EX-BLUE ANGEL JETS TO CAPE; PAYS VISIT TO 11-YEAR-OLD KELSO PEN PAL

U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Larry Packer landed his F/A-18 Hornet in Cape Girardeau Thursday afternoon much to the surprise of air traffic control officers at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport.

Packer, a former Blue Angels pilot, said the control tower wasn't quite sure he wanted to land his plane here. But he had plans to attend a softball game and visit his friend Jessica Arnzen and her family in Kelso.

Arnzen, 11, and Packer, 35, become pen pals after he flew in a show here. Because her father, Erv Arnzen, is a pilot, she and her family attended a pilot's party during the 1992 Cape Aviation Days. She met Packer there and the two became friends.

"I got autographs and talked with him for a while," Jessica said.

Jessica got his address from a business card and wrote him a letter. He wrote back and eventually the two families became friends.

Packer made his two-day visit to Southeast Missouri as part of a flight training mission. Pilots are required to accumulate 25 hours of flight time each month, he said. "You make the best of it," he said. "It's work up there but on land it's my time."

Since he can choose his flight route, he often tries to visit family and friends. After leaving Southeast Missouri, he heads to Dallas, Texas. The flight will only take him about 30 minutes at 650 mph. Before heading home to California, Packer will make a stop in Phoenix, Ariz.

Although he still flies for the Navy, Packer is now a member of the fleet squadron aboard the USS Constellation, which means he lives on the aircraft carrier.

Packer became a Blue Angel in 1992, and served with the flight team for two years. He has been in the Navy for 13 years. Since joining the Navy, he has accumulated over 3,000 flight hours and made 400 carrier landings, 200 of which were at night.

There is a process to become a Blue Angel, he said. All the pilots are volunteers, and two positions open up every year. The pilots can choose their replacement.

"The experience was fantastic," Packer said. "I'm glad it's behind me because there are other things I want to do in the Navy."

After seeing Packer fly with the Blue Angels, the Arnzens went to Florida on vacation and stopped by the Blue Angel's home base in Pensacola. "We got a tour of the base, and in the summer of '93 we went to Illinois and watched the air show on my birthday," Jessica Arnzen said.

Since then, they have also visited Packer, his wife, and two children in California.

Being friends with a former Blue Angel hasn't persuaded Jessica to join the military either. "I don't think I want to fly an F-18 but I would like to learn how to fly," Jessica said.

Before leaving Southeast Missouri, Packer hopes to fly the Arnzens' Cessna plane. "It should be fun," he said. "I didn't even get my private license until I was with the Blue Angels."