Video: Remember The Blue Angels? A-4 Skyhawks From The Mid 80's
Friday, October 18, 2013 at 07:46AM
Disclaimer: if you only want to see some great retro Blue Angels footage without a little political commentary, please just click play above and enjoy. More robust individuals can continue to the words that follow : )
The video above does a great job of showcasing the Blue Angels from back in the mid 80's when they were not far from the end of the A-4 Skyhawk era. Seeing the A-4 again reminds me of how much I liked that airplane as an airshow performer. Looking past the Skyhawk, it's hard to believe that they've been flying the F/A-18 since 1986! That's 27 years with the Hornet, and it still looks like a perfect aircraft after all these years... well, it would if you'd have had the chance to see it this year. Only the first two shows of the 2013 season were performed, the remaining 33 shows were cancelled as part of the sequestration.
Video screenshot of a tight 19080's Blue Angels formation in the A-4 Skyhawk
Don't get me wrong here, I'm all for the idea of reducing government spending, in fact I feel that the sequestration cuts didn't even begin to go far enough (see the U.S. debt clock), but the way the government chose to deal with the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds seems like a spiteful act against the heart of America rather than a smart spending cut. According to the wiki entry, the budget for the Blues is about $37 million. However, there's no way we saved $37 million by cancelling essentially the entire season... the entire Blues infrastructure is still in place and being maintained, so the actual savings was much smaller. But the real issues here is about how much it cost in terms of lost revenue by metropolitan areas all around the country. The cancelled performances led to most of the events they were to headline being cancelled as well. The financial impact to Americans (which IS America) certainly had to exceed the amount 'saved'. This leads me to the question of what the motivation really was from those supposedly leading the country.
It's here that I've come to the complete conclusion that the U.S. government is not interested in what's good for the people of the United States, but rather what's good for the people running the government. To some of you that's crazy talk. To me it's plain and simple fact. The events of the last several weeks only prove it more.
The mission of the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds isn't to give Americans something fun to do on a weekend, it's to promote the U.S. armed forces for the purpose of bolstering American pride and encouraging young people to consider a career in service to their country. The value to the nation right there vastly exceeds the Blues $37 million budget.
Given the views of the man who sits in the Oval Office, I guess there's no surprise that he would consider it a success to keep the Blues from being able to do their job.
Lastly, LCDR Mike Gershon, who was was featured in the video above as solo pilot in the #6 aircraft, was killed in a Blue Angels airshow accident not long after the video was made. A follow up video about Mike and the accident can be seen here. It does a great job of showing Mike's history and his strong wife, who lost her husband when their son was just over a month old. Both videos were produced for Evening Magazine broadcast on KPIX in San Francisco. The video about the accident, and the way it portrays Mike's family is extremely well done, especially when compared to today's style of sensational 'victim' exploitation.
The slippery slope gets ever steeper.
Reader Comments (10)
I used to go to your blog regularly because of my interest in aviation. I stopped doing that many months ago after one of your (in my opinion, very uninformed and one-sided) political rants. I commented in a civil way and of course my comment was censored.
Now I will also be unliking your FB page as well. I don't need to have my blood pressure raised by any more of your rants.
It's perfectly fine that you like and approve of the Blue Angels. I do too. BUT, your assumptions about Sequestration, especially that this is our President's doing...
-quote- "Given the views of the man who sits in the Oval Office, I guess there's no surprise that he would consider it a success to keep the Blues from being able to do their job,"
...reek of extreme ignorance if not outright prejudice.
In addition, you would do well to educate yourself on what brought about Sequestration and whose idea/plan it was. I will not waste my time educating you.
I will offer this link to a video and ask you to consider what types of politicians and/or political party are most responsible for the reality communicated in the video (if you assume it's the Democrats, than you really need to do some self-education...and Fox News definitely does not count)...
http://www.utrend.tv/v/9-out-of-10-americans-are-completely-wrong-about-this-mind-blowing-fact/
Maybe you are a fan of the reality found at the above link. Judging by some of your posts in the past, detailing your income difficulties leading to your long sabbatical from flying, I'm guessing that if honest, you are not a fan.
I've already spent too much time and energy on this as I'm nearly certain it has been wasted breath (so to speak).
God be with you. I hope you get to have your own plane someday and fly as much as you want.
Pastor Steve
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=686053118072336&set=a.115969958413991.17486.114517875225866&type=1&permPage=1
https://scontent-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/q71/994337_686053118072336_1382664726_n.jpg
https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1375775_685833308094317_647683576_n.png
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=682378771773104&set=a.115969958413991.17486.114517875225866&type=1&permPage=1
....same rules apply to Sequestration.
Insanity rules in America these days. #amazing
Wow, Martt. You must be devestated that "Pastor" Steve was unwilling to educate you and unliked you on Facebook. How will you ever live with yourself?
In all seriousness, thanks, Martt, for your determination and hard work. I very much enjoy Airpigz.com and it has become one of my regular must-see sites. It's refreshing to see someone who has such passion for what you do, and how you are willing to share your challenges/thoughts/ideas regardless of what people think.
Best wishes,
Aaron
Thanx Aaron, I appreciate your input and I'm pleased to know you're enjoying AirPigz : )
Martt, thanks for the Blues vids! Saw them many times 1975-76 with the Skyhawks, great stuff.
I enjoyed the Blue Angels video but I wondered about the last line or so: "These aren't barnstorming pilots. There's not a 'Chuck Jeager' among them" What is that supposed to mean? What's wrong with Chuck Jeager? Isn't Chuck one of our nation's top pilots? Just seems like a strange comment.
gysemar e3d3fd1842 https://uafsociety.com/whindabidnons