Lang, Sang, Van & Sienna Nguyn

Dana Kronyaa, Raymond & Crystal Merrill

Julie Ziegenhorn & Jamie Lini

Nicholas Horner & Cecilia Licona

Leo, Darra & Zach Flanagan

T

he Blue Angels Air Show is a beloved Pensacola tradition where both locals 
and tourists come from all over the globe to watch our very own Blue Angels in 
action. These pilots make the highly skilled maneuvers high in the sky for tens of 
thousands of fans who started arriving in the early sunrise hours of the morning. 

On the morning of Saturday, July 14, tents could be seen all along the beach while fans were 
packed shoulder to shoulder all the way up to the water. The elite fi ghter jet demonstration team 
performed for nearly an hour, doing all of the team’s iconic maneuvers to roaring applause from 
the Casino Beach crowd. Saturday’s show began with a second appearance by Fat Albert, the 
Blue Angels’ C-130 cargo plane. The aircraft had been grounded for about a year after the Navy 
grounded its entire fl eet of C-130s after a deadly crash in rural Mississippi. Fat Albert returned 
to the team’s demonstration with a fl yover to the delight of the crowd.

The Pensacola Bay Area is the offi cial home of the Blue Angels, offi cially known as the U.S. 

Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron. Pensacola Beach hosts a Blue Angels show every July, 
while the Blue Angels host their last show of the season over Naval Air Station Pensacola every 
November. 

Blue Angels 2018 

Air Show

photos & story by

 

Kristina Wright 

   VIP Pensacola at Pensacola Beach

Nicole Kroes, Katie Robertson & Caitlin Scott

September 2018   |   43

XX-XX Event_AirShow.indd   1

8/29/18   8:28 AM