DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
ME 440
Aerospace EngineeringFundamentals
Hot Topic of the Week
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
The Blue Angels
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
What about the Blue Angels?
-- Wesley Far
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
The mission of the Blue Angels “is to enhance Navy and Marine Corps recruiting efforts and to represent the naval service to the United States”.
That is, they are advertising and public relations.
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Two of the Classic Blue Angel Maneuvers
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Four-plane Diamond Formation
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Six-jet Delta Formation
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Some Facts
• Stationed at Forrest Sherman Field, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida
• Fly nearly 68 air shows with more than 17 million spectators, annually.
• Officer corps of 16
• Formed in 1946 by Chester W. Nimitz
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Boeing F/A-18 Hornet
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Prime contractor: Boeing
Principal contractor (airframe): Northrop
Powerplant: Two General Electric F404-GE-400 low-bypass, turbofan engines; each in the 16K-pound thrust class
Radar: Hughes APG-65 with long-range detection in both head-on and tail-on aspects
Length: 56 feet
Height: 15.3 feet
Wingspan: 40.4 feet (with missiles)
Wing area: 400 square feet
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Speed: Mach 1.7+ (1,200 mph)
First flight: November 1978
Crew: One (two in two-seat trainer version)
Combat radius: 500-plus nautical miles
Combat ceiling: 50K feet (approx.)
Fuel: 11K lbs. internal, 16K lbs. w/external tanks
Max takeoff weight: 56K lbs.
Cost: Approximately $18 million
