A Nest Of Hornets

Selfridge played host to a nest of hornets this last weekend on the flight line.

 

There were Canadian Hornets in demonstration livery:

 

US Navy Hornets represented by a EA-18 Growler from Electronic Attack Squadron VAQ-131.:

And the rare US Air Force Hornet:

 

Up until this weekend I did not realize the Air Force had the Hornet in inventory. They do.  Yes, the US Air Force operates the Growler as part of the 390th Electronic Combat Squadron.

Unfortunately, both Canadian CF-18 Hornets were down-checked and unable to fly at the show due to maintenance issues.

But we did get to see the Growlers fly as they left Selfridge at noon.

They then formed up and did a loud and fast flyby.

Then they headed back to base.

Given the Super Hornet's popularity due to it's featured role in Top Gun: Maverick, the extra and unscheduled flyby was appreciated by the crowd.  

USS Yorktown - The Flightdeck - Marine Hornet!

The F/A-18 Hornet replaced the venerable F-14 Tomcat in the Navy's fighter line-up, as well as replacing the A-6 Intruder and the A-7 Corsair II as an attack aircraft.

This one is in the livery of VMFA-142, a Marine squadron with a legacy back to the Second World War, participating in the Guadalcanal campaign.  The squadron was inactivated in July 2008.

The F-18 has served with the US Navy, US Marines and a number of foreign countries including Australia, Canada, Finland, Kuwait. Malaysia, Spain, and Switzerland.  The F-18 A-D series has now been replaced in US Navy front-line combat squadrons by the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets and  the F-35.  The Blue Angels have also turned in their F/A-18s for the Super Hornets.

More Blue Angels Pics

The show was so good I wanted to share more of the Blue Angels in action.

Chasing the angels:

Showing some burner action:

Coming in head on in Delta formation:

How close can they get?

That formation then shifted into two tight pairs:

Passing by the POW/MIA flag:

All six Blue Angels passing by:

Blue Angels Over Selfridge

The Blue Angels Came, The Blue Angles Flew, The Blew Angels Rocked It.

Click 'em to embiggen.

From high-speed passes and hi-g turns:

To low and dirty in-close maneuvers:

There was nothing they couldn't do with their F-18 Hornets.

The high speed inverted crossover was a crowd favorite:

As was the formation break:

From This:

To This, in a flash:

The Blue Angles did the US Navy proud at Selfridge and put on an awesome display.