You know it is August in the Pacific Northwest when the Blue Angels appear in the skies over Seattle.
The Navy’s precision flight team is part of Seafair, the largest summer celebration in the region that combines parades, hydroplane races on Lake Washington, and an airshow. The event is held the first weekend in August and this year marked its 75th anniversary.
The Blue Angels team stages from King County International Airport-Boeing Field (KBFI).
Despite temperatures hovering in the 90s and poor air quality due to forest fires in eastern Washington, fans turned out in droves to watch the famous blue jets. The balcony at the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field was packed with those straining to see the launch and recovery of the Blues.
This year little girls and not-so-little girls were delighted to see the aircraft flown by Lieutenant Commander Amanda Lee, the first woman to perform as a Blue Angel flight demonstration pilot.
According to the Blue Angels information page, Lee joined the team in September 2022. She flies as a slot pilot in the No. 4 four jet using the call sign “Stalin.” Lee’s experience includes more than 1,360 flight hours and over 225 carrier-arrested landings.
According to the Navy Times, Lee is just the second woman on the Blue Angels team since U.S. Marine Corps Captain Kate Higgins Cook joined in 2015, flying the C-130 transport known as “Fat Albert” in 2015.
Other aerial acts taking part in the Seafair celebration (June 29-August 4) included the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team, a Marine F35b, an Air Force F35A, and a PBY-5A Catalina. The demonstration flights take place over Lake Washington located south of Seattle.
