Ever Wonder what it's like to be a U.S. Navy Blue Angel?
March 12, 2015 6:10 PM Subscribe
Confessions of A U.S. Navy Blue Angel Gives you a firsthand account of how Commander Shaun "Linus" Swartz became a member of the U.S. Navy's Flight Demonstration Team, AKA the Blue Angels.
I haven't RTFA yet - is the whole thing "WHEEEEEEE! WOOOOOOO! YEE-HAAAAAW!!" ?
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:33 PM on March 12, 2015
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:33 PM on March 12, 2015
"They say applying to become a Blue Angel is like rushing the best house on campus that also happens to be a fortune 500 corporation whose business is to put on the most marvelous road show on earth."
Yep, sounds about right.
posted by drinkyclown at 7:39 PM on March 12, 2015
Yep, sounds about right.
posted by drinkyclown at 7:39 PM on March 12, 2015
I'd say the guy was super-duper hyper confident. But then, I think you have to be to get that job.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 7:58 PM on March 12, 2015
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 7:58 PM on March 12, 2015
I have little problem with war pr0n that doesn't involve killing people. FSM knows there's enough out there that does, after all.
posted by wierdo at 8:11 PM on March 12, 2015
posted by wierdo at 8:11 PM on March 12, 2015
I was on the Golden Gate Bridge once while the Blue Angels were flyng through it. It was Fleet Week in San Francisco, which I don't even think we knew ahead of time, and my friend and I decided to walk over the Golden Gate Bridge. We hung around for a while (noticing that there were a fair number of people and lots of boats in the Bay and they all seemed to waiting for something) enjoying the beautiful day and the fabulous view.
All of a sudden, we look up and there're the Blue Angels. We're somewhere in the middle of the bridge and we look up and honest to god, there's a couple of planes flying sideways through the cables of the bridge. The closest wasn't even that far above us. Blink and you missed it. They screamed away and then they re-grouped over the Bay, buzzing the boats and screaming over to Marin. Then they came back through (again--through) the Golden Gate. Then over the Bay, over Alcatraz, off to the distance. They must have done that (and, according to the article, probably did do that) for an hour.
Absolutely one of my best memories ever. I'm from a military town and I remember being a kid and seeing the Blue Angels at what was then NAS Miramar (now MCAS). My uncle's a pilot and I know he got us pretty up close and person with the Angels back then. I've also semi-watched the Blue Angels flying back to Miramar while I was driving home on the 15. Still doesn't top the SF experience.
posted by librarylis at 9:12 PM on March 12, 2015 [5 favorites]
All of a sudden, we look up and there're the Blue Angels. We're somewhere in the middle of the bridge and we look up and honest to god, there's a couple of planes flying sideways through the cables of the bridge. The closest wasn't even that far above us. Blink and you missed it. They screamed away and then they re-grouped over the Bay, buzzing the boats and screaming over to Marin. Then they came back through (again--through) the Golden Gate. Then over the Bay, over Alcatraz, off to the distance. They must have done that (and, according to the article, probably did do that) for an hour.
Absolutely one of my best memories ever. I'm from a military town and I remember being a kid and seeing the Blue Angels at what was then NAS Miramar (now MCAS). My uncle's a pilot and I know he got us pretty up close and person with the Angels back then. I've also semi-watched the Blue Angels flying back to Miramar while I was driving home on the 15. Still doesn't top the SF experience.
posted by librarylis at 9:12 PM on March 12, 2015 [5 favorites]
They used to swoop down and buzz my high school at lunchtime when they were in town for the air show at MacDill. I have no idea how they always knew when we'd be outside, but it was entertaining.
Then I moved closer to the base and lost any love I'd ever had for very loud planes.
posted by cmyk at 10:54 PM on March 12, 2015 [1 favorite]
Then I moved closer to the base and lost any love I'd ever had for very loud planes.
posted by cmyk at 10:54 PM on March 12, 2015 [1 favorite]
Here's my problem with the Blue Angels. The same sound that, to a kid at the airshow here, means "cool fast planes are coming" means, to a kid on the other side of the world, "the Americans are coming and they might drop a bomb/missile on my house."
Of course, now we have silent drones and high altitude bombers are nothing new. Still, it's hard to get excited when you have even 0.0001% of an idea what it must be like when a hard rain's a-gonna fall.
posted by zachlipton at 11:01 PM on March 12, 2015 [3 favorites]
Of course, now we have silent drones and high altitude bombers are nothing new. Still, it's hard to get excited when you have even 0.0001% of an idea what it must be like when a hard rain's a-gonna fall.
posted by zachlipton at 11:01 PM on March 12, 2015 [3 favorites]
Sorry, they flew through the gap between cables?! Who in the hell was so foolish as to approve that? A small fuck-up and good gods, what a disaster they'd have on their hands. Ridiculously foolish!
posted by five fresh fish at 12:19 AM on March 13, 2015
posted by five fresh fish at 12:19 AM on March 13, 2015
I'm not sure I believe they flew through the bridge cables.
I remember that they did fly below the bridge and through the city skyscrapters. Senator Diane Feinstein was mayor at the time and complained to the press about the flying and the noise. Later that day she had to apologize after she found out that most people in the city thought it was the coolest thing ever.
posted by eye of newt at 12:31 AM on March 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
I remember that they did fly below the bridge and through the city skyscrapters. Senator Diane Feinstein was mayor at the time and complained to the press about the flying and the noise. Later that day she had to apologize after she found out that most people in the city thought it was the coolest thing ever.
posted by eye of newt at 12:31 AM on March 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
"What kind of countrified rube is still impressed by that?"
posted by box at 4:18 AM on March 13, 2015
posted by box at 4:18 AM on March 13, 2015
I'm not sure I believe they flew through the bridge cables.
I don't think there's room between the vertical cables to even fit a plane through, even flying sideways. And, as technically amazing as the pilots are, they aren't foolish.
More than likely, they flew low through the low point of the main cables. If they came through sideways, the visual effect could easily be "Holy shit, they went through the cables!"
posted by Thorzdad at 6:07 AM on March 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
I don't think there's room between the vertical cables to even fit a plane through, even flying sideways. And, as technically amazing as the pilots are, they aren't foolish.
More than likely, they flew low through the low point of the main cables. If they came through sideways, the visual effect could easily be "Holy shit, they went through the cables!"
posted by Thorzdad at 6:07 AM on March 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
Holy crap, I went to school with him. Last I heard he was an F-14 RIO, which seemed like a (very minor) bummer since his dream was to be a pilot. Damn good job, Shaun.
posted by bjrubble at 10:39 AM on March 13, 2015
posted by bjrubble at 10:39 AM on March 13, 2015
Flying through the cables: they do fly through the bridge (see the photos ghharr put up--I'm trying to find mine but I think they're on my actual camera so will have to wait till I get home) but they do not fly through the small gaps between cables. To be more precise, they fly sideways through the larger gaps between cable and supports--which as Thorzdad points out does look like they fly through the small gaps between the cables themselves.
I really do want to find the photos I took because, while it's undoubtedly safe and well practiced, it's still incredibly impressive flying. Even more so when you're on the bridge while they're doing it.
Another point I wanted to make: the pilot profiled in this piece was fairly well-spoken and carefully diplomatic (as befits the public speaking that he recounts from his time as a Blue Angel) but I do wish he'd acknowledge that yes, there was sexism in the old Blue Angel procedures to select pilots (possibly the new ones as well, that wasn't clear). It's obvious that he's a great pilot and he acknowledges some things have changed, but there's much more to go yet.
posted by librarylis at 11:58 AM on March 13, 2015
I really do want to find the photos I took because, while it's undoubtedly safe and well practiced, it's still incredibly impressive flying. Even more so when you're on the bridge while they're doing it.
Another point I wanted to make: the pilot profiled in this piece was fairly well-spoken and carefully diplomatic (as befits the public speaking that he recounts from his time as a Blue Angel) but I do wish he'd acknowledge that yes, there was sexism in the old Blue Angel procedures to select pilots (possibly the new ones as well, that wasn't clear). It's obvious that he's a great pilot and he acknowledges some things have changed, but there's much more to go yet.
posted by librarylis at 11:58 AM on March 13, 2015
I think we should all be able to be Blue Angels for a day and fly the planes and maybe it's kind of a ramshackle affair with a lot of strong and/or quirky personalities clashing but at the end only several are dead and everyone else learned about teamwork?
posted by passerby at 7:44 PM on March 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by passerby at 7:44 PM on March 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
To make up for the Blue Angels in SF photos (I found them, they are crap, you should all go to the Golden Gate yourselves in any case because amazing), here's an article on the first female Blue Angel, which is most timely given the FPP. Warning: autoplay video.
posted by librarylis at 1:22 PM on April 12, 2015
posted by librarylis at 1:22 PM on April 12, 2015
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2) go wonderbolts!
posted by signal at 6:26 PM on March 12, 2015