139th News

Blue Angels to headline 2018 air show

  • Published
  • By Public Affairs Office
  • 139th Airlift Wing
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. --  The U.S. Navy Blue Angels demonstration team announced last week they will be part of the Sound of Speed Air Show and Open House Aug. 25 and 26, 2018.

The announcement was made during the annual International Council of Air Shows convention in Las Vegas where the Blue Angels released their 2017 and 2018 schedule.

“The air show planning team has been working diligently these last few months and are very excited to support the Navy’s premiere demo team for the community’s 2018 Sound of Speed Air Show and Open House,” said Abe Forney, the airport manager at Rosecrans Memorial Airport.

Air show officials began planning the 2018 show as soon as this year’s air show ended. Capt. Mark Gaines, who acted as the deputy director for this year’s air show says the military jet demonstration teams are on a two year planning cycle and requests must be made two years in advance.

“It’s an opportunity to showcase aviation in the military,” said Gaines. “But it’s also a chance for us to open the base and let folks see what we do.”

The Blue Angels have performed in Missouri the past few years with an air show in St. Louis in 2016 and Kansas City in 2015. Their most recent appearance in St. Joseph was 2010.

The Missouri Air National Guard’s 139th Airlift Wing is comprised of approximately 1,100 citizen-Airmen from local communities throughout the region. The unit operates the C-130H Hercules cargo aircraft and has a dual mission to the state of Missouri and the federal government. Rosecrans Air National Guard Base is located at Rosecrans Memorial Airport, St. Joseph, Mo.