Former Blue Angels Hornet arrived yesterday for permanent display at Yankee Air Museum starting January 16, 2021

The vast majority of those who watched the US Navy Blue Angels perform locally at the 2017 Thunder Over Michigan air show might only have imagined what it would be like to pilot lead F/A-18C Hornet number 4. [1-4]

It was also part of the Metro Detroit flyover on May 12, 2020 “in solidarity with frontline workers amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.” [5-8]

Over the course of thirty-four years, that airframe had served the demonstration team until going out for final flight on November 4, 2020. Beginning this season, they will be replaced by converted E and F Super Hornet models originally procured for military duty in the early 2000s. [9]

Approximately thirty appearances have been set on their annual schedule, but the Blue Angels won’t return to flight for Thunder Over Michigan until summer of 2022. [10]

In the meantime, visitors to our own Yankee Air Museum will be able to see legacy Hornet F/A-18C number 4 starting this Saturday January 16 when it goes on permanent display. The Belleville-based organization secured the last of the complement or retiring jets. [11]

Their decommissioning was completed in Pensacola Florida and included removal of General Electric F404 turbofan engines, military equipment, and other material not typically appropriate for static public display. The incoming artifact and its detached wing sections destined for Willow Run were then loaded onto a double-drop removable gooseneck trailer for its 967-mile road trip. [12-14]

Worldwide Aircraft Recovery began transport on Monday January 11. Team and cargo arrived shortly before 1:30pm yesterday in two vehicles with trailers, greeted by a small gathering of museum personnel and select news media. At 3:47pm, the Hornet was faced nose toward museum bay doors, wheels chocked on the tarmac outside. [15-17]

Start to finish, turnkey delivery process was an impressive undertaking very much worthy of the treasured piece of history that was being handled. Early evidence that this was different would have been noted with a member of the Worldwide crew attaching an American flag on staff to the crain arm upon which so much of the next 135 minutes would rely.

At some points the action was meticulous, as when flaps were carefully rigged, tie-downs released in particular sequence. Other moments, baroque — perhaps no more so than when the main trailer separated, RGN pulled away by attached tractor, giving the first full feeling that the Blue Angels F/A-18C was free to enter its new home.

Follow “Photojournalism” index below the masthead above or see Saline Journal Photostream on Flickr for our series of exclusive photographs that followed the process in real-time. [18]

Yankee Air Museum President and CEO Kevin Walsh repeatedly emphasized that final reassembly, cleaning, and any other necessary preparations will be completed before week-end. With that, this Blue Angels F/A-18C Hornet will make its debut as the latest display when the facility next opens for regular hours this Saturday, and thereafter.

Current, Yankee Air Museum is open to visitors on weekends only: Saturdays, from 10:00am to 4:00pm, and Sundays, from 11:00am to 4:00pm.

References

1. United States Navy Blue Angels (home page).
2. Thunder Over Michigan Air Show (home page).
3. “Blue Angels at Thunder of Michigan 2017 willow run Air Port” Antler Assassins TV- Bowhunting Television (September 2, 2017) YouTube.
4. “Boeing (McDonnell Douglas) F/A-18 Hornet” (July 29, 2020) Military Factory.
5. “Video: Blue Angels fly over Metro Detroit amid coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic” Derick Hutchinson (May 12, 2020) Click on Detroit.
6. Coronavirus (COVID-19) (home page).
7. “Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)” CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
8. “Novel Coronavirus Reports” CDC.
9. “The Blue Angels Are Taking Their Hornet Out for One Last Flight” Kyle Mizokami (November 4, 2020) Popular Mechanics.
10. “Show Dates & Information” United States Navy Blue Angels.
11. Yankee Air Museum (home page).
12. “Data Sheet: F404 turbofan engines” General Electric Aviation.
13. “History of Willow Run Bomber Plant” (October 21, 2013) C-SPAN.
14. “Double Drop RGN or Removable Gooseneck Trailer” Heavy Haul Trucking.
15. Worldwide Aircraft Recovery Ltd (home page).
16. Worldwide aircraft recovery (Facebook Page).
17. “Yankee Air Museum adds another US Navy Blue Angel to the collection” Junfu Han (January 13, 2021) Detroit Free Press.
18. “Photostream” Dell Deaton (January 14, 2021) Flickr.