Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Blue Angels are back in town
Navy squadron to perform first show in Fort Lauderdale since 2006.
As the navy blue jet with goldtipped wings descended to Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport on Monday, a crowd of elected officials and fans pushed their faces against a chain-link fence to watch the F/A-18 Hornet glide along the tarmac.
The U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels were back — making plans for their appearance in the Fort Lauderdale Air Show. The free, patriotic extravaganza happens 500 feet above the beach on May 4 and 5.
The Blue Angels last raced across Fort Lauderdale’s skies in 2006.
Inside the jet were Lt. Cary Rickoff and Lt. Commander Adam Kerrick, two U.S. Navy fighter pilots who flew in from their base, Forrest Sherman Field Naval Air Station in Pensacola.
Rickoff, of Atlanta, and Kerrick, of Philadelphia, said they are both war veterans who have been deployed overseas.
They’ll be back in May to fly in the show, when six Blue Angels jets will fly in aerobatic maneuvers that at times leave just 18 inches between their wings.
“We don’t do much different,” Rickoff said about what fans can expect from their part of the show. “We keep the same standard demonstration, year after year, and we feel that’s what makes us the best. You’ll see teamwork in action.”
Kerrick said the Delta Breakout, a fan maneuver where the
jets soar together and then spread out to fly over the crowd, is one of their most popular stunts.
“We’re excited to be here,” Rick off said.
Taking turns posing with the airmen were the Florida Panthers’ mascot and cheerleaders; incoming Fort Lauderdale City Manager Chris Lagerbloom; City Commissioner Heather Moraitis; and Broward County Mayor Mark Bogen.
“It’s a great show,” said Bogen, who used to fly private planes. “I’m a big aviation buff. And it’s great for the county.”
Lagerbloom said the city will be prepared if the Blue Angels draw larger crowds.
“That’s why we start preplanning as early as we do,” Lagerbloom said. “This is the first of many meetings we’ll have for the air show.”
He said moving the event onto the sand from A1A several years ago helped with managing the crowd and keeping traffic moving along the barrier island.
“I hope it’s a huge show,” Lagerbloom said. “I hope we have thousands back. [The Blue Angels] are fast and loud and fun to watch.”
Moraitis said if a ride inside a fighter jet was offered, she wouldn’t take it.
“I’m not a risk-taker,” Moraitis said. “But I love watching them.”
Bryan Lilley, president of the air show, said it took several years of talks with the Blue Angels to get them to return to Fort Lauderdale.
“It took really getting the show back and showing a consistency, that it was here to stay,” said Lilley, whose company B. Lilley Productions of Melbourne, Fla., has produced the show since 2012.
“I’m very excited to be able to get the Blues,” Lilley said.
He called them “the Alist act, it has the name recognition, it has the following. It’s very important to have a headliner at the event.”
The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, who have previously performed in Fort Lauderdale, have committed to fly in the show again in 2020, Lilley said.
The Blue Angels will fly each afternoon of the weekend of the show from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. And for fans who can’t get enough of the precision team, they’re scheduled to perform at an air show in Key West on March 30-31.