Blue
Angels make first stop at Oshkosh
By Barbara A. Schmitz
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The Blue Angels #7
F/A-18 breaks right for a Runway 36 arrival Sunday. Photo by Dave
Higdon |
The U.S. Navy Blue Angels
roared into town Sunday night with its No. 7 F/A-18 Hornet, marking its
first EAA AirVenture Oshkosh visit.
Lt. Kevin Davis and Lt.
Comm. Shaun Swartz arrived at about 5:30 p.m. at Wittman Regional
Airport, coming directly from a show in Sioux Falls. And they’re
hoping it will become the first of many more visits for the flight
demonstration team that aids in Navy and Marine Corps recruiting
efforts.
"This year it just
conveniently fit our schedule," explained Swartz. "It’s a
great opportunity to visit with a crowd that they don’t generally
have."
Davis said it is very
rare for the team to recruit without the formation team, but said he is
looking forward to meeting some of the convention-goers.
What question does he
expect to hear the most?
"How do I get a ride
in the back seat?"
His answer: "I defer
to the people above me."
Davis, Swartz, and
colleague Deo Harrypersaud spent Monday checking out what AirVenture had
to offer and seeing what the fly-in is all about since it was their
first visit. "Coming into Oshkosh this year was pretty awesome, but
today we’re just aviation enthusiasts," Davis said.
Swartz said he never
planned on becoming a Blue Angel, but as a child he knew he wanted to be
a fighter pilot. "I really just fell into the Blue Angels. It’s
difficult to get into and takes timing and luck to get on the
team."
Davis also wanted to
become a fighter pilot since he was a child, saying it would have been
too far-fetched to even consider being a Blue Angel. Nevertheless, Davis
joined the Blue Angels team in September 2005.
Criteria for choosing
members of the Blue Angels include more factors than just piloting
skills and naval officer background, Davis said. The Navy also looks
into someone’s personality and how they interact with the public and
other team members.
That’s because the Blue
Angels are together 280 days a year, Swartz said. "You have to get
along with the people you work with. Otherwise personal stuff would
detract from the team’s efforts."
The team practices
constantly, from the moment you join the team. Even during the show
season they practice four days a week, and fly in shows another two days
a week. Their shows include the four-plane diamond formation in concert
with the fast-paced, high-performance maneuvers of its two solo pilots.
They also perform the six-jet delta formation, with planes only 18
inches apart.
The team is more than the
six pilots; it also includes maintenance and support staff that brings
the total of the team to 120.
None of it could happen
without their support from maintenance, Davis said. "We really take
pride in what we do," Harrypersaud said. "Never in 60 years
has a show not been able to go on because a plane wasn’t
available."
But Swartz wanted to stress one thing.
"We want to thank Oshkosh for its hospitality. This is a great
place, and a great opportunity for us."
