The Blue Angels, viewed by many as the peak highlight of the yearly Fleet Week festivities, came out Sunday and put on their usual show.
After a cancellation Saturday due to low fog, the Blue Angels were back out for their part of the Air Show Sunday.
Sunday's performance, the last until next year's Fleet Week, was characterized by the squadron's trademark loops, rolls, and high-speed dives, and even included a Boeing 777 airliner in the mix. Other unexpected additions, such as an F-35 and a U-2 spy plane, also made appearances.
All throughout San Francisco, residents got a chance to see the pilots work their magic, which have generally garnered an overwhelmingly positive reception.
"It's kind of wild. You really don't appreciate planes until you get to see them in person like this. It's really exciting and nice, and the weather came out, so we're having a blast," said one spectator to NBC Bay Area
There was some uncertainty whether they would come out today, after the cancellation of Saturday's flights, which was said to be primarily caused by the presence of heavy fog in the area yesterday. Conditions, however, managed to be clearer today.
Not everyone was entirely enthused, however. Many users on social media voiced their displeasure with the noise, and others said they were uncomfortable with some of the connotations associated with fighter jets.
"I'm sure I'm not the only one who watches these powerful machines with equal parts awe & terror," one X user tweeted. "I think of war and bombs, but also the amount of fossil fuels that are burned for a 30-minute show."
The air-show originally began during the inaugural Fleet Week celebration in 1981, at the behest of then-Mayor of San Francisco and future congresswoman, Dianne Feinstein, in an attempt to bring shipping jobs back to the area. Though the broader, underlying aims behind her bringing the pilots to San Francisco ultimately failed, the performances have lived on.
“We will show the Navy that San Francisco is truly the greatest Navy city in the USA,” Feinstein once told a U.S Navy Admiral. “Give us one year, and if there is a city more hospitable, I’ll eat your hat.
The Blue Angels, for their part, have paid their appreciation at many points to Feinstein for her hospitality. At her funeral, they flew over the proceedings several times in tribute, and listed her as their honorary co-chair up until her death last year.
“With the creation of San Francisco Fleet Week, Senator Feinstein created a lasting community celebration that honors the fine people serving in our military,” Lewis Loeven, executive director of the San Francisco Fleet Week Association, said in a statement reacting to her death. “Her enthusiastic participation in Fleet Week events will truly be missed.”
