Mercer

Thursday, April 6, 2017

Team members

All team members, both officer and enlisted, pilots and staff officers, come from the ranks of regular Navy and United States Marine Corps units. The demonstration pilots and narrator are made up of Navy and USMC Naval Aviators. Pilots serve two to three years,^[2] and position assignments are made according to team needs, pilot experience levels, and career considerations for members.
The officer selection process requires pilots and support officers (flight surgeon, events coordinator, maintenance officer, supply officer, and public affairs officer) wishing to become Blue Angels to apply formally via their chain-of-command, with a personal statement, letters of recommendation, and flight records. Navy and Marine Corps F/A-18 demonstration pilots and naval flight officers are required to have a minimum of 1,250 tactical jet hours and be carrier-qualified. Marine Corps C-130 demonstration pilots are required to have 1,200 flight hours and be an aircraft commander.^[13]
Applicants "rush" the team at one or more airshows, paid out of their own finances, and sit in on team briefs, post-show activities, and social events. Rushes are asked to tell a joke prior to the brief and are graded by the team as part of the rigorous selection process. Team members vote in secret on the next year's members, with no accountability to the higher Navy authority why an applicant was or was not selected. Selections must be unanimous. There have been female and racial minority staff officers as official Blue Angel members. The most recent minority Blue Angel pilot was LCDR Keith Hoskins on the 2000 team.^[14] Flight surgeons serve a two-year term. They act as the team recorder during air shows and help oversee emergency response planning with the various air show planners. The first female Blue Angel flight surgeon was LT Tamara Schnurr, who was a member of the 2001 team.^[15]
The team leader (#1) is the Commanding Officer and is always a Navy Commander, who may be promoted to Captain mid-tour if approved for Captain by the selection board. Pilots of numbers 2–7 are Navy Lieutenants or Lieutenant Commanders, or Marine Corps Captains or Majors. The number 7 pilot narrates for a year, and then typically flies Opposing and then Lead Solo the following two years, respectively. The number 3 pilot moves to the number 4 (slot) position for his second year. Blue Angel No. 4 serves as the demonstration safety officer, due largely to the perspective he is afforded from the slot position within the formation, as well as his status as a second-year demonstration pilot. There are a number of other officers in the squadron, including a Naval Flight Officer, the USMC C-130 pilots, a Maintenance Officer, an Administrative Officer, and a Flight Surgeon. Enlisted members range from E-4 to E-9 and perform all maintenance, administrative, and support functions. They serve three to four years in the squadron.^[2] After serving with the Blues, members return to fleet assignments.
Members of the 2017 U.S. Navy Blue Angels are [1]:

Flying Blue Angel No. 1, Commander Ryan Bernacchi, USN (Commanding Officer/Flight Leader)
Flying Blue Angel No. 2, Lieutenant Damon Kroes, USN (Right Wing)
Flying Blue Angel No. 3, Lieutenant Nate Scott, USN (Left Wing)
Flying Blue Angel No. 4, Lieutenant Lance Benson, USN (Slot)
Flying Blue Angel No. 5, Commander Frank Weisser, USN (Lead Solo)
Flying Blue Angel No. 6 Lieutenant Tyler Davies, USN (Opposing Solo)
Flying Blue Angel No. 7, Lieutenant Brandon Hempler, USN (Advance Pilot/Narrator)
Events Coordinator, Blue Angel No. 8, Lieutenant Dave Steppe, USN
Flying Fat Albert, Major Mark Hamilton, USMC
Flying Fat Albert, Major Mark Montgomery, USMC
Flying Fat Albert, Major Kyle Maschner, USMC
Executive Officer, Commander Matt Kaslik, USN
Maintenance Officer, Lieutenant Samuel Rose, USN
Flight Surgeon, Lieutenant Juan Guerra, USN
Administrative Officer, Lieutenant Junior Grade Timothy Hawkins, USN
Supply Officer, Lieutenant Bryan Pace, USN
Public Affairs Officer, Lieutenant Joe Hontz, USN

Commanding officer

Commander Ryan Bernacchi

Commander Ryan Bernacchi joined the Blue Angels in September 2015. He has accumulated more than 3,000 flight hours and 600 carrier-arrested landings, and is a graduate of the U.S. Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN), NAS Fallon, Nevada. After graduating, he joined the TOPGUN staff as an instructor pilot and served as the Navy and Marine Corps subject matter expert in GPS guided weapons. Ryan served as a Federal Executive Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts. His decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, one Individual Air Medal with Combat "V" (three Strike Flight), four Navy Commendation Medals, one with Combat "V," and numerous unit, campaign, and service awards.

Training and weekly routine

Annual winter training takes place at NAF El Centro, California, where new and returning pilots hone skills learned in the fleet. During winter training, the pilots fly two practice sessions per day, six days a week, in order to fly the 120 training missions needed to perform the demonstration safely. Separation between the formation of aircraft and their maneuver altitude is gradually reduced over the course of about two months in January and February. The team then returns to their home base in Pensacola, Florida, in March, and continues to practice throughout the show season. A typical week during the season has practices at NAS Pensacola on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. The team then flies to its show venue for the upcoming weekend on Thursday, conducting "circle and arrival" orientation maneuvers upon arrival. The team flies a "practice" airshow at the show site on Friday. This show is attended by invited guests but is often open to the general public. The main airshows are conducted on Saturdays and Sundays, with the team returning home to NAS Pensacola on Sunday evenings after the show. Monday is the Blues' day off.

History

1940s

The original team insignia

On 24 April 1946 Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Chester Nimitz issued a directive ordering the formation of a flight exhibition team to boost Navy morale, demonstrate naval air power, and maintain public interest in naval aviation. However, an underlying mission was to help the Navy generate public and political support for a larger allocation of the shrinking defense budget. In April of that year, Rear Admiral Ralph Davison personally selected Lieutenant Commander Roy Marlin "Butch" Voris, a World War II fighter ace, to assemble and train a flight demonstration team, naming him Officer-in-Charge and Flight Leader. Voris selected three fellow instructors to join him (Lt. Maurice "Wick" Wickendoll, Lt. Mel Cassidy, and Lt. Cmdr. Lloyd Barnard, veterans of the War in the Pacific), and they spent countless hours developing the show. The group perfected its initial maneuvers in secret over the Florida Everglades so that, in Voris' words, "if anything happened, just the alligators would know". The team's first demonstration before Navy officials took place on 10 May 1946 and was met with enthusiastic approval.

Grumman F6F-5 Hellcats in 1946

On 15 June Voris led a trio of Grumman F6F-5 Hellcats, specially modified to reduce weight and painted sea blue with gold leaf trim, through their inaugural 15-minute-long performance at their Florida home base, Naval Air Station Jacksonville.^[1] The team employed a North American SNJ Texan, painted and configured to simulate a Japanese Zero, to simulate aerial combat. This aircraft was later painted yellow and dubbed the "Beetle Bomb". This aircraft is said to have been inspired by one of the Spike Jones' Murdering the Classics series of musical satires, set to the tune (in part) of the William Tell Overture as a thoroughbred horse race scene, with "Beetle Bomb" being the "trailing horse" in the lyrics.
The team thrilled spectators with low-flying maneuvers performed in tight formations, and (according to Voris) by "keeping something in front of the crowds at all times. My objective was to beat the Army Air Corps. If we did that, we'd get all the other side issues. I felt that if we weren't the best, it would be my naval career." The Blue Angels' first public demonstration also netted the team its first trophy, which sits on display at the team's current home at NAS Pensacola.

Air show

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The Blue Angels' show season runs each year from March until November. They perform at both military and civilian airfields, and often perform directly over major cities such as San Francisco's "Fleet Week" maritime festival, Cleveland's annual Labor Day Air Show, the Chicago Air and Water Show, Jacksonville's Sea and Sky Spectacular, Milwaukee Air and Water Show, and Seattle's annual Seafair festival.

The Blue Angels flying in a Delta Formation at Miramar, San Diego in 2011

During their aerobatic demonstration, the Blues fly six F/A-18 Hornet aircraft, split into the Diamond Formation (Blue Angels 1 through 4) and the Lead and Opposing Solos (Blue Angels 5 and 6). Most of the show alternates between maneuvers performed by the Diamond Formation and those performed by the Solos. The Diamond, in tight formation and usually at lower speeds (400 mph), performs maneuvers such as formation loops, rolls, and transitions from one formation to another. The Solos showcase the high performance capabilities of their individual aircraft through the execution of high-speed passes, slow passes, fast rolls, slow rolls, and very tight turns. The highest speed flown during an air show is 700 mph (just under Mach 1) and the lowest speed is 120 mph.^[2] Some of the maneuvers include both solo aircraft performing at once, such as opposing passes (toward each other in what appears to be a collision course) and mirror formations (back-to-back. belly-to-belly, or wingtip-to-wingtip, with one jet flying inverted). The Solos join the Diamond Formation near the end of the show for a number of maneuvers in the Delta Formation.
The parameters of each show must be tailored in accordance with local weather conditions at showtime: in clear weather the high show is performed; in overcast conditions a low show is performed, and in limited visibility (weather permitting) the flat show is presented. The high show requires at least an 8,000-foot (2,400 m) ceiling and visibility of at least 3 nautical miles (6 km) from the show's centerpoint. The minimum ceilings allowed for low and flat shows are 3,500 feet (~1 km) and 1,500 feet (460 m), respectively.^[6]

Origin of squadron name, insignia and paint scheme

When initially formed, the unit was called the Navy Flight Exhibition Team. The squadron was officially redesignated as the United States Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron in December 1974.^[7] The original team was christened the Blue Angels in 1946, when one of the pilots came across the name of New York City's Blue Angel Nightclub in The New Yorker magazine; the team introduced themselves as the "Blue Angels" to the public for the first time on 21 July 1946, in Omaha, Nebraska.^{[citation needed]}
The official Blue Angels insignia was designed by then team leader Lt. Cmdr. R. E. "Dusty" Rhodes and Virginia Porter (Illustrator for Naval Air Advanced Training Command), then approved by Chief of Naval Operations in 1949. It is nearly identical to the current design. In the cloud in the upper right quadrant, the aircraft were originally shown heading down and to the right. Over the years, the plane silhouettes have changed along with the squadron's aircraft. Additionally, the lower left quadrant, which contains the Chief of Naval Air Training insignia, has occasionally contained only Naval Aviator wings.^{[citation needed]}
Originally, demonstration aircraft were navy blue (nearly black) with gold lettering. The current shades of blue and yellow were adopted when the team transitioned to the Bearcat in 1946. For a single year, in 1949, the team performed in an all-yellow scheme with blue markings.^[8]

Current aircraft

Water condensation in the strake vortices of a Hornet during a tight maneuver.

The Blues' McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornets are former fleet aircraft that are nearly combat-ready. Modifications to each aircraft include removal of the aircraft gun and replacement with the tank that contains smoke-oil used in demonstrations, and outfitting with the control stick spring system for more precise aircraft control input. The standard demonstration configuration has a spring tensioned with 40 pounds (18 kg) of force installed on the control stick as to allow the pilot minimal room for uncommanded movement. The Blues do not wear G-suits, because the air bladders inside them would repeatedly deflate and inflate, interfering with the control stick between the pilot's legs. Instead, Blue Angel pilots tense their muscles to prevent blood from rushing from their heads and rendering them unconscious.^[9]
In July 2016, Boeing was awarded a $12 million contract to begin converting the Boeing F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet for Blue Angels use, to be completed by September 2017.^[10]

Lockheed C-130 Hercules "Fat Albert" conducting a Rocket Assisted Take Off.

The show's narrator flies Blue Angel 7, a two-seat F/A-18D Hornet, to show sites. The Blues use this jet for backup, and to give demonstration rides to VIP civilians. Three backseats at each show are available; one of them goes to members of the press, the other two to "Key Influencers".^[11] The No. 4 slot pilot often flies the No. 7 aircraft in Friday's "practice" shows.
The Blue Angels use a United States Marine Corps Lockheed C-130T Hercules, nicknamed "Fat Albert", for their logistics, carrying spare parts, equipment, and to carry support personnel between shows. Beginning in 1975, "Bert" was used for Jet Assisted Take Off (JATO) and short aerial demonstrations just prior to the main event at selected venues, but the JATO demonstration ended in 2009 due to dwindling supplies of rockets.^[12] "Fat Albert Airlines" flies with an all-Marine crew of three officers and five enlisted personnel.

Blue Angels

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the 1960 television series, see The Blue Angels (TV series). For the Scottish outlaw motorcycle club, see Blue Angels Motorcycle Club. For the hip-hop song, see Blue Angels (song).

Blue Angels U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron
The Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornets fly in a tight diamond formation, maintaining 18-inch wing tip to canopy separation.
Active	24 April 1946 – present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Navy United States Marine Corps
Role	Aerobatic flight demonstration team
Size	16 officers, 110 enlisted
Garrison/HQ	NAS Pensacola NAF El Centro (Winter Airfield)
Colors	"Blue Angel" blue "Insignia" yellow
Website	blueangels.navy.mil
Commanders
Current commander	Cmdr. Ryan Bernacchi
Insignia
Identification symbol
Aircraft flown
Fighter	3 – McDonnell Douglas F/A-18A Hornets (single seat) 1 – McDonnell Douglas F/A-18B Hornets (two seat) 10 – McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C Hornets (single seat) 2 – McDonnell Douglas F/A-18D Hornets (two seat) *Note – Only 7 F/A-18C/D Hornets are used during a demo.
Transport	1 – C-130T Hercules

The Blue Angels is the United States Navy's flight demonstration squadron, with aviators from the Navy and Marines. The Blue Angels team was formed in 1946,^[1] making it the second oldest formal flying aerobatic team (under the same name) in the world, after the French Patrouille de France formed in 1931. The Blue Angels' six demonstration pilots currently fly the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, typically in more than 70 shows at 34 locations throughout the United States each year, where they still employ many of the same practices and techniques used in their aerial displays in their inaugural 1946 season. An estimated 11 million spectators view the squadron during air shows each full year. The Blue Angels also visit more than 50,000 people in a standard show season (March through November) in schools and hospitals.^[2] Since 1946, the Blue Angels have flown for more than 260 million spectators.^[3]
On 1 March 2013 the U.S. Navy announced that due to sequestration actions aerial demonstration team performances including that of the Blue Angels would cease from 1 April 2013.^[4] In October 2013, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, stating that "community and public outreach is a crucial Departmental activity", announced that the Blue Angels (along with the U.S. Air Force's Thunderbirds) would resume appearing at air shows starting in 2014, although the number of flyovers will continue to be severely reduced.^[5]

Notable people

Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft^[26]
Howard Lincoln, former chairman of Nintendo of America, current CEO and chairman of the Seattle Mariners^[27]　
Joel McHale, Mercer Island High School graduate known for hosting The Soup and playing Jeff Winger on the sitcom Community and Jack Gordon on the sitcom The Great Indoors.
Jordan Morris, Seattle Sounders F.C. and United States National Team forward
Bill Russell, Boston Celtics NBA player, 1956–1969, and Hall of Famer^[27]
Frank Shrontz, former CEO and chairman of Boeing^[27]
Quin Snyder, current Utah Jazz NBA head coach

References

"US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 19, 2012.

Glascock, Stuart. "No longer an isle unto themselves". The Los Angeles Times (August 6, 2008). Retrieved December 26, 2014.

External links

Mercer Island Reporter Local newspaper

Categories:

"Mercer Island Topographic Map". Sameer Burle. Retrieved July 21, 2015.

"American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 19, 2012.

"Population Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 18, 2016.

"Mercer Island". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

Update of Statistical Area Definitions and Guidance on Their Uses, Office of Management and Budget, November 20, 2007. Accessed 2008-12-10.

"2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File". American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 23, 2012.

"Demographics".

"AreaConnect Zip Code Finder".

"US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.

"American Island Superlatives".

"Mercer Island, Washington Köppen Climate Classification (Weatherbase)".

"Groundbreaking ceremony scheduled at future site of new elementary school - Mercer Island Reporter". Mercer Island Reporter. Retrieved 2015-11-21.

"Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015". Retrieved July 2, 2016.

United States Census Bureau. "Census of Population and Housing". Retrieved July 31, 2013.

"April 1, 2013 Population of Cities, Towns and Counties Used for Allocation of Selected State Revenues State of Washington" (PDF). April 1, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2013.

"Luther Burbank Park". City of Mercer Island. Retrieved March 9, 2009.

"History". City of Mercer Island. Retrieved March 9, 2009.

"Aubrey Davis Park". City of Mercer Island. Retrieved March 9, 2009.

Morris, Keiko (February 23, 1998). "A Sculpture Garden Grows On Island `Lid'". Seattle Times. Retrieved March 11, 2009.

"Pioneer Park". City of Mercer Island. Retrieved March 10, 2009.

"Deane's Children Park". City of Mercer Island. Retrieved March 11, 2009.

"Sister Cities International". Retrieved August 1, 2012.

"Mercer Island Sister City Association - Welcome".

"City of Mercer Island - Summer Celebration! Homepage". Retrieved August 2, 2012.

Bracetti, Alex. "The Most Baller Mansions of Tech CEOs". Complex. Complex Media Inc. Retrieved December 26, 2014.

Government

At the national level, Mercer Island is located in Washington's 9th congressional district, which is represented by Democrat Adam Smith.

Parks

Luther Burbank Park covers 77 acres (310,000 m²) of land and has 0.75 miles (1.2 km) of waterfront. The park has a public boat dock and fishing pier, a swimming beach, an amphitheater, tennis courts, barbecues and picnic facilities, and an off-leash dog area.^[17] The city assumed maintenance of the park on January 1, 2003 from King County, which had purchased the park land in 1969.^[18]
The Aubrey Davis Park is atop the I-90 tunnel entrances. This park has softball fields, tennis courts, basketball courts, picnic shelters, and the Freeway Sculpture Park. Due to its location atop the I-90 tunnel, the park is also locally referred to as "The Lid." ^[19] ^[20]
Pioneer Park covers 113 acres (0.46 km²) and has equestrian, bicycle, and hiking trails.^[21] Deane's Children Park, also known as "Dragon Park", is a small park with playground equipment.^[22]
Clarke Beach is located at the south end of Mercer Island and is home to the annual polar bear swim on New Year's Day.
Mercer Island also has many smaller parks maintained by the city, some of which have waterfront access.

Sister cities

Mercer Island's sister city, as designated by Sister Cities International, is Thonon-les-Bains, France.^[23]^[24]

Annual events

Mercer Island is focal to annual performances by the Blue Angels during Seattle's summer Seafair celebration.
Summer Celebration is a celebration once a year on the weekend after the 4th of July. The celebration ends with fireworks.^[25]

Gallery

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mercer Island, Washington.

Luther Burbank Park
Keewaydin Clubhouse
Luther Burbank Park docks
Luther Burbank School

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 22,036 people, 8,437 households, and 6,277 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,452.0 inhabitants per square mile (1,333.6/km²). There were 8,806 housing units at an average density of 1,379.5 per square mile (532.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.09% White, 1.14% African American, 0.16% Native American, 11.87% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.52% from other races, and 2.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.86% of the population.
There were 8,437 households out of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.6% were married couples living together, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.6% were non-families. 22.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 21.2% from 25 to 44, 29.9% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $91,904, and the median income for a family was $110,830. Males had a median income of $82,855 versus $46,734 for females. The per capita income for the city was $53,799. About 1.9% of families and 3.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.4% of those under age 18 and 2.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Mercer Island School District comprises seven common schools on the island: four primary schools (Lakeridge Elementary, Island Park Elementary, West Mercer Elementary and Northwood Elementary); one Middle school (Islander Middle School); one High school (Mercer Island High School); one alternative secondary school (Crest Learning Center).^[13]
Mercer Island is also home to the St. Monica School(K-8), the French American School of Puget Sound (P-8), and the Northwest Yeshiva High School (9-12).

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1970	19,047		—
1980	21,522		13.0%
1990	20,816		−3.3%
2000	22,036		5.9%
2010	22,699		3.0%
Est. 2015	25,042	^[14]	10.3%
U.S. Decennial Census^[15] 2015 Estimate^[4]

According to a 2012 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $127,360, and the median income for a family was $154,050. The per capita income for the city was $74,056.^{[citation needed]}
Washington State's Office of Financial Management also publishes per-county, per-city population statistics of its own. Its 2013 estimate was 22,720.^[16]

2010 census

As of the census^[3] of 2010, there were 22,699 people, 9,109 households, and 6,532 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,591.6 inhabitants per square mile (1,386.7/km²). There were 9,930 housing units at an average density of 1,571.2 per square mile (606.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 77.9% White, 1.3% African American, 0.2% Native American, 15.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.7% from other races, and 3.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.8% of the population.
There were 9,109 households of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.3% were married couples living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 28.3% were non-families. 24.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.97.
The median age in the city was 46 years. 24.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 4.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 19% were from 25 to 44; 32% were from 45 to 64; and 19.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.7% male and 51.3% female.