BLUE ANGELS COMPLEMENT LONG AVIATION ACHIEVEMENTS OF AREA

Last weekend will be remembered as when Cape Girardeau hosted the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and a group of balloonists from throughout the country in Aviation Days '92, during the observance of our bicentennial year, 1992-93.

Joining in the entertainment was the Cape Girardeau Parachute Club, whose members made jumps that thrilled the spectators. The stunt flying of Jo and Todd Peterson in the Peterson-Krier Airshow, the demonstration of the A-10 Wart Hog and the races staged by the balloonists, competing for $2,000 in prizes in the "Hare and Hound" event, were also crowd pleasers.

It was an enjoyable event that will be remembered for many years by the large crowd of area residents who witnessed the shows.

Cape Girardeau has staged some outstanding celebrations over the years but Aviation Days '92 will be included in the city's portfolio as a super event that was made possible by city business firms, organizations and private individuals.

The Blue Angels are Uncle Sam's exceptional flyers who will perform 32 shows this year at home and abroad. They are not a recruiter group, but an advertisement of what the Navy has to offer young people as an interesting and worthwhile career.

When the Blue Angels arrived on Thursday, a sizable group of spectators were on hand at the Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport. They were treated to some "thank-you for greeting us" formation flying as a preview of what was in store for the public for Saturday and Mother's Day.

The air show was held close to the anniversary of the explosion of the Hindenburg dirigible, which exploded at Lakehurst, N.J., on May 6, 1937. Aviation has made many changes since the 1930s.

The Blue Angels came into being after World War II when Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, chief of naval operations, ordered the formation of a flight demonstration team in an effort to keep the public interested in naval aviation. The Blue Angels were so named because they fly so fast and come out of the blue sky high above the Earth in seemingly faster than sound speed. Their first air show was in 1946. Two months later, they were issued the Grumman F8F "Bearcat" and introduced the diamond pattern, which has become a Blue Angel tradition. Three years later, in 1949, the team was issued its first jet, the Grumman F9F-2 "Panther."

In 1950, the team was disbanded and assigned to the carrier Princeton as the nucleus of Fighter Squadron 191, nicknamed "Satan's Kittens."

Another change occurred in 1951 when the Blue Angels were reorganized and stationed at Corpus Christi, Texas, and given a faster version of the Panther, the F9F-5.

That aircraft soon was replaced by the swept-wing Grumman F9F-8 "Cougar" in 1954, and by the supersonic F11F-1 "Tiger" in 1957. The next aircraft used by the Blue Angels was the F-4J "Phantom II" in 1969, followed by the A4F "Skyhawk II" in 1974, and then the current McDonald Douglas F/A 18 Hornet strike fighter in 1986.

The eight Blue Angels who performed at Aviation Days '92 were Cmdr. Greg Wooldridge, USN, commanding officer, flight leader; Lt. Larry Packer, USN, right wing; Lt. Doug Thompson, USN, left wing; Lt. Pat Rainey, USN, slot pilot; Lt. John Foley, USN, lead solo; Capt. Ken Switzer, USNC, opposing solo; Lt. Dave Stewart, USN, narrator; and Lt. Cmdr. Randy Duhrkopf, USN events coordinator.

Miniature blue Hornet planes attached to the space over their left pocket on their T-shirts signify their positions.

The Blue Angels are based in Pensacola, Fla.

It was only 10 years before Louis Lorimier established Cape Girardeau that the first successful balloon flight was made in 1783. The first successful airplane flight took place at Kitty Hawk, N.C., in 1903 when Orville and Wilbur Wright were able to keep their heavier-than-air plane up for a short distance. The Wright Brothers home in Dayton, Ohio, is now maintained by the National Cash Register Co. and used as a guest house. When guests leave, they are given a copy of the Wright Brothers' autobiography, telling about the development of their first successful plane and the first flight.

Older residents of Southeast Missouri will recall how the public was thrilled by the open-cockpit biplanes, following World War I.

The sound of an approaching plane drew residents outside to see it fly. They would look up and often scream with amazement, "Look it flies like a bird." It was this first simple plane that helped the Allies win World War I, and it came into being only a few years after the Wright Brothers' first flight.

The planes exhibited at the recent Cape Girardeau air show are a testimony to the unbelievable creations that have occurred in aviation in 89 years.