This year’s Augusta Air Show was set apart by a visit from the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, a flight demonstration squadron that hasn’t flown the Augusta skies for show since 2002.
The Blue Angels portion of the air show kicked off on both Saturday and Sunday with a C-130J Super Hercules, a large craft which according to Lieutenant Ben Bushong, Blue Angels Public Affair Officer, is aptly nicknamed “Fat Albert.”
“You get to see a C-130 do things that no other C-130 in the world does, which is really special,” said Lt. Comm. Connor O’ Donnell, a solo flyer, about Fat Albert.
This was followed by a demonstration featuring six F/A-18E Super Hornets, totalling in an around 45 minute showcase of precision flying and speed capabilities.
MORE: Columbia County sheriff gives update on shooting that killed deputy, injured another
The Blue Angels were preceded by demonstrations by the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation which began around noon.
Remembering Rob Holland
A shoutout was made to Rob Holland, a famed aerobatic pilot who died last week on Thursday, April 24 in a plane crash at the Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Va.
Aerobatic pilot Michael Goulian, who performed at the Augusta Air Show, talked about flying in his honor in an Instagram post made on Saturday.
‘Some of the most difficult flying I’ve ever done’
These flight demonstrations are no easy task, said Adam Bryan, U.S. Navy Flight Leader with the Blue Angels’ Demonstration Squadron.
“It is some of the most difficult flying I’ve ever done,” he said, noting that he’s had to land planes on ships at nighttime and during bad weather, as well as engaging in combat flights. “Everyone that comes here, it is the most challenging job they’ve ever had.”
A chance to take flight
The event was packed with on-ground attractions for visitors, with vehicles and aircrafts parked for viewing. Other attractions took visitors to new heights.
For Jill Wright and Chris Prouty, the draw to come to the air show was not limited to the Blue Angels’ appearance; the pair visited the Augusta show last year, and were delighted to learn that they could take a ride in a “Huey” Vietnam War Helicopter.
“I said, ‘wow, they’re actually taking civilians up in these things!’” Wright said, reflecting on her time at the show in 2024. “I flew in the Huey last year and I fell in love with it instantly. That’s why we came back.”
Wright said the first thing they did on arrival to the event on Saturday was catch another flight.
Prouty, who served himself in the military for over 30 years, said he has “lots of respect,” for the demonstration pilots.
