I have never seen the Thunderbirds perform. However, it was many, many years ago that I witnessed a precision aerial performance by the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels flying the Douglas A-4F Skyhawk II, and that was at the former El Toro Marine Air Base in Santa Ana, California.
If we are talking about precision flying, these jets were zooming by at 16 inches apart, wing tip to wing tip, at low altitude and incredible speed, and at an instantaneous, abrupt maneuvers right before your eyes! It was deafening and indeed, breath-taking, impressive, stunning, and what an awesome sight!
And now, if I’m not mistaken, the Blue Angels are flying Boeing’s twin turbo-jet equipped F/A-18 Hornet (formerly McDonnell Douglas).
I’m almost certain that the Air Force’s Team of Thunderbirds, basically, performs similar maneuvers as the Navy’s Blue Angels, and I stand corrected if I’m wrong.
As a goodwill gesture, honor and respect for the CNMI’s military men and women who so bravely fought and lost their lives in the war on Iraq so that every American citizen could go on living and maintain their freedom, I would think that the people of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands will be excited and pleased to have the Thunderbirds over on Saipan, one of these days, in the not so distant future. After all, the theme for Guam’s Air Show is “Air Power over the Marianas.” We’re altogether on this one.
ENRIQUE DELA CRUZ
Capital Hill, Saipan
