the best possible performance to every one of them [Music] la [Applause] here is the perpetuation of a tradition the tradition of United States Naval Aviation and the vibrantly alive tradition of the Navy's flight demonstration team the Blue Angels a tradition built on the skill of man united with the everchanging refinements of Technology conceived in The Crucible of man's Restless search for Perfection these then are the Blue Angels carefully polishing each facet of flight demonstration to achieve the visual Perfection of a diamond in the sky [Music] here is the uncompromising backbone of Naval Air tradition the aircraft carrier a postage stamp Airfield 2,000 Mi away from any vestage of dirt gravel or concrete and here far out on the perimeter of America's defense flying skills are finally honed to the noons Perfection of achieving that which is proposed here that man can launch from this abbreviated strip fly a far ranging mission of perhaps a, miles and return find this little Airfield in any kind of weather and be successfully recovered to perform this same Mission day after day year after year these carriers are The Proving Ground for Naval aviators The Proving Ground from which all blue angels come confident in their own ability with a quiet maturity that flows from knowledge and skill but there is more than this in the makeup of this core of elite Naval aviators the Blue Angel Commander [Music] says our selection process guarantees as the top aviator and naval officer we go to The Bureau for a screening a fitness report screening and I get a reading on the officer as to where he stands among all the applicants where he stands among his contemporaries I start looking at at him from there the bureau would stop at that if they were going to for instance be considering him for his next rank or anything of that nature we just get started [Music] there I was not selected the first year I applied I was selected the second year so it was in fact a year and a half of trying I think the main thing that's involved here of course is the fact that it's a position that we've all strived for very diligently something that you look forward to or at least want to have the opportunity to do it and probably the most important thing is that it is a bunch of professionals working as a team and I think this in itself instills within each of us the feeling of Pride we have once we are in fact on the team a feeling of Pride professionals working as a team these phrases characterize the traditional approach to the Blue Angels mission [Music] from Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida the blues carry out their mission to demonstrate Precision techniques of Naval Aviation to Naval person and to the public the blues are composed of seven Pilots a maintenance officer and 100 enlisted personnel who comprise the maintenance team our maintenance Personnel I'm sure are the best in the world by far we've had instances of an aircraft down from a broken engine and they've been able to procure an engine from a th000 m away and have it put in within 8 to 12 hours which is phenomenal by normal standard so these maintenance people that we have like the pilots themselves are handpicked they work many many long hours and do an outstanding job the team performs more than 85 demonstrations a year Chicago New York and small remote towns Vernal Utah and Boseman Montana [Applause] we feel there's a responsibility to show the people throughout the country what they're buying with their tax money not only in the training of the aviators but also in the aircraft and our emphasis has been since I've had the team anyway the emphasis has been on the small town over the Big Town we're trying to get into the Midwest trying to get into the northern middle west states that never have an opportunity to to see the [Applause] name the Blue Angel narrator is the key for audience understanding of the flight demonstration the Precision maneuvers you will see demonstrated here this afternoon are coordinated tactical techniques developed in training and in actual combat by our Navy and Marine Corps pilots in combat these Maneuvers might be flown from Treetop level to 60,000 ft for the team it is a continuous demonstration of their skill and training in a very low altitude environment for none of these Maneuvers are stunts or daring Feats but all are part of the stock and trade of our Navy and Marine Corps fighter pilots [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] la flying their diamond formation so tightly the Blue Angels appear to be welded together in the sky we advertise 36 in from the leader's wing tip to the canopy of the wingman and this of course is duplicated in the slot position both the wingman's wing tips are then approximately 36 in from the canopy of the slot [Music] pilot this closeness is physically and instinctively felt by the leader oh you bet I can feel it if somebody moves 3 in the balance is the thing that's most critical if someone comes up and I start feeling it they move out there plus or minus 3 to 6 in and it doesn't bother me if they come up to say a foot flat I immediately feel it sometimes on the line of breast we wind up well if you get the wing tips about a foot apart we start getting bices off the other aircraft and a lot of times you will end up with 3/4 of the stick into the guy that slid in like that because it just tends to push you away from it an assignment with this Elite Squadron is not an easy job in addition to Flying there are appearances at hospitals addresses to City clubs service organizations as well as performing the duties of an operational unit it's work hard work oh I'd say it's a 16 hour day and a half hours flight you bet you don't realize until you're finished with the flight then you realize that you're totally exhausted you just try to give no matter what the size of the crowd you try to give the best possible performance to every one of them and consistency in performance is an integral part of the Blue Angels tradition the Blue Angels have completed more than a quarter Century of service to the United States of America as ambassadors of Goodwill [Music] in that time the blues have contributed immeasurably to International understanding by performing for more than 100 million Spectators then by meeting these Spectators face to face in a friendly exchange of people to people traditionally the blues take pride in the demanding program they have fashioned to demonstrate their aircraft and their skills [Music] they fly their diamonds so tight that none could fly it tighter and now successive teams of the Blues have written and are continuing to write new pages of tradition in Naval Aviation [Music] [Applause] [Music] the pride is there for all to see in the diamond in the sky [Music] n