U.S. Navy Blue Angels Prepare for First Public Appearance of 2016

The Blue Angels fuel the jets and prepare to travel to San Francisco. Photo by LCDR Joe Schwartz. 

Saturday, the United States Navy flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels, traveled to San Francisco, California in preparation of their first public appearance of 2016. ​

​Sunday, the Blue Angels are set to open up Super Bowl 50 by flying over Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The big game will play host to the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers. Kickoff is set for 6:25 PM eastern standard time, with the Blue Angels making an appearance minutes before. 

The Blue Angel Delta en route to San Francisco from NAF El Centro. Photo by LCDR Joe Schwartz. 

Leading the team, Commander Ryan Bernacchi returns home to the San Francisco Bay Area and will make his first ever public appearance as the Commanding Officer and Flight Leader of the Blue Angels. The rest of the signature Blue Angels Delta consists of Lt. Matt Suyderhoud, Lt. Lance Benson, Lt. Andy Talbott, Lt. Ryan Chamberlain, and Captain Jeff Kuss. ​

The Blue Angel Delta en route to San Francisco from NAF El Centro. Photo by LCDR Joe Schwartz. 

Sunday's Super Bowl flyover marks the halfway point of the team's 2016 Winter Training. For the past five weeks, the Blue Angels have flown two to three times a day, six days a week above El Centro, Calfornia, with a majority of their flights above Shadetree Range and the Imperial Valley. For the next five weeks, the team will continue to fly the same schedule, but will transition to practices above Naval Air Facility El Centro in which they'll begin assembling their 2016 demonstration. The team is set to open their season up March 12 at the 2016 El Centro Air Show. ​

For more on the team and their 2016 schedule, visit ​https://www.blueangels.navy.mil.

The Blue Angel Delta casts shadows on the California floor en route to San Francisco. Photo by LCDR Joe Schwartz.