Take a Ride in an F-18

Here's another fun video as a newspaper writer goes for a spin with the Blue Angels:

A previous and very funny post about flying with the Blue Angels can be found here.

San Francisco and the Sound of Freedom

Visited San Francisco today with the ladies, and also got a chance to take in the Blue Angels Fleet Week show, though from a distance. Some photos:

The obligatory cable car shot at the Powell & Market turnaround.

Lunch was at Luci's 50's Diner on Powell.

Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge on a gray, overcast day.

We headed over to Sausalito, about five miles across the Bay from San Francisco, and from there I got a long distance view of the Blue Angels' show. The lighting was pretty bad on a very gray day, but I did the best I could given the conditions.

The famous diamond formation.

The six plane delta formation passes over Alcatraz Island.

The highlight of the show for those of us in Sausalito was near the end when the delta formation, with all six planes, crossed the Bay and flew directly over our heads at about 1,000 feet.

On a related note, there have been many protests of the Blues in San Francisco because the noise of the F-18's is "scary", especially to military-hating liberals. As loud as it was in Sausalito, it must have really been noisy in San Francisco with the sound echoing off the hills and buildings.

I wonder if the pilots don't get a little bit of extra satisfaction flying low over San Francisco knowing they're causing a lot of liberals to need underwear changes as the sound of freedom pounds their pointy heads.

San Francisco Has the Blues

Two years ago I wrote about the attempt of some San Francisco politicians to ban the performance by the Blue Angels during 2007's Fleet Week celebration. The show went on as scheduled despite the hysterics of the lefties and the fog in their brains.

Fleet Week has arrived in the Gay Bay once again, though yesterday's Blue Angels performance was cut short by San Francisco's real fog. They'll try again today and I'll be down there with the ladies doing some shopping in downtown.

On the news last night they showed a "die-in" protest in Union Square where one hysterical lady told the media the sound of the Blue Angels is the sound Afghan villagers hear right before they are bombed.

Well, probably not, since most of our targeted attacks are conducted by high altitude drones firing missiles the bad guys never hear. One moment the Taliban are planning their attacks, the next moment meeting their 72 virgins.

However, details aside, I'm really hoping there's another "die-in" today because Union Square is in the middle of the downtown shopping district where we're headed (we usually park in the garage under the square). Needless to say, I'm taking the camera.

Afternoon F-18 Break

Here's some entertainment for military aviation fans that was sent to me by my dad. It's video report on a trip with the Blue Angels made by Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Steve Beatty. Be sure to watch all five parts.

I also posted awhile back a written report by Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated who went for a ride in the back of an F-14 Tomcat. It's hilarious.

Navy Jet Crashes Into Home in San Diego

Bad news from Miramar:

SAN DIEGO - Three University City residents were killed Monday and another was missing after a disabled fighter jet crashed into their neighborhood and exploded in flames moments after the pilot safely ejected.

The F/A-18D Hornet plunged to the ground near Cather Avenue and Huggins Street, about a mile northwest of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, just before noon, according to San Diego police and the Federal Aviation Administration.

The pilot, who had been on a training flight over the ocean and was heading toward the military base when the accident occurred, parachuted onto a brushy slope near University City High School. Medics took him to Balboa Naval Hospital for an evaluation.

The crash and resulting blaze destroyed two homes, damaged three others and sent a thick column of black smoke into the sky.

Emergency crews found the remains of three people, whose identities were not immediately confirmed, in the scorched rubble of one of the gutted houses. Another resident of that home remained unaccounted for in the early evening.

I lived for about a year just north of the base about midfield, maybe a mile or so from where the crash occurred. We used to hear the "sound of freedom" all the time as the F-14s were flying in and out of there (Top Gun was still run out of there at that time). The only crash that occurred while I lived there involved one of the Blue Angels who was killed during the arrival air show right before the big air show weekend.

Blue Angels Fire a Pilot, Will Perform With 5 Planes For Last Three Shows

I'm a big fan of the Blue Angels and have seen them perform live on many occassions. I've also got a 4 hour documentary on them with a lot of behind the scenes footage of how the squadron operates, and it's clear that although they like to have fun, they're very serious about what they do and they way they comport themselves. As a pilot, you may be one of only 6 guys doing that job, but if you have a moral failure, you're gone:

PENSACOLA, Fla. — The U.S. Navy Blue Angels will be down one jet for the rest of its season after two members were removed from duty for an inappropriate relationship.

Capt. Tyson Dunkelberger, a spokesman for the flight demonstration team, said Thursday the squadron will finish its last three airshows next month — one in Texas and two in Florida — with five jets instead of six.

Dunkelberger would not identify the two members involved but said the relationship was between a man and a woman. All six of the F-18 stunt pilots are men, and 23 of the squadron's 133 members are women.

Dunkelberger says a military administrative hearing will be held to determine further disciplinary actions, which could include removal from the military.

Those two can kiss their Navy or Marine careers goodbye.

The Gay Bay Pre-Game Show

The pre-game show is underway for Wednesday's visit of the Olympic torch to San Francisco:

Three pro-Tibet demonstrators climbed cables on the Golden Gate Bridge on Monday to condemn China's government in advance of the Olympic torch's run through San Francisco.

The demonstrators unfurled a giant banner reading "One World, One Dream" and "Free Tibet 08", while at least one of the daredevil protesters could be seen carrying a Tibetan flag, television images showed.

Local media reported that four people had been arrested by California Highway Patrol while the three protestors remained suspended from the bridge.

San Francisco is on tenterhooks ahead of the Olympic flame's procession through the city on Wednesday, which follows events in London and Paris severely disrupted by pro-Tibet protestors.

San Francisco police say an unprecedented security blanket will be in place for Wednesday's relay as they attempt to avoid a repeat of the chaotic scenes in Europe in the flame's only appearance on US soil.

Several hundred police officers are expected to line the streets for the appearance of the torch, which has been trailed by protesters since it was lit in Greece a week ago at the start of a 85,000-mile, 21-country journey.

A San Francisco Police Department spokesman said security for the relay would be noticeably tighter than previous appearances of the torch in the city in 1992 and 1996.

Too bad San Francisco couldn't have cared that much about the US Marines, the USS Iowa, or the Blue Angels, one of whom was banned from shooting a commercial in the city, one banned outright, and the other they wanted to ban. Here's comes the Olympic torch under a cloud of genuine controversy and strife and they go out of their way to make it welcome.

This whole thing is becoming incredibly embarrassing for the Chinese government, the Olympic Committee, and the corporate sponsors who are paying for this whole torch run.

Nader Picks His Running Stooge

Ralph Nader has chosen his running stooge mate and he comes from the home of the anti-American and anti-military left: San Francisco.

Less than a week after saying he would make another independent bid for president, Ralph Nader "just announced that former San Francisco Supervisor and Board President Matt Gonzalez will be his running mate in the November elections," according to USA Today.

Just in case you've forgotten, here are some of San Francisco's greatest hits:
Gay Bay Lefties Attempt to Ban the Blue Angels
San Francisco Drops JROTC
No Battleships Allowed in the Gay Bay

The Military has fought back from time to time:
The Navy Writes Off the Gay Bay

Blue Angels Fly But President Puts the Kabosh On Another Air Show

Despite the best efforts from dyspeptic Supervisor Chris Daly, the Blue Angels flew their programs as planned over San Francisco this weekend (it's unknown whether Daly followed the advice I offered him in this videoblog). There were no reports of F-18s crashing into the Transamerica Building or liberals dropping dead at the sound of freedom. SF Gate had this photo:

If you want a good laugh, go to this SF Gate page and click on the Open Mic link and listen to the San Francisco nuts complaining about the air show. There are a few supporters mixed in with the calls, but the anti-Blues callers are classic. One guy even called them cowards because they were flying in San Francisco and not Iraq.

Another air show on the opposite side of the country was interrupted by F-16 interceptors thanks to a visit from President Bush:

EMMITSBURG, Md. — The skies were empty at a charity air show after participants were escorted out of the area by F-16 fighter jets sent up because President Bush was in town.

The president's security no-fly air zone was extended Sunday and included the Hagerstown event, but at least four pilots of antique airplanes who were supposed to join the charity show were apparently unaware of the Federal Aviation Administration restrictions. They were intercepted by F-16s and escorted out of the area, federal officials said.

Bush was speaking at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, about 26 miles from Hagerstown.

Several pilots headed to the benefit for the Experimental Aircraft Association and the Hagerstown Aviation Museum apparently were unaware of the security measure in part because their antique planes carried no radios.

A dozen planes flew into the area, causing the North American Aerospace Defense Command to scramble its fighters. The four antiques intercepted were escorted to nearby airports and forced to land. The others were warned off.

Meanwhile, at the annual event, attendees were staring at an empty sky, wondering when the show was about to start. Suddenly, according to an account in The Washington Post, the crowd saw a little propeller plane buzzing along with a sleek fighter jet flying circles around it.

It was hair-raising, said Tracey Potter, owner of Hagerstown Aircraft Services Inc. "The F-16 is an evil, menacing scary sound, and at the same time — amazing."

Sounds like a bit of a mismatch. The FAA does post what are knows as NOTAMs, or Notices to Airmen, which pilots are supposed to check for the area in which they'll be traveling. Had they done that, they would have known about the local restrictions.

Gay Bay Mayor Can't Take the Heat Over Anti-Military Activities

I've previous reported on the attempt to ban the Blue Angels from this weekend's Fleet Week activities in San Francisco, just another in a long line of anti-military actions from Gay Bay political leaders. Hizzoner, having a Harry Reid moment, fired back:

Mayor Gavin Newsom, attending Fleet Week festivities on the Marina Green on Saturday, lashed out at conservative critics who mocked San Francisco’s consideration of a measure to ban the Navy’s Blue Angels from flying over the city during this week’s celebration.

He cited that criticism and reports that the city turned down a Marine request to make a television recruitment commercial in the Financial District as examples of what he called exploitation by conservatives who don’t “allow the facts to get in their way.”

“Shame on the extreme right,” Newsom told The Chronicle. “I am sick and tired of this city being depicted as anti-military. The extreme right exploits the exception, when I believe there is a predominant respect in this city for the military, vets and those serving today.”

I'm sorry, Mr. Mayor, but your town has a lengthy history of open revolt against our military. Some examples:

SF Refuses to Allow Marines to Film Recruiting Commercial
SF Tries to Ban the Blue Angels
Navy Cancels SF Commissioning Ceremony Because of Anti-Military Views
SF Refuses to Allow the Retired Battleship IOWA to Homeport There
SF Abolishes Junior ROTC Program

And I threw these in just for fun:

SF Mayor Seeks Alcohol Rehab
SF Mayor Caught in Affair
SF Mayor Will Not Comply With Laws Criminalizing Illegal Immigration
SF Wants to Ban All Handguns
SF Mayor Eliminates Bottled Water, Saves the Planet
Evangelical Teens Receive Condemnation from SF Officials

And let's not forget back in 2004 when Hizzoner single-handedly legalized gay marriage - for about 2 days before the courts shot it down.

Sorry, Mr. Mayor, but there's just too much evidence that your city, and you personally, are troubled beyond redemption on all matters military and social.

Scattered Blogging Ahead

During the next three days I'll be driving over 1,000 miles in order to spend some quality time with my college girl daughter who I haven't seen since we moved her into her dorm room on August 18th. I'm leaving at 5am Friday and I can't wait!


My daughter and I have a number of errands we need to complete while I'm there, and our Saturday will be spent in San Francisco for some shopping and a night at the symphony. Given the events planned for this weekend in the Gay Bay, Saturday could be pretty interesting. I've been doing a fair amount of blogging recently about the Gay Bay, including the latest video blog dealing with one supervisor's attempt to ban the Blue Angels from flying their next weekend. You can watch that here.

Our schedule will be busy, and I'm not sure whether the cheap hotel I'm staying in will have much in the way of internet access, so posts may be few and far between, but if I can, I'll try and keep you apprised of what's going on. In the meantime, I'm going to go enjoy some time with my kid.

Today's Vlog - The Gay Bay Gets the Blues

The Blue Angels are coming to San Francisco and I have has a few suggestions for Supervisor Chris Daly who has been trying to cancel the show.

This Is What Your Tax Dollars Buy in the Gay Bay

I seem to have an unhealthy emphasis on San Francisco lately, but that's because the Gay Bay provides so much fodder for conservative bloggers. I'll be in San Francisco on Saturday to do some shopping with my college daughter and attend the San Francisco Symphony performance Saturday night, and will have to contend with the traffic and crowds that will be attending LoveFest, a big street music festival and parade at the Civic Center which is only about two blocks from the Symphony Hall. It's advertised to all ages, so hopefully the freaks will save their stuff for Sunday.

LoveFest seems innocent enough, and fortunately I'll miss the other big Gay Bay event on Sunday that your tax dollars are helping to support:

A taxpayer-supported "gay" celebration in San Francisco, featuring a poster portraying Jesus Christ and his disciples as "half-naked homosexual sadomasochists," has come under heavy fire from major Christian groups demanding that California lawmakers condemn it.

The poster by organizers of the Folsom Street Fair, sponsored in part by Miller Brewing, replaces the bread and wine representing Christ's blood and body with sadomasochistic sex toys.

"A picture's worth a thousand words," said Matt Barber, policy director for cultural issues with Concerned Women for America.

Barber said his group wants California's elected officials – including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer – to "publicly condemn this unprovoked attack against Christ and His followers."

The annual street event, which includes displays of nudity and sexual activity – is scheduled for Sept. 30.

I wonder if Supervisor Chris Daly, who is so desperately trying to keep the Blue Angels from flying over San Francisco next weekend, will have his freak on at the Folsom Street Fair? I think the Gay Bay is threatened much more by what will happen on Sunday than anything the Blues will do during their four days at Fleet Week.

Gay Bay Fool Makes One Last Attempt to Ground the Blue Angels

For some background on this story you need to read this previous post. The same numbskull who has been trying to keep the Blue Angels from appearing at next week's Fleet Week in San Francisco tried again today and failed:

SAN FRANCISCO, Sep. 25, 2007 (BCN) - San Francisco Supervisor Chris Daly's hopes of halting the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels show from performing its aerial acrobatics over the city during Fleet Week crashed today when the board of supervisors failed the resolution.

Supervisors voted down the resolution just before 2:30 p.m. Newly appointed interim Supervisor Carmen Chu, who attended her first meeting today as the representative for District 4, voted against the resolution.


After a slight technical problem, Daly showed the board members still photos taken after fatal air accident, which occurred during a Blue Angels show in April in a small rural town in South Carolina.

"Beaufort, South Carolina has a population of 12,950 people," Daly said, "and when a Blue Angel plane crashed there eight people on the ground were injured. What would happen if this happened over a heavily populated area like San Francisco?"

Before the supervisors voted on the resolution, Daly addressed the board and reiterated the reasons he believes that the Blue Angels show should be halted.

Daly submitted the resolution because he said it is "not a necessary risk that the city needs to take." He believes that having the fighter pilot exhibition over a densely populated area like San Francisco poses an unwarranted risk to life and property.

"It is strictly for entertainment and an accident would cause significant loss of life," Daly said.

For one thing, in San Francisco the show is flown almost entirely over water. Because of the low altitudes and the fact that there's no airport at the show site, the don't go roaring over the hills of San Francisco. If there were to be an accident, the biggest risk would be to the sea lions that roam San Francisco Bay.

The real reason behind Daly's opposition is that he hates the military in general, and the sound of high performance F-18 jet fighter bombers makes him pee his pants. The sound of freedom is pretty scary to the pacifist crowd.

Fleet Week brings a lot of people and a lot of money in San Francisco. One of these days the Navy is going to have had enough of these fools and will not only pull Fleet Week out of the city, but other military installations as well. All the gay hippies tourists in the world won't make up for the loss to the city that an action like that would cause.

Gay Bay Disrespects the Military Once Again

This coming Saturday I'll be visiting San Francisco while taking my college daughter shopping. It's a beautiful city, but frankly, I have a hard time spending money there because of stories like this:

New York said “yes,” but we said “no.” Why were the U.S. Marines denied permission to film a recruiting commercial on the streets of San Francisco? San Francisco is, once again, the center of a controversy over how city leaders treat the U.S. military. This time, it involves an elite group of Marines who wanted to film a recruitment commercial in San Francisco on the anniversary of 9/11.

The tension has been building in the two weeks since the city turned away members of the Silent Drill Platoon, and it boiled over Monday afternoon at a meeting of the San Francisco Film Commission. The U.S. Marine Silent Drill Platoon performed Monday morning in New York’s Times Square. They filmed part of a recruitment commercial through the start of the morning rush hour — something they could not do in San Francisco on the anniversary of 9/11. “It’s insulting, it’s demeaning. This woman is going to insult these young heroes by just arbitrarily saying, ‘no, you’re not going to film any Marines on California Street,” said Captain Greg Corrales of the SFPD Traffic Bureau.

Captain Greg Corrales commands the police traffic bureau that works with crews shooting commercials, TV shows and movies in the city. He’s also a Marine veteran and his son is serving his third tour of duty in Iraq. He says Film Commission Executive Director Stefanie Coyote would only allow the Marine’s production crew to film on California Street if there were no Marines in the picture. They wound up filming the empty street and will have to superimpose the Marines later.

“Ms. Coyote’s politics blinded her to her duty as the director of the Film Commission and as a responsible citizen,” said Captain Corrales.

This is just the latest in a long line of anti-military outrages perpetrated by the morons that run that city. Some of their greatest hits include:

Gay Bay Lefties Attempt to Ban the Blue Angels
San Francisco Drops JROTC
No Battleships Allowed in the Gay Bay

The Military has fought back from time to time:

The Navy Writes Off the Gay Bay

I'll drop some bucks in San Francisco, but only because I haven't seen my college girl for over a month and I'd rather shop with her than play political games with the city's idiot leaders.

Hillary Another Margaret Thatcher?

If one of the anti-military lefties of the type who would ban the Blue Angels were to write a commentary piece about Hillary Clinton, what would it sound like? Like this:

WHAT IN the world was Sen. Hillary Clinton thinking when she attacked Sen. Barack Obama for ruling out the use of nuclear weapons in going after Osama bin Laden? And why aren't her supporters more concerned about yet another egregious example of Clinton's consistent backing for the mindless militarism that is dragging this nation to ruin? So what that she is pro-choice and a woman if the price of proving her capacity to be commander in chief is that we end up with an American version of Margaret Thatcher?

Maggie Thatcher just happened to be the best British Prime Minister since Churchill, and if Hillary Clinton had even half the promise of Thatcher, even I might vote for her. The columnist is Robert Sheer, a longtime lunatic who has never had a good word for anything to do with the military, and whose incessantly stupid columns contributed to my decision to cancel my LA Time subscription years ago. He's now writing for the San Francisco Chronicle (imagine my surprise).



You can read the rest if you want to see how the wacky left thinks.

Loony Lefties Still Trying to Ban the Blue Angels From the Gay Bay

Another attempt at anti-military idiocy in San Francisco is thwarted:

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- The Blue Angels daredevil air show should perform in October on schedule after a proposed resolution to ban them was tabled by the committee Monday.

Supervisor Chris Daly wants Congress to stop the Blue Angels’ Fleet Week flyovers and introduced the resolution, citing a fatal accident at an aerial display in South Carolina last year.

A hearing Monday let Veterans for Peace and other anti-war groups face off with tourism and commerce supporters.

Opponents of the Blue Angels voiced their concern over the trauma the show inflicts on war refugees, the waste of fuel, and noise pollution.

“The Blue Angels are totally unnecessary,” said a resolution supporter. “I believe they are sent here to terrorize this town because we are an anti-war city.”

“The Blue Angels, the sound of them, makes me smile,” said another man. “Keep them coming to San Francisco forever and ever.”

The show, which has been the centerpiece of the event since 1981, helps bring an estimated $4 million in city revenue that weekend, according to the mayor’s office, which opposes Daly’s proposed legislation.

The sound of freedom is pretty scary to those who believe our military are all a bunch of baby killers and civilian bombers. The next thing you know some peacenik will show up at their shrink complaining of Post Air Show Traumatic Stress Syndrome.

Gay Bay Lefties Attempt to Ban the Blue Angels

The same tolerant individuals who voted to reject the battleship Iowa as a floating museum, and who abolished the Junior ROTC program, now want the Blue Angels banned from performing at Fleet Week (h/t Michelle Malkin):

The annual aerial show by the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels — a San Francisco tradition dating back to 1981 that pumps millions into the local economy — is running into opposition from three local peace advocacy groups that are calling for a permanent halt to the popular Fleet Week flyover.
CodePink, Global Exchange and Veterans for Peace, Chapter 69, are working with Supervisor Chris Daly on a Board of Supervisors resolution to address concerns over the Blue Angels.

Daly acknowledged he is considering a call to halt the flyovers because, he said, “they seem dangerous and unnecessary.” Daly said he plans on introducing the resolution as early as Tuesday, but is still drafting the language. A resolution is not legally binding, but states a board position.

The Blue Angels, a team of navy fighter pilots, fly over San Francisco during Fleet Week, which this year is scheduled for Oct. 4 through Oct. 9...

...Veterans for Peace takes issue with the pro-military message and the recruiting efforts that come along with the annual visit as well as what it refers to as the “noise pollution.” The group calls the event a public safety risk, pointing to the April crash of a Blue Angels plane during an air show in Beaufort, S.C.

Just a slight miscalculation or a mechanical failure can cause a plane to “go barreling into the Golden Gate Bridge or a high-rise and cause a significant amount of damage,” said Paul Cox, a Vietnam veteran and member of the Veterans for Peace.

Edward Leonard, chairman of the San Francisco Fleet Week Committee, said that since the April plane crash, the Blue Angels are back flying and “we think it’s safe.” He added that the planes’ maneuvers require approval by the Federal Aviation Administration, the more challenging maneuvers are conducted over the Bay waters and that “commercial airlines fly over The City all the time.”

The Blues have had a rough year what with the loss of a member early in the season. If San Francisco is going to continue this kind of anti-military idiocy, then I think the government should strongly consider relocating as many of our military facilities out of the area as possible. Let those dollars go somewhere that would appreciate them.

Blue Angels Are Back on the Road

The Blue Angels are flying again this weekend as the team tries to recover from the loss of one of their members:

SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. — After 21 years as a U.S. Navy pilot, his career boasting nearly 900 aircraft carrier landings and air combat during the first Gulf War, tragedy comes as no surprise to Cmdr. Kevin Mannix.

That includes last month's fatal crash of a fellow Blue Angels pilot during a show in South Carolina.

But for Blue Angels pilots, whose demeanor is a key part of the job, the tragedy offers another opportunity to perform the mission they were first given six decades ago: promote the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marines Corps to the world.

"Our ability to bounce back and do our mission is the same as every other squadron in the U.S. Navy or U.S. Marine Corps," said Mannix, minutes after practicing Thursday at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro, where the team on Saturday was to perform its first show since the crash April 21.

"The only difference is there's a lot more visibility on us because we are in the public eye," he said. "That's our job and that's what we do. I think a lot more media was focused our way on this specific mishap."...

The Blue Angels typically fly their F/A-18A Hornets six days a week, but they stayed on the ground for nine days after the crash, canceling scheduled performances May 5 and May 6 at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska.

Saturday's show was to feature only five jets. Lt. Cmdr. Craig Olson, 37, of Kirkland, Wash., replaced Davis a couple of weeks ago. Olson, who flew with the Blue Angels from 2003-2005, will practice with the team for a few more weeks before flying in a show, Mannix said.

In 2004 the team lost a member due to a medical condition and replaced him with a former member, just as they are doing now. The skills required to fly the Angels' show pretty much require them to bring in someone who has done it before if they have to make a change mid-season.

In 1979 the team lost a member in a crash at Miramar Air Station in San Diego during their arrival maneuvers and flew a 5-plane show that same weekend (I lived right next to the base at the time). I'm not sure how they could concentrate on what they were doing, but somehow they pulled it off.

They're great ambassadors for the Navy and Marine Corp, and it's good to see them back in action.

Investigation Continues in Blue Angels Crash

It was a somber day in South Carolina for the second day of the airshow:

Investigators looked through wreckage Sunday to determine what caused a Navy Blue Angel jet to crash during a maneuver, while the military identified the fallen pilot as a 32-year-old who was performing in one of his first air shows with the team.

Lt. Cmdr. Kevin J. Davis of Pittsfield, Mass. was in his second year with the Blue Angels, the team known for its high-speed, aerobatic demonstrations, Lt. Cmdr. Garrett Kasper said.

At Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, the site of Saturday's crash, a somber crowd watched Sunday as six jets flew overhead in formation. Smoke streamed behind one of the jets as it peeled away from the others to complete the "missing man formation," the traditional salute for a lost military aviator.

"The spirit of the pilot is in the arms of a loving God," said Rob Reider, a minister who was the announcer for the air show.

I have a feeling this crash will probably have been the result of some type of mechanical failure on the airplane. It must have happened so quickly and in such a bad spot that the pilot either didn't have time to eject, or chose to stay with the airplane and try to miss the houses.

You may not know this (I didn't until I saw the Military Channel special on the team), but the Blues do not have brand new state-of-the-art aircraft. The new stuff goes to the fleet,and when they've lived out their useful days as a "gray" or fleet jet, the castoffs either end up being used for spare parts, get "stuck on a stick" (or put on display somewhere), or become the airplanes that are modified for use by the Blue Angels. Consequently, maintenance issues can be a little tougher on these older airplanes, and the team has some of the top mechanics in the Navy or Marines to take care of them.

From what I've been reading, this was the fifth show of the 2007 touring season. They started out in El Centro in March at the end of their preseason training, and have already flown in Arizona, two stops in Florida, and Texas. They're scheduled to fly again next weekend in Georgia.

The team will recover. When they've lost pilots to illness or injury in the past, they've usually brought back a former member who used to fly that particular position since they can be trained quicker than anyone else. It will be tough to go on, but I expect the Blues will continue their touring schedule very quickly. I wish them the best. Here's their official website.