As a Navy Air Traffic Controller I've coordinated, worked with and separated some of the finest pilots the Navy & Marine Corps has to offer. I even deployed with a future Blue Angel back in 1999 - he had a great boarding rate!! I have nothing but total respect for each and every man and woman in our Navy & Marine Corps who strap an F/A-18 on their back every day for our country - or any other aircraft for that matter.
What they do is dangerous, yes, but if you listen to the announcer during the show itself, you'll notice he tells you that nothing the Blue Angels do during the demonstration is all that much more dangerous than what all the other Naval Aviators do each and every day in defense of our freedoms. Sure, they do it low and fast to present a spectacle that causes folks to want to join the military, but nothing none of the others pilots couldn't do given the chance. (For the record, they do it without the use of a G-Suit, which is remarkable). But at the end of the show they still land on a 10,000 foot runway - our Naval Aviators in the fleet have to land on a pitching flight deck with no moon in the middle of the Arabian Gulf... sometimes after being shot at during their mission! They're all special folks, no question.
Bottom line - he died doing what he loved and we're going to miss him... but just like racing and the loss of Eric Medlen among others, the show will go on. God bless him, the Blue Angels & each and every pilot in the U.S. arsenal - they are simply the best at what they do!
