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Blue Angels Pilots Give NorthEscambia.com Readers A Behind The Scenes Look At New Jets, New Fat Albert

The Blue Angels will celebrate their 75th anniversary at the annual Pensacola Beach Air Show Friday and Saturday in their new F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets, and the new “Fat Albert” C-130J Super Hercules.

NorthEsambia.com had a close look at the new planes and a chance to learn what makes the Pensacola show extra special and exciting for the pilots.

“Almost can’t describe it,” Blue Angels pilot Cdr. Brian Kesselring said. He’s the “boss” as flight leader and pilot of the Number 1 aircraft.

“To be able to come back and be able to link to both Santa Rosa and Escambia County, the greater Pensacola area is super special to us. This truly is our family back here in this small community,” Kesselring said. “To be able to come out here and go to the beach … for the local community is going to be something that is just super special for us this year.

For a photo gallery, click here.

During a dress rehearsal Thursday, the new Fat Albert did not fly. The public will have to wait until Saturday’s show to see the new C-130 take to the skies over Pensacola Beach. (It was scheduled to fly Friday but did not due to a minor mechanical issue.)

But we had close look at Fat Albert Thursday at NAS Pensacola.

Fat Albert pilot Capt. Rick Rose will open the show Saturday. Here’s how Rose describes flying Fat Albert for NorthEscambia.com readers:

Give us some background on bringing in the new C-130 last year.

“Awesome experience, we had to get pretty creative in acquiring this aircraft. We got it from the United Kingdom from the Royal Air Force. We picked it up last year — the team out there Marshall Air Space, the contracted company did a fantastic job getting this aircraft prepped and ready for us. It’s kind of like buying a used car. We did a test flight in it to make sure all the systems work appropriately as advertised. It worked flawlessly — got to fly it back through a couple fuel stops in Iceland as well as Maine and Ft Worth Texas where we did some final maintenance checks before we brought it back home where it belongs in Pensacola, Florida. It’s a new J Model super Hercules very exciting. Coupling that with the 75^th anniversary, and the new super hornet. As a pilot flying this aircraft it’s pretty exciting and I’m pretty lucky.

What is this plane’s role in the show?

We are the main logistical support asset for the team so we haul all the maintenance pack up to include extra parts, tools, equip and most importantly the main. personnel that travel with us to ensure the jets are up for each show. It’s about a 49 person team that we can fit.

How many shows a year do you do?

We do around 30-35 show sites a year. Two to three airshows at each show site. Since we transitioned to the new super hornet, its little bit of a short air show schedule due to the fact to help us prepare for the transition rolling into it. We have a great support team that we gear up and ready to go.

Tell us about the hometown show

“Very exciting. It feels like a hometown to me. I have lived here for a while, went to flight school here so it really is like another hometown for me. I am from Northern California but Pensacola Florida will always be another hometown to me. Extremely exciting, especially having a year off last year, it’s a whole special feeling. Going back into especially flying over the water here at the beach. The people here are awesome. The community definitely deserves it and we are happy to help.”

How much maintenance do these planes require to consistently perform?

It does require a lot of maintenance. These planes are not brand-new, we are not given new jets off the assembly line. There is a lot of love and care you have to put into these jets to make them work right and well. It’s a no fail mission — the show must go on and we have a mission to do and there is a lot of pressure there to make it happen and they do an outstanding job.

Is there one part of the show that you are looking to the most?

I am a little bias — but Fat Albert for sure. It is awesome getting that plane back in the mix in front of people and being the Marine Corps representation on the team is a very special thing for me. I’m looking forward to the Fat Albert part and starting off the show and showing what this plane can do.

What is the most exhilarating move that you do?

The high performance climb to a pushover. It is a negative G pushover at the top. There is a few seconds there where you are weightless. That is the most fun because you are weightless for a few minutes in time. I look forward to it every time.

For a photo gallery, click here.

NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.