2023 San Francisco Fleet Week air show

[y_p_w]

It kind of sucked last year because of the fog, but hopefully this year it will be on with clear skies. A different lineup, including a USMC F-35B, although that's something where it's helpful to be reasonably near it when it's hovering.

Fleet Week San Francisco | Air Show | Blue Angels

This air show event attracts over a million people around the Bay Area. Featuring the United States Navy Blue Angels.

fleetweeksf.org

 

[JeffKeryk]

An amazing show. I love the sound.

 

[wpod]

Fleet week is wonderful. I rememner when there was an most incredible air show at Moffet field . The Blue Angles sadly make all other flight teams seem like second class.

 

[Astro14]

Fleet week is wonderful. I rememner when there was a most incredible air show at Moffet field . The Blue Angles sadly make all other flight teams seem like second class.

No argument there! Saw them at Oceana this last weekend. They were awesome.

 

[Astro14]

United usually sends a 777 to Fleet week. Awesome in a different way - a lightly loaded, big airliner has some good performance margins, and the crew enjoys showing that off.

Despite the fog, the 777 flew last year.

But go see it for the Blues…

 

[Astro14]

A fleet week story from 25 years ago. I was flying a 747–400 back to SFO from somewhere in the western pacific, China, Japan, I don’t remember…and it was the Friday of Fleet week.

But as we switched over from Oakland Center to Bay approach, the final controller before tower, the callsign “Blue Angel 6” checked in.

This was slightly unprofessional, so I looked at the captain, and I said “forgive me”, then I keyed the mike and said, “Blue Angel 6, United 862”. He replied, “go ahead”.

I replied, “Tell Wolfy that Astro says hi”.

Blue Angle 6 came back, “Astro, is that you? This is Scooter.”

I replied, “Scooter! Didn’t know you were back on the team!”

Then the Bay Approach controller came up and said “OK gentlemen -that’s enough.”

Scooter, by the way, still lives in Virginia Beach. He and I were F-14 instructors together a long time ago. These days he’s flying as a captain for Southwest.

 

[y_p_w]

Not sure if the F-35B will be there as originally scheduled.

And the origin is from a time when there was a huge US Navy presence in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 80s before BRAC. NAS Alameda, NAS Moffett Field, Treasure Island Naval Base, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, Concord Naval Weapons Station, Oak Knoll Naval Hospital, and possibly a few more.

 

[PimTac]

Not sure if the F-35B will be there as originally scheduled.

I believe the USMC has grounded them.

 

[y_p_w]

I believe the USMC has grounded them.

Yeah - I get that all of USMC aviation has been grounded for the time being. But it could change in time for Fleet Week although I'd think the F-35B might be the last aircraft that's allowed to fly. I haven't heard of any other militaries grounding the F-35B.

 

[Astro14]

Not sure if the F-35B will be there as originally scheduled.

And the origin is from a time when there was a huge US Navy presence in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 80s before BRAC. NAS Alameda, NAS Moffett Field, Treasure Island Naval Base, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, Concord Naval Weapons Station, Oak Knoll Naval Hospital, and possibly a few more.

The Bay Area was once a center of Navy operations. A great harbor, and for a young nation where the majority of East-west transportation was via the sea, it mattered.

The Dewey Memorial in Union Square reflects how Naval matters were once important. There were literally millions of sailors and Marines who passed under the Golden Gate on their way to the war in the Pacific.

I’ve spent several nights at Treasure Island, mostly when my Jet was at Alameda.

The loss of that connection saddens me. “Fleet Week” is now just a party.

With an airshow.

 

[PimTac]

I’ve spent several nights at Treasure Island, mostly when my Jet was at Alameda.

My USCG boot camp was at Alameda. We also had one week of firefighting training at Treasure Island. Back then they lit fires with diesel in concrete buildings with grated floors and then we went in to fight it. Now it’s all virtual with flashing lights and sound effects.

I remember the military presence down there. We even had training at a small boat station located on The Presidio. Beautiful location.

 

[wpod]

A fleet week story from 25 years ago. I was flying a 747–400 back to SFO from somewhere in the western pacific, China, Japan, I don’t remember…and it was the Friday of Fleet week.

But as we switched over from Oakland Center to Bay approach, the final controller before tower, the callsign “Blue Angel 6” checked in.

This was slightly unprofessional, so I looked at the captain, and I said “forgive me”, then I keyed the mike and said, “Blue Angel 6, United 862”. He replied, “go ahead”.

I replied, “Tell Wolfy that Astro says hi”.

Blue Angle 6 came back, “Astro, is that you? This is Scooter.”

I replied, “Scooter! Didn’t know you were back on the team!”

Then the Bay Approach controller came up and said “OK gentlemen -that’s enough.”

Scooter, by the way, still lives in Virginia Beach. He and I were F-14 instructors together a long time ago. These days he’s flying as a captain for Southwest.

I enjoyed this , Thanks Astro !

 

[Astro14]

I enjoyed this , Thanks Astro !

Thank you. It’s a fond memory of flying the 747-400 out of SFO.

Scooter’s return to the team was necessitated by tragedy, I am sad to say. He was “drafted” back to the Blues from his department head tour after the loss of two Blue Angels from a G-LOC crash in late 1999.

The team needed experienced pilots to rebuild quickly. Scooter was the perfect pick. A great guy and an outstanding pilot.

I knew of the crash, a friend was killed in it. I didn’t know that Scooter was the one drafted.

I found that out on the radio that day while on Bay Approach.

 

[y_p_w]

The Bay Area was once a center of Navy operations. A great harbor, and for a young nation where the majority of East-west transportation was via the sea, it mattered.

The Dewey Memorial in Union Square reflects how Naval matters were once important. There were literally millions of sailors and Marines who passed under the Golden Gate on their way to the war in the Pacific.

I’ve spent several nights at Treasure Island, mostly when my Jet was at Alameda.

The loss of that connection saddens me. “Fleet Week” is now just a party.

With an airshow.

A few of those bases ended up portrayed in movies. Like NAS Alameda in Star Trek IV. Or Concord Naval Weapons Station in The Rock.

I'd been to Treasure Island a few times before the base closure. There were parking spots along the water that were open to the public and popular for just taking in a view of San Francisco, although it could be really windy. I think we got in once to visit the base museum, although the most memorable thing there was a moon rock encased in plastic. Went there a few years ago with kiddo for a free event. But free parking throughout is apparently over. The waterfront parking spots are gone and they're going to charge for visitor parking. But it's still possible to visit by foot/bike from the East Bay or by bus from San Francisco. There's also ferry service from San Francisco.

The museum is still there. They say there's limited free parking around the museum.

Treasure Island Museum

Treasure Island is embarking on its latest transformation into a new, sustainable community, grounded in a colorful history whose themes resonate with today's issues and tomorrow's concerns. Learn more at the Treasure Island Museum.

www.treasureislandmuseum.org

But Fleet Week is still a fun party and I'm sure the personnel like spending a day in San Francisco. When I've been there sailors (including from foreign ships) are all over the place.

We used to have a pretty massive military presence in the Bay Area, which is now just Travis AFB and a few reserve bases. I've mentioned my school field trip to NAS Alameda. I went on a public tour of the USS Missouri at a time when they were discussing home porting it at Treasure Island. Oakland Army Base would let out hundreds at a time and over in Emeryville they would be hard to miss at the public market. A grad school classmate was active duty at Onizuka Air Base, which was attached to NAS Moffett Field.

Heck - I remember my dad taking me to the Presidio and thinking how easy it was to enter an active military base. Even watched the Blue Angels from there once, where base security was warning visitors about parking only in designated spaces. Saw the Blue Angels at the Presidio a few years ago after the transfer to the National Park Service, and the US Park Police seemed a little less concerned (we parked in a red zone without consequence), unless a vehicle was blocking traffic.

 

[y_p_w]

They're not sure if it's going down due to the potential government shutdown. Fleet Week was cancelled due to a government shutdown in 2013.

Fleet Week 2013: CANCELLED | SF

Due to budget constraints, the San Francisco 2013 Air Show and Navy Parade of Ships, otherwise known as Fleet Week 2013 has been cancelled. Although

sf.funcheap.com

Due to budget constraints, the San Francisco 2013 Air Show and Navy Parade of Ships, otherwise known as Fleet Week 2013 has been cancelled.​

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[y_p_w]

So the show is apparently on and the weather looks to be hot but otherwise clear skies. I saw something indicating expected cloudy skies Saturday morning but clear weather in the afternoon when the air show takes place.

I just heard the sound of jets here at home in the East Bay, so obviously someone is practicing. The practice times are roughly the same as the actual show, so it's probably the Patriots Jet Team. I'd expect the Blue Angels to be louder.

 

[y_p_w]

The Blue Angels have been using Oakland International Airport. I found some video and with all buildings, they must be using North Field which was the former NAS Oakland. It's my understanding that they need a minimum 6000 ft runway. I was at an air show years ago (the California International Airshow at Salinas Municipal Airport) where the Blue Angels were the featured performers and the narrator was there, but the longest runway didn't meet their requirements and they used Monterey Airport.

 

[y_p_w]

I'm trying to stay apolitical, but the sound of jets was very apparent during Senator (and former San Francisco Mayor) Dianne Feinstein's memorial service yesterday at San Francisco City Hall. Several of the speakers even paused and looked to the sky when the noise broke through, as did many of the funeral goers. She approved the first San Francisco Fleet Week when she was Mayor of San Francisco, and I remember that she went on a ride with them the next year in a two-seat A-4. The current Mayor acknowledged that Feinstein brought Fleet Week to SF, and the rabbi presiding over the memorial even joked a bit about it. As the sound of a jet flying overhead interrupted him, he just sort of held his hand up, stopped for a few seconds, and then made a joke about it.



That's an American Amen right there!

#4 is a from San Francisco. I saw an interview where he mentioned looking down and seeing the house he grew up in.

 

[y_p_w]

It’s a beautiful day and the skies are absolutely clear. Looks like it’s on. It’s going to be about 80°F so all I need is a cooler and a lot of sunscreen. Maybe even a beer although I'll need to find a legal place to drink it. I’ll probably head for the same spot (San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park) I did last time, although the National Park Service doesn’t allow alcohol there. It’s ideal because of the location in Fishermans Wharf and since they pipe in the official Fleet Week audio from the Maritime Museum.

 

[y_p_w]

Nice day for an air show.