Before the show, airport buzzes, blusters; STGnews Photo Gallery

Royal Canadian Air Force, Golden Hawks, plane arrives for the Thunder Over Utah to be held July 26-27, 2014, at St. George Municipal Airport, St. George, Utah, July 25, 2014 | Photo by John Teas, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – Friday was arrival day for many of the airplanes that will be on exhibit at the St. George Municipal Airport with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels Thunder Over Utah airshow. The morning weather Friday was perfect for flying but that changed by mid-afternoon.

Old and new: A North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber. This one takes off over the Boeing F-18A Blue Angels.  Practice flights for Thunder Over Utah to be held July 26-27, 2014, at St. George Municipal Airport, St. George, Utah, July 25, 2014 | Photo by John Teas, St. George News
Old and new: A North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber. This one takes off over the Boeing F-18A Blue Angels. July 25, 2014 | Photo by John Teas, St. George News

At 2:15 p.m. Friday, storm clouds that had been building up opened up and briefly rained on spectators and crews. Strong winds blew over awnings and displays. Vendors scrambled to keep their displays in place.

Promptly at 3 p.m., five of the Blue Angels prepared for their last practice before they headline the Thunder over Utah air show. But lightning and more severe weather north and west of the airport forced the Blue Angels to scrub the practice.

Thursday had also proved to be a challenging day for both pilots and crews. Mechanical issues required three Blue Angels to take emergency measures and repairs. Unofficial sources said that one of the planes had engine trouble and had to fly to Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nevada, for repairs using only one engine while another had minor hydraulic issues. A third plane had braking problems and had to use the BAK-12 Mobile Aircraft Arresting System that had been specially installed at the airport for such event.


Read and see more about the MAAS and Blue Angel No. 7 at the St. George Municipal Airport:  Tailhook meets cable; Blue Angel No. 7 tests emergency jet arrest system; STGnews Photo Gallery


“Everything functioned the way we intended it to,” Public Affairs and Safety Officer Lt. J.G. Amber Lynn Daniel said Friday. “Everybody landed safely and are back up and running, except for the one jet that we are waiting on a part for. Everything seems to be up for tomorrow (Saturday).”

These jets are the oldest F-18s in the fleet and mechanical problems do occur. The crews are trained to make repairs fast and efficiently just as they would have to in times of conflict.

“Our biggest thing is we have to make sure the jets are safe before they fly,” Daniel said.

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery. 

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1 Comment

  • Dan Lester July 26, 2014 at 12:49 pm

    Would be wonderful if your pix had individual captions instead of the vague overall ones repeated over and over. The pictures are good enough to deserve a caption.

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