Warbird Information Exchange

The Blue Angels have selected a woman to be part of the six-ship core demonstration team for the 2023 season. Her name has not been released as of this message pending the official Navy announcement.

The news started circulating on Wednesday when the team was flying to Thunder Over Michigan when an in-flight conversation was picked up between two of the pilots.

First Woman Blue Angels Jet Demonstration Pilot Selected
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/b ... tion-pilot

I would have assumed that this would have happened already, as there have been some excellent female Naval aviators.

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Life member, 91st BG Memorial Association
Owner, 1944 Willys MB #366014
Former REMF (US Army, O3)

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All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

Stalin? I wonder how that nickname was selected.

They probably delayed the decision a bit after the last female pilot with the team taxied their C130 into a light pole...

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Those who possess real knowledge are rare.

Those who can set that knowledge into motion in the physical world are rarer still.

The few who possess real knowledge and can set it into motion of their own hands are the rarest of all.

Hopefully not mandated tokenism, we'll see.

There have been half a dozen female pilots in the Thunderbirds starting in 2006.

Perhaps she earned it.

Finally! It's about time!

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Magister Aviation
It's all in my book

This question came up at Oshkosh 2017 when the Blue Angel Pilots were doing Q & A: https://youtu.be/F-0xCt2GRr8?t=4287

As the link in the first post makes it clear, getting the right person to volunteer at the right time, for them and the Navy, isn't as simple as it may seem.
As it said, out of all female Navy pilots, few are fighter pilots (it reports half the Naval aviators are helicopter pilots...I was surprised by that), and fewer still have the appropriate amount of flight time and in a good career window...neither too junior or senior.

Then you have a huge travel schedule.
I can imagine for a lot of people with families, that would be a deal breaker.

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.
Note political free signature.
I figure if you wanted my opinion on items unrelated to this forum, you'd ask for it.

I remember the Thunderbirds performance at the 2007 Mustangs and Legends had a Female solo and one in the four ship team.

She is also the current West Coast Super Hornet demo pilot, so I'm sure that didn't hurt her chances.

People immediately said the same about Kara Hultgreen when she spiked herself off the surface in an ejection seat while failing to land a Tomcat on a carrier. Many thought it was easy to assume she just 'didn't have it' until much later, records about her flight experience (coupled with flying a plane that was notoriously tough to land in certain conditions) seem to bear out that she made it further than males in her flight classes who didn't make it to fighters with the same scores...

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Life member, 91st BG Memorial Association
Owner, 1944 Willys MB #366014
Former REMF (US Army, O3)

In that case, I saw her at a recent AFB open house.
Being the Demo pilot means she can certainly handle the Super Hornet. She put on quite the display.
(I was atop the announcers booth near show center waiting to do my thing, the Super Hornet is loud).

Hopefully, the transition to the Blue Angles will be easy.
I wish her the best of luck.

_________________
Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.
Note political free signature.
I figure if you wanted my opinion on items unrelated to this forum, you'd ask for it.