Captain George Dom, USN (Ret), President of the Blue Angels Association received the World Acrobatics Society award at the Awards Banquet podium on behalf of all current and previous members of the Blue Angels Demonstration Squadron from 1946 to 2021. This Awards banquet occasion was also Captain Dom’s 25th anniversary as Blue Angels Flight Leader 1997- 1998. Captain Dom was an outstanding, inspiring and motivational featured guest speaker at the World Acrobatics Society annual Congress in Las Vegas, NV. The unique, mirror polished 22” titanium jet turbine blade was donated to the World Acrobatics Society by GKN Aerospace for honoring the Blue Angels.
World Acrobatics Society Honors The Blue Angels 75 Years of Acrobatic Excellence 2021
75 years of precision teamwork of tight formation flying acrobatic maneuvers involving generations of highly skilled and trained pilots who literally fly 2-3 feet apart at 300-500 mph using only eye-hand coordination and concentration.
Annual show schedules include up to 34 locations (2022) with three performance per air show location per season that stretches from March thru November each year.
Performance “stages” are five-mile radius over small and large cities with audiences measuring in the hundreds of thousands per weekend.
From 25-10,000 feet, varying in speeds from 120-600 mph, with split-second timing and very little margin for error, the Blue Angels demonstrate extreme teamwork in U.S. Navy front-line fighters as they push the limits of human capability day-in and day-out, flying six days a week.
The six acrobatic performance team pilots are selected from the ranks of fleet Navy and Marine pilots for a 2-year assignment with 50% turnover every year in the formation.
Exceptional physical training and conditioning is required of each pilot to perform under the stress of -3 to +7.5 G forces without the aid of traditional “G-suits” to lessen the stress of performing complex, multiple split-second acrobatic maneuvers in each performance of three per weekend.
The Blue Angels are a true “Culture of Excellence” team of over 100 personnel that includes the Sailors and Marines who maintain the six magnificent jets in tip-top shape for each flight. They take extraordinary pride that a Blue Angels airshow has never been canceled in 75 years due to maintenance issues. The pilots say, "The jets really belong to the maintenance team, we just borrow them for 45 minutes every day.
Unwinding the smoke trails in this photo proves Blue Angel Pilots are true aerial acrobats as honored by the
World Acrobatics Society on their 75th Anniversary of amazing performances.
You’ve seen the new “Top Gun Maverick” movie, now see the same F-18 Super Hornets with real Navy Pilots
perform LIVE at air shows around the nation. https://www.blueangels.navy.mil/show/#show
** Photos and content on this webpage do not represent endorsement by the
Blue Angels, U.S. Navy, or the Department of Defense.**
