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No rest for the
winged in Hawaii
These Navy pilots are far from
family 300 days every year
Much of Maj. Len Anderson's first visit to the islands has been spent in the air, soaring at up to 400 miles an hour over Kaneohe Bay.
"Unfortunately, we have to spend a lot of our time working," said the Marine, an FA-18 pilot with the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels team since 2001. "I have taken a drive around the island, though."
Anderson, the crew's lead solo pilot, is one of six Blue Angels airmen set to perform this weekend at the 2004 Kaneohe Marine Corps-Navy Air Show. The performance will be their 30th in the United States this year, and organizers are expecting more than 50,000 attendees.
Hawaii has not hosted a Blue Angels show since 1995, when the planes flew over Kalaeloa. The team last performed at Kaneohe Marine Corps Base in 1982.
"Bases worldwide lobby to have them come," said Lt. Mike Blankenship, a Blue Angels spokesman. "We fly in different environments every week."
Anderson said everything is set for this weekend's 45-minute Kaneohe show, which is considered both a recruiting tool and a chance to "show the American taxpayer what their Navy and Marine Corps can do."
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Blankenship did say, though, that two Blue Angels -- one of which was not part of the aerobatic team -- were not included in yesterday's formations because they needed maintenance and new parts. He said the parts were scheduled to be flown in last night, and there should be six Blue Angels in the weekend shows as planned.
Blue Angel pilots met with local media yesterday afternoon after a series of practices for today's show, which is reserved for military members. Shows tomorrow and Sunday are open to the public.
The Blue Angels pilots -- along with their officers and more than 100 mechanics and other support personnel -- have been running through their aerobatic performance since Tuesday, when they flew in to Oahu from California.
This weekend's shows will be among Anderson's last with the Blue Angels. He is set to return to regular duty at the end of October after the team's performance season is complete.
Blankenship said pilots usually stay with the Blue Angels for two to three years before they move on to give others a chance to join.
The long work hours and time away from home are also factors in the heavy turnover rate, he said. Crew members are usually away from their families 300 days of the year, much of which is spent performing or readying for shows.
"You can leave and come back, and a whole soccer season's gone by," said Anderson, who has two young children.
He also said, with a laugh, that he spends more time with his fellow pilots than with his wife, Heather. But at least Anderson is getting to see her this week.
She flew in for the Kaneohe show, and the couple plans to spend a few days in Waikiki next week, he said, before she goes home and he heads to a show in Key West, Fla.
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www.bluesonthebay.org
www.blueangels.navy.mil
