Blue Angel's multi-city flyover... morale boost!

[actaeon277]

Blue Angels' Classic F/A-18 Hornets Take Final Flights After 34 Years

https://www.military.com/daily-news...flights-after-34-years.html?ESRC=eb_201105.nl

 

[IndyTim]

Blue Angels' Classic F/A-18 Hornets Take Final Flights After 34 Years

https://www.military.com/daily-news...flights-after-34-years.html?ESRC=eb_201105.nl

A rather misleading title.

 

[actaeon277]

The Navy's flight demonstration squadron will take to the skies in the F/A-18 A/B/C/D Hornets for the last time during a 30-minute flight over Florida and Alabama. The flight will mark the Blue Angels' official transition to F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.


Better?

 

[IndyTim]

The Navy's flight demonstration squadron will take to the skies in the F/A-18 A/B/C/D Hornets for the last time during a 30-minute flight over Florida and Alabama. The flight will mark the Blue Angels' official transition to F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.


Better?

Sure.
The title of the article made it sound as if the Angels were dumping the F/A-18.

 

[KellyinAvon]

Sure.
The title of the article made it sound as if the Angels were dumping the F/A-18.

Super Hornet is a 2-seater. Probably a lot different when you pull the panels off.

Big Blue has had the F-16s in the Thunderbirds since 1983. Definitely not the same F-16 A Models from 83. The C Model came out in 84 IIRC (C-Model single seat, D Model 2-seater), has different "Block" designations, but still a "Falcon". When the 2-seat F-15E came out in 88 it was designated the "Strike Eagle" since it dropped bombs. The F-15 A-D Eagle was air-to-air, A and C Models were single seat.

These aircraft are combat aircraft, not just for looks. 2006-ish when I was at Air Combat Command the T-Birds were programmed to get Block 60 C-Models. These were newer aircraft than the F-16s in Korea (USAF F-16s anyway...)

Paint 'em with grey polyurethane and send them in! I don't think we'll ever see a force-on-force, air-to-air fight like we saw in Desert Storm ever again (because the Iraqis got flat out smoked) but the psychological impact of units like the T-Birds and the Blue Angels being in-theater would be immeasurable.