Courtesy Visit Pensacola Florida
The thunderous roar of fighter jets is nothing unusual in Pensacola, Florida, known as the “Cradle of Aviation.” Founded in 1914, Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola was the first of its kind in the United States, marking the beginning of formal schooling for aviators. It’s the primary training base for not only the Navy, but also for Marine Corps and Coast Guard pilots. And for the past 70 years, it’s been home to the U.S. Navy’s iconic flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels. Every year, nearly 180,000 spectators come to the Blue Angels Homecoming Air Show to marvel over the squadron’s thrilling flight maneuvers. The free, two-day event caps off their performance season, which runs from March through November, and takes the pilots all over the country. Designed to showcase teamwork, discipline, and the raw power and capabilities of the F/A-18 (called the Super Hornet), the shows are comprised of flyovers and stunts such as the Diamond 360, when a four-jet diamond formation flies a 360-degree turn in perfect symmetry, or the Delta formation, when six jets fly together in a configuration sometimes just 18 inches apart. After the show, tour the nearby National Naval Aviation Museum, which offers a deep dive into flight history and displays more than 150 restored aircraft.
This article appears in the Fall 2025 issue of Southbound.
