Mornings Like These Make Pensacola
…a little slice of heavenly pie.
The Blue Angels came home from wintering in El Centro yesterday ~ low, slow and LOUD right over the house, and ROYALLY pissing the Princess off. Boo detests and despises F-18’s in the worst manner possible. So, while the Ozzie, BeauBeau and I were in the backyard at the first engine whine from 500 feet waving “Hallooo!!” like maniacs (well, I was), she was snarling, barking and charging the length of the yard as each successive jet in the landing pattern washed over our roof in a wave of teeth rattling, ear splitting blue and gold power.
She slept like a baby last night.
Right this second, the boys are running their first practice of the new year. Right outside my window.
Hot DAWG.
I lurves this place.
Fun, Military Thingies | tree hugging sister | 
March 16, 2011 9:29 am
Subscribe
cool beans! That rocks! Have us over for a BBQ to eat and watch the planes!
You are sooooo lucky!!!
I know exactly what you mean. The Blue Angels are usually part of the Davis-Monthan Air Show here. We are lucky enough to be in their flight path. They form to the south and fly right over our house as well, and VERY LOW! We get that four days, two of practive and two actual shows. Really great stuff.
We also have a F-16 training wing (162nd) based at TIA. They are up most days. We are up to our ears in fighters.
🙂
Lucky Lady!
THS the highlight of my Naval carreer was getting a letter of appreciation from the Angels for setting up the PA systems for their appearance ay NAS Bermuda when they performed there.
They were amazing. But I have to admit that the most amazing thing I saw was a British Harrier leaving after the show he took off in the vertical mode hovered for a sec tuurned his nozzles horizontal and was goooooone.
There is a story about an early helicopter landing on a carrier, just after WWII. The pilot just flew up to the carrier and plopped down near the bow. The Captain was furious; that wasn’t how aircrfaft operations on a carrier were supposed to go. When it came time for the helicopter to leave he had it spotted at the very aft end of the flight deck to give it maximum takeoff distance. turned the ship into the wind, and cranked up 30 knots. They gave the helicopter pilot the signal to take off. So the helicopter rose in place and flew backwards off the stern.
Towards the end of WW2, an American navy fighter pilot was getting more and more despondent by the day. His trouble was simple, he kept failing to get into combat. Either his aircraft would fail to scramble, his guns would jam, his navigation would screw up, every time combat beckoned, he washed out. All problems were genuine, he really had terrible luck!
So when the radar painted heavy concentrations of possible ‘kamikaze’ aircraft at long distance from his carrier, his aircraft, which had been virtually stripped and rebuilt, was spotted last on the flight deck, behind all his fellow aviators. He was patted on the shoulder by the CAG, and it was also whispered that he had better come through, for his ship, for his friends, and for his country!
He took off, but entered heavy cloud almost immediately, and lost visual contact with his squadron; also finding that his radio just didn’t work. Determined to prove himself, he pressed on towards what he thought was the enemy force, when suddenly he saw, below his fighter, two squadrons of Japanese bombers with no fighter escort at all. With some fantastic flying, superb gunnery and considerable bravery, he shot down twenty-one enemy machines in a hectic five minutes of combat.
As he had run out of ammunition, he turned away from his victory and searched for his carrier, which he finally saw some miles away. Landing upon the deck, he sprang out, performed three cartwheels upon the flight deck in exhilaration, then saluted the uniformed officer who walked to meet him. “How’s about that, twenty-one Japs down, and ready to go again!”
The officer squinted up at him, and spoke, “Very funny; American swine!”
The school where I teach is near the base in Pensacola. Whenever the Blue Angels fly over I ask my class, “What was that sound?” They all yell back, “FREEDOM!”
Mrs. Who.,
Next time you speak to your class, tell them that we, or at least those of my age who remember, that those same ‘Sounds of Freedom’ thundered over our British skies so many years ago.
Freedom has a price, and one price is remembered at the Memorial linked within my post, with over thirty thousand American fliers forever remembered at Duxford.
Maybe no-one has said it for a while, but can I simply say “Thank you, America!”
(Well, HEY, Mrs Who ~ Howdy, neighbor!)
So, major dad says to tell everyone that the parking lot was overflowing, they were parking out by the street and, best of all, THEY STAYED! They went to the museum, the movies, the lighthouse ~ SIX THOUSAND PLUS PEOPLE(!!!) for that first practice!!! HOT DAWG!
And that’s SO lovely, Mike. Just lovely.
I’ll back you on that one Mike. Thanks to the Yanks in the Coral Sea.
My dad appreciated the support in New Guinea.