Training the Best

I got up early this morning to watch the Blue Angels practice. That is one of the perks of being stationed here, NAS Pensacola is their home base and they practice twice a week. This is the lead solo pilot performing the high speed pass. During this pass, he flies past the crowd about 50 feet off the ground at better than 700 miles per hour. He is just short of the speed of sound, which is why you see the clouds above the canopy and below the intakes. As the air moves over the aircraft, the air pressure drops and the air cools to a temperature which causes condensation of water vapor. On more humid days, this cloud will obscure the majority of the rear of the plane.