Tag: Naval Air Station Oceana
As the near end of the runway disappeared below the pointy nose of his Rhino, Slammer snapped to the left, one wing pointed straight at the earth, the other up to the heavens. Then he pulled back on the stick, quick yet smooth, grunting as speed and back-stick squatted the jet into a tight, seven-and-a-half G...
“The Hornet is known as many things,” said Cmdr. Mathis. “Legacy, highly reliable, multi-role attack fighter… but to us, she will always be an old friend,” Cmdr William Mathis, CO of VFA-34 Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 34 hosted a sundown ceremony and fly-over for the F/A-18C Legacy Hornet aircraft at Naval Air...
Rosemary Mariner had personally mentored some of the women involved in the flyover On Feb. 2, 2019 the U.S. Navy will bid farewell to its first female fighter pilot with its first all-female flyover. Retired Capt. Rosemary Mariner, who served in the Navy from 1973 to 1997,...
VFA-34 ‘Blueblasters’ is the last combat unit within the service to operate the Legacy Hornet The U.S. Navy is planning to fly an operational F/A-18C for the last time on Feb. 1 at Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana. Strike Fighter Squadron 34 (VFA-34) ‘Blueblasters’ is the last combat...
“Having a simulator that allows us to tie the full flight deck team with all the key decision-makers, supervisors, catapult crew and watch stations together—and train in a virtual environment—is just fantastic,” Cmdr. Mehdi Akacem, USS Gerald R. Ford Air Boss One of the most dangerous environments in the U.S. Navy is the...
The clip documents a year of footage compiled from squadrons stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana The super cool footage in this post is a montage from the East Coast VFA squadrons of Strike Fighter Wing Atlantic. This video was first released at the annual Strike Fighter Ball 2018. It documents a year of footage compiled from squadrons stationed at Naval...
No single aircraft was more exciting, more sought after on the show circuit than the F-14 Tomcat The following article titled U.S. Navy Tomcat Flight Demonstration Team: Showcasing the F-14 and written by Lt. Bill Lind appeared in May-June 1999 issue of Naval Aviation News. If you're involved in Naval Aviation, or just have a love of flying and aircraft, chances are you've spent...
"It was a significant testament to the construction of the F/A-18—that we were able to fly both aircraft after the damage they sustained. The squadron and Navy completed the investigations and we were returned to flight status in about two months," LCDR Greg "Stubby" Stubbs, former VFC-12 adversary pilot LCDR Greg "Stubby" Stubbs describes the mid-air collision that took place...
"I knew about VF-84 Jolly Rogers from the movies and building models as a kid. It's a great public relations and recruiting tool. Somebody should always 'fly the bones'!," Lt. Paul Ratkovich, former VF-84 Jolly Rogers F-14 pilot The following article titled The Last of the Jolly Rogers and written by LCdr. Bob Frantz appeared in September-October 1995 issue of...
This was VFA-34's final deployment flying the F/A-18C Legacy Hornet. They'll be the last U.S. Navy squadron to transition to the F/A-18E Super Hornet U.S. Navy Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 34 'Blueblasters' returned to Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana on Apr. 11, 2018 after a historic record-setting deployment. The unit in January to join their air wing, Carrier Air Wing (CVW)...
