NEW YORK — In the latest tribute to those on the front lines, the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, stationed out of Florida, and the Air Force Thunderbirds are officially set to fly Tuesday.
President Trump announced the initiative "America Strong" Wednesday, sharing the U.S. military's top-flight demonstration teams would be flying to "champion national unity."
Now, the crews are headed straight to one of the areas most devastated by the coronavirus -- the tri-state area.
Those in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania will be the first to see the six F-16C/D Fighting Falcon and six F/A-18C/D Hornet aircraft in action, Tuesday.
“We are truly excited to take to the skies with our Navy counterparts for a nation-wide tribute to the men and women keeping our communities safe,” U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. wrote in a Facebook post.
The Air Force and Navy aircraft will fly a formation flight as a collaborative salute to all first responders, while standing in "solidarity" with Americans.
“We are incredibly honored to have the opportunity to salute those working on the frontline of the COVID-19 response, we are in awe of your strength and resilience,” Cmdr. Brian Kesselring, U.S. Navy Blue Angels commanding officer and flight leader wrote. “Thank you to all of those in essential industries keeping our nation moving forward. We will get through this. We are all in this together.”
This mission is the first of several planned over the coming weeks. And, a lot of work went into them. According to the two crews, there were months of planning and coordination between them and local governments to make these flights a reality.
Here is Tuesday's fly over schedule:
New York City (and surrounding Burroughs): 12 p.m. (EST), lasting for 35 minutes
Trenton, NJ: 1:45 p.m. (EST), lasting for 10 minutes.
Philadelphia, PA: 2 p.m. (EST), lasting 20 minutes
According to the crews, anyone living in these areas can expect a few seconds of jet noise as the aircraft pass overhead along with the sight of 12 high-performance aircraft flying in precise formation.
It is important to note that the Navy and Air Force say these flyovers should be viewed from the safety of your own home and all quarantine and social distancing guidelines apply. People are being urged not to gather in large groups or at local landmarks.
More cities are planned to get to see the top-flight demonstration teams in action over the next few weeks. How and where to watch in your area will be released periodically. You can keep up to see if your area is on the map here.
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