Blue Angel Solo Maneuvers

Credit: Petty Officer 2nd Class Cody Hendrix | Date Taken: 01/21/2021
Good Afternoon #BlueAngels fans! Check out this video of Lt. Cmdr. Cary Rickoff, Blue Angel #6, conducting a training flight over NAF El Centro, CA and the Imperial Valley with Cmdr. Ben Walborn, Blue Angel #5! Below you can find a detailed breakdown of the maneuvers you see in the video! Before integrating with the #1 - #4 pilots to form the signature Delta formation, the solo pilots will practice their famous opposing maneuvers together. -Lt. Cmdr Rickoff performs his first maneuver, the Low Transition to Immelman on take off. The maneuver begins from takeoff as he retracts his landing gear, maintaining minimum distance from the ground, then executes a high performance climb, followed by a half-loop. -Next you see #6 executing a high G-force pull from behind the crowd, in order to expeditiously rendezvous with #5 for the next maneuver. -The next maneuver is the Opposing Horizontal Roll. This maneuver requires #5 and #6 to perform two consecutive rolls, followed by the selection of max afterburner and execute a 7G pull to a vertical climb. -The final maneuver of every show is the Pitch-Up Break (PUB). The PUB requires #1 - #6 to pitch up and away from the Delta Formation to deconflict their flight path. As they individually breakaway from the Delta Formation, they turn downwind, slowing down their aircraft in preparation for landing.