The Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola 2024 Blue Angels Homecoming Airshow – featuring the U.S. Navy’s Flight Demonstration Squadron (NFDS) The Blue Angels and the U.S. Air Force (USAF) Air Demonstration Squadron The Thunderbirds – is two weeks away!!!
The NAS Pensacola Blue Angels Homecoming Airshow – Nov. 1 and 2 this year – has been a mainstay in the area, one of the largest annual events in Florida’s Panhandle and drawing more than 250,000 spectators over two days. The Blue Angels’ annual schedule culminates with the NAS Pensacola Homecoming Airshow, the last of the season for the squadron.
Themed Celebrating One Small Step, the 2024 NAS Pensacola Blue Angels Homecoming Airshow will celebrate the 55th anniversary of one of the most significant events in aviation history, the July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 mission’s lunar landing.
“We’re excited to welcome the Blue Angels home with what’s going to be one of the greatest airshows the base has held,” said NAS Pensacola Air Operations Officer and Airshow Director Lt. Cmdr. David Padgett. “The performers and static displays are top-notch, and we have several surprises in store centered around the 55th anniversary of Apollo 11’s historic lunar landing. This will be a remarkable experience for the thousands of visitors to our great air station as we Celebrate One Small Step.”
In addition to the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, premiere aviation and aerobatic acts will be part of this year’s attractions. Scheduled performers include:
- The U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning Demo Team
- The USSOCOM Para-Commandos
- The U.S. Navy F-35C Demo Team
- Adam Baker Airshows
- RAD Areosports
- Matheny Airshows, LLC
- Redline Air Shows
- Ghostwriter Air Shows
- Rusty 'Crash' Miller, Lt. Col USAF (Ret.)
- Skip Stewart Airshows
- Rob Holland Aerosports
- The Hot Streak Jet Truck
The Apollo 11 mission, during which former Navy pilot Lt.j.g. Neil Armstrong became the first individual to set foot on Earth’s moon, became synonymous with Armstrong’s first words on the moon’s surface; ‘That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.’ In a tribute to those famous words, the NAS Pensacola 2024 Blue Angels Homecoming Airshow will be Celebrating One Small Step, a tribute to the intrepid spirit of the men and women who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces as well as NASA’s commitment to making air and space available to everyone, for the benefit of all. Additionally, the NAS Pensacola logo was redesigned for the Airshow, featuring J. Gosling – the installation mascot – breaching the atmosphere with stars and the moon visible in the background.
Static displays at the 2024 Blue Angels Homecoming Airshow are scheduled to include:
- O1 Bird Dog
- P-8 Poseidon
- Short Tucano
- L-5 Sentinel
- T-34A Mentor
- MH60S Seahawk
- MH-53
- AH-1Z; UH-1Y
- USN T-6; USN T-44; USN T-45
- USAF T-1; USAF T-6
- TH-57; TH-73
- EA-18 Growler
- T-34C Turbomentor
- F-4 - F-14 - F-35
- A-160
-F/A-18C
- TT-1 Pinto
- A-4D Skyhawk
- C-12 Huron
- MIG-29
NAS Pensacola, referred to as the "Cradle of Naval Aviation," is designed to support operational and training missions of tenant commands, including the Naval Aviation Technical Training Center (NATTC); Naval Aviation Schools Command (NASC); the Center for Information Warfare Training (CIWT); Marine Aviation Training Support Groups (MATSG) 21 and 23 and serves as the headquarters for Naval Education and Training Command (NETC). Individuals are encouraged to monitor the official 2024 NAS Pensacola Blue Angels Homecoming Airshow website as well as the NAS Pensacola Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin social media pages as it becomes available. These are the only official sources of information for the 2024 NAS Pensacola Blue Angels Homecoming Airshow.