Ever since the Wright Brothers first awed crowds with their flying machine and ushered in the airplane age in 1903, men, women and children have been stretching their necks and shielding their eyes from the sun at air shows throughout the world.

Several years ago my retired military husband and I traveled throughout the Southwest, stopping at RV parks on military bases whenever they were conveniently located and had space available. That year we saw practice sessions for the Navy Blue Angels and the Army Golden Knights Parachute Teams, and toured the Air Force Thunderbirds' museum.

Because we winter in Mexico we have stayed at the El Centro Naval Air Facility RV park several times over the years since that first round of practices. At seven in the morning we wake to the sound of jets overhead, circling, practicing their touch-and-go exercises and heading out for team sport. Although the Blue Angels are stationed in Pensacola, Florida, they practice their routines from early January until they open their air show season at El Centro.

Navy Blue Angels

The 2008 Blue Angels season opened March 8 at El Centro and ends nearly 40 appearances later at their Naval Air Station Pensacola show November 15. Once again, they make an appearance in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. In The Blue Angels have performed for more than 427 million spectators since their inception in 1946.

At the end of World War II, the Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, ordered the establishment of a flight demonstration team to showcase naval aviation. The Blue Angels debuted June 15, 1946 at Craig Field in Jacksonville, Florida, introducing their trademark Diamond Formation with the Grumman F-6F Hellcats.

The first flight leader, Lieutenant Commander Roy 'Butch' Voris named the Blue Angels after reading about New York City's famous nightclub in the The New Yorker magazine.
The Blue Angels' mission is to 'enhance Navy and Marine Corps recruiting efforts and to represent the naval service to the United States, its elected leadership and foreign nations.' Their flight demonstrations are choreographed refinements of skills possessed by all naval aviators.

Each season more than 15 million spectators are awed by the four-plane Diamond Formation, in concert with fast paced, high performance maneuvers of its two Solo Pilots, in addition to the renowned, six-jet Delta Formation.

Air Force Thunderbirds

The United States Air Force (USAF) Thunderbirds opened their air show season March 15 at San Angelo, Texas, and finish November 8-9 for their homecoming at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.

In 1947 the Army Air Corps gave way to the creation of the U.S. Air Force as a separate service. Six years later their official air demonstration team, designated the 3600th Air Demonstration Unit was activated at Luke AFB, Arizona on May 25, 1953.

The first training squadron commander at Luke was Maj. Dick Catledge. His left and right wings, respectively, were twins Bill and Buck Patillo. The brothers, both captains, had performed with the Sky Blazers, a USAF/Europe demonstration team for three years. Other pilots were selected from the Saber Dancers, a predecessor to the Thunderbirds.

The unit's adopted name 'Thunderbirds' was influenced by the strong Indian culture and folklore of the southwestern United States where Luke AFB is located in Arizona.

According to the www.nellis.af.mil/thunderbirds the history of their naming comes from an 'Indian legend that speaks of the Thunderbird with great fear and respect. To some it was a giant eagle'others envisioned a hawk. When it took to the skies, the earth trembled from the thunder of its great wings. From its eyes shot bolts of lightening.
Nothing in nature could challenge the bird of thunder, the story said, and no man could stand against its might. The story of the Thunderbird was repeated voice-by-voice, across the generations, until at last it assumed the immortality of legend.'

For the 200th birthday of our nation in 1976, the Thunderbirds were designated as the official United States Bicentennial Organization. For that year the numbers on the planes' tails were replaced by the Bicentennial symbol. The Thunderbirds are distinguishable from the Blue Angels by their white bodies accented with the black and red Southwestern Indian design related to the legendary bird.

U.S. Army Golden Knight Parachute Team

Perhaps a lesser known, but no less spectacular, member of the U.S. military's trio of air show performers, may be the Army's Golden Knight Parachute Teams. Annually, the team performs more than 27,000 jumps before an estimated 12 million people.

In 1959, the Strategic Army Corps Sport Parachute Team formed to compete in the Communist dominated sport of skydiving. They performed so well that on June 1, 1961 the Army officially recognized and activated the team. A year later the team adopted the nickname Golden Knights.

According to information on their web site 'golden' refers to their reputation for bringing home medals from skydiving competition, and 'knights' refers to the fact that they have 'conquered the skies' and are champions of principle and conquest. Their mission includes excellence in their air show performances to the purpose of promoting the Army; success in national and international competition; and the opportunity to test and evaluate equipment and techniques.

Having won more than 400 national championships and over 60 world championships, they say that 'when the Golden Knights show up to a competition, everyone else is battling for second place.'

Home for the Golden Knights is the 'Home of the Airborne,' Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where 90 soldiers are trained in one of the Army's military occupational specialties and serve with the team for three years. The black and gold parachutes and uniforms identify the Golden Knights as they seem to float out of their gold and black plane.

The black and gold teams perform two different shows, the Full Show and the Mass Exit. Both shows begin with one jumper exiting the aircraft at 12,500 feet and tying in the American Flag. The first jumper becomes the narrator on the ground for the remainder of the show, that consists of a baton pass in air, a demonstration of how to deal with a parachute malfunction, tandem jumps, formations in the air, and colored smoke coming out of their shoes.

Sgt. Maj. Michael R. Deveault is quoted on a web site as saying, 'The Team demonstrates skill, esprit de corps, team cohesion and discipline. We also represent the Army Values and are role models to all.'

Are you in the mood for an air show? Do you want to show your support and appreciation for the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force this summer? Do you want to see the best of the best performances in the air? Then go to www.airshow.com to pull up air show schedules for Blue Angels, Thunderbirds, or Golden Knights, and get out the sunglasses and binoculars.