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