U.S. Navy Blue Angels arrive in Melbourne to show off bigger, faster F/A-18 Super Hornets

Rick Neale
Florida Today

Support local journalism. An unlimited digital subscription to floridatoday.com is just $1 for 6 months. Click here and subscribe today

At 10 a.m. sharp Thursday, the U.S. Navy Blue Angels roared over the runways at Orlando Melbourne International Airport, tracking eastward in delta formation.

Then, peeling off one-by-one, the six blue-and-yellow F/A-18 Super Hornets sharply banked northward and circled back around the airport perimeter, landing gear lowered.

The Blue Angels arrived just as sunshine started peeking through low-lying grayish clouds in advance of this weekend's Great Florida Air Show. The squadron will headline the event Saturday and Sunday.

"Just like the rest of the country and the rest of the world, we're excited to have the light at the end of the tunnel,"  Navy Cmdr. Brian Kesselring, who serves as flight leader and commanding officer in the No. 1 jet, said of COVID-19.

How to attend:Great Florida Air Show to feature Blue Angels, F-16 at Melbourne airport

WWII Avenger owners:Vow to restore plane after ocean landing during Cocoa Beach Air Show

"Certainly, we're not over the pandemic yet. But we're making steps right now. And what a great way to be outdoors and enjoy an air show — to get out there and do things that we didn't have the opportunity to do last year during that pandemic," Kesselring said.

Navy Cmdr. Brian Kesselring of the Blue Angels is interviewed Thursday morning at Orlando Melbourne International Airport, May 13, 2021. The flight demonstration team is in town for the Great Florida Air Show on Saturday and Sunday. Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK

Gates open at 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday along the south side of the airport, off NASA Boulevard. Tickets must be purchased in advance at greatfloridaairshow.com — they are only available online. 

The aerobatic lineup includes the U.S. Air Force F-16 Viper Demonstration Team; U.S. Special Operations Command Parachute Team; EA-18G Growler (a modified F/A-18F Super Hornet); a P-51 Mustang and F4U-4 Corsair (World War II fighters); a U.S. Coast Guard water rescue demonstration; U.S. National Aerobatic Championship pilots Mike Wiskus (flying the Lucas Oil biplane), Rob Holland (flying a carbon-fiber MXS-RH) and Mike Goulian (flying an Extra 330SC); an Aero L-39 Albatros (a 1960s Czechoslovakian jet trainer); and a T-33 Shooting Star (an early American jet trainer).

The air show will mark the first Blue Angels appearance in Melbourne since 2015.

The Blue Angels flight demonstration team arrives at Orlando Melbourne International Airport Thursday morning, May 13, 2021.They're in town for the Great Florida Air Show on Saturday and Sunday.  Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK

After the coronavirus pandemic largely scrubbed the 2020 Blue Angels schedule, the team transitioned from Boeing F/A-18 "Legacy" Hornets — which were flown since November 1986 — to modern F/A-18 Super Hornets.

"Throughout that entire year, we accepted these jets and got ready to go to prepare for this season," said Kesselring, who has racked up more than 3,900 flight hours with 812 carrier landings. 

"It's fleet-representative. It's what they're flying in the fleet right now, right today, out off the aircraft carriers. It's about 33% bigger. It's got some bigger engines," he said.

The Blue Angels flight demonstration team arrives at Orlando Melbourne International Airport Thursday morning, May 13, 2021.They're in town for the Great Florida Air Show on Saturday and Sunday.  Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK

Among the Great Florida Air Show's COVID-19 precautions:

  • Masks are required while walking, getting food, using the restroom or any other activity.
  • Masks are optional when seated and separated from others by at least 6 feet. 
  • The air show is a cashless event that accepts credit cards or prepaid debit cards.
  • General admission attendees must stay with the people attending with them and 6 feet apart from other ticketholders.

"We are really optimistic and looking forward to an incredible weekend," airport spokesman Rob Himler said, walking on a taxiway near the Blue Angels flight line.

"The weather looks like it's going to hold out for us. And we're ready to have a great show," Himler said.

Among the static displays, Larsen Motorsports will show off three Florida Institute of Technology racers — the jet funny car, the fifth-generation jet dragster and the new sixth-generation dragster. General Electric J-85 jet engines — which originated from aircraft like the Northrop T-38 Talon, Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter, Cessna A-37 Dragonfly and CT-114 Tutor — power these high-speed vehicles. 

Mary Breen, air show spokesperson, recommended that spectators arrive before 9 a.m. to beat the traffic. She also advised attendees to wear sunscreen, hats and clothing to ward off the sun.

Rick Neale is the South Brevard Watchdog Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @RickNeale1. To subscribe: https://cm.floridatoday.com/specialoffer/