That day while practicing flying at Honolulu airport, the flight school owner told me there is an air show this weekend, The location is Hickam AFB on the west side of the airport, which is the headquarters of the Pacific Air Forces. For these two days, the base is fully open to the public, and everyone can enter and visit, And there will be flight performances by the F22 Raptor and the “Blue Angels” flight demonstration team.

This is a great opportunity not to be missed. Although my interest lies in civil aviation and flight operations, The world’s most famous fighter jet flight demonstration team is still a must-see. I happened to bring my Nikon DSLR and 80-400 telephoto lens on the trip, what a coincidence.

The flight school owner also told me it’s best to take the bus to the base, as renting a car or taking a Taxi would result in very bad traffic, And from Waikiki, you just need to take Bus number 19 to go directly to Hickam.

On the day, due to unfamiliarity with the local transportation system, I arrived at the base a bit late, the F22 performance had already begun, On the bus, I saw the Raptor performing a Pugachev’s Cobra through the window!! The F22 moved slowly vertically in the air, truly ghost-like!! After getting off the Bus at the stop, I immediately pulled out my camera, but the show was nearing its end, and I only got one satisfactory photo.

The “Blue Angels” performance was in the afternoon. To the backdrop of the TopGun theme music, the 6 pilots looked absolutely dashing:

Even the boarding movements were so uniform and precise, truly well-trained.

Engine startup, removing wheel chocks, not just the pilots, the ground crew’s performance was not lacking in the slightest, After all, they are also part of the show, and overall it was very cool.

Jet number 1 on the Taxiway, the team leader Tom gave us spectators a front view.

The show began, a 4-jet diamond formation with numbers 1 through 4, The proximity between the individual aircraft was staggering, While maintaining close formation, they were performing maneuvers like rolls, climbs, and turns, It was truly spectacular.

The performance by the two solo jets, numbers 5 and 6, was even more exciting, passing low and slow at low altitude, one up and one down, Occasionally crossing paths at high speed towards each other, So thrilling that one couldn’t help but worry for the pilots.

This is a low-speed, low-altitude maneuver by two aircraft, how much is the AOA? It hasn’t Stalled yet

The formations above are all genuine skill. Of course, the Blue Angels also do the smoke trails common in general air shows, There are too many photos, I can’t introduce them all, so I’ll just post a few that are relatively clear here.

After the performance, there was an autograph session. I got the team leader’s autograph, And even took a photo with him.

Finally, some thoughts. The fighters are too fast, and many photos came out blurry. It seems I’m used to slower passenger jets, How to photograph high-speed aircraft is a new challenge.

Some online resources about the Blue Angels Official Website Inside the Navy “Blue Angels” Flight Demonstration Team