This past weekend, I went to the RI ANG Airshow at Quonset Point, and caught sight of something a bit unusual. Traditionally, Blue Angel #7 is the twin seater. On Saturday, Blue #4 was the twin, and there were two Blue Angel #5s. One was on the flight line and performed the routine, and the other was parked off to the side by the other display acts (Snowbirds, F-16s, etc). Blue #7 was nowhere to be seen. Has this been the same at other shows this year?
When I first saw the twin in line with the other 5, I assumed it was the replacement for the aforementioned #5 off to the side. 5 had actually been replaced with the twin at last year's show when they had some kind of engine issue during the pre-flight warmup. Seeing the #5 in line, though, left me wondering if someone had decided to pull a super-quick paintjob on the #7 bird to make her the #4, and then for some reason switched the original #4 to #5. Maybe they figured the change in the canopy shape would be less noticeable tucked into the back of the diamond?
On a side note, this show also had my first chance to see the Breitling display team, and they completely blew the Blues and Snowbirds out of the water with the crispness and innovation of their maneuvers (at least for ones seen traditionally at this airshow - maybe they'd be considered 'tame' for a European show?). I'm definitely hoping they come back next year.
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