Originally Posted by
gums
I saw the last show of the Blues by two commanders. One was at Houston back in the 80's or 90's and the boss cancelled the show after the first maneuver. He had problems with the others on the team and I thot it was a good move. So he resigned.
I'm thinking that this was probably Donnie Cochran:
Skipper quits Blue Angels
By Ernest Blazar, Navy Times staff writer
Vol. 45, Navy Times, 06-10-1996, pp 22.
Citing his own flying troubles, Cochran resigns
The skipper of the Navy's elite Blue Angels flight demonstration team bluntly blamed himself for the team's troubles May 28 and resigned the coveted post.
Calling it the most difficult decision of his career, Cmdr. Donnie L. Cochran, 42, stepped down because of personal "training difficulties" that he said were threatening the safety of his team's performances.
"It is with deep, personal regret that I announce today my resignation from the world's greatest flight demonstration team," said Cochran in Pensacola, Fla., the Blue Angels' home.
"Facing training difficulties and not desiring to impair the future viability of the team or its performance, I voluntarily decided to step down."
Cochran had commanded the elite unit since November 1994, and the team had been troubled for some time. Last September, Cochran grounded the Blue Angels and canceled two exhibitions because of concerns about the safety of the team in general -- and its skipper, specifically.
What's next for Cochran isn't clear. He was selected for promotion to captain by the O-6 board that convened this spring and awaits reassignment. [he retired as an O-6 - Airbubba]
Cochran's move was hailed as courageous by former Blue Angels pilots.
"I am continuously amazed by his intestinal fortitude," said a former Blue Angels pilot. "If I had to put up with the same kind of pressure he has, I would have cracked a long time ago."
Nevertheless, other fliers believe the two-week stand down in 1995 and Cochran's resignation last week indicate Cochran wasn't up to the job of leading the team. None agreed to say so on the record, however.
Former team members described Cochran as a solid but not outstanding pilot who was not of the caliber needed to excel in the extraordinary maneuvers for which the team is famous. During his 18-year Navy flying career, Cochran has amassed an impressive record. He has accumulated more than 4,630 flying hours and 888 carrier landings. He has done two tours with the Blue Angels -- first as a team member, from 1986- 89 --and more recently as skipper.
Before joining the team, Cochran flew F-14 Tomcats and commanded the Sundowners of Fighter Squadron 111.
Without disputing his successes, however, former Blue Angels team members suggested that race played too large a role in Cochran's selection for skipper.
Cochran was the first African-American pilot to fly with the Blue Angels during his first tour with the team from 1986-89, and when he returned as the team's skipper, he was the first to do that, too. The Navy, which has long been under pressure to boost the number of minorities in its officer corps and in key, high-visibility roles, used Cochran, these fliers assert.
Saying they support increased recruiting of minorities and have nothing against Cochran, they said they resent Navy leadership for relenting to political pressure and putting Cochran in a job for which he lacked the skills.
"There are certain jobs where you can't have political influence, where lives are at stake," said one former Blue Angels flier. "I think in this case the Navy blew it. Now we are paying the price and I thank God the cost didn't come in lives lost."
Originally Posted by
gums
The second one was back in 2012 or 2013 at the Sun'n'fun venue. The flight made a :break" that I had not seen before, and I live close enuf to see the Blues practice and the super Beach show every year, plus the "homecoming" around Vet's day. They came down a bit lower thn normal and only slot followed leader. Wingies went left and right and zoomed. They rejoined and rest of the show seemed normal. Next day the Leader quit and said he was "losing it" and had violated the altitudes for the maneuver and so forth.
Hmmm... Was this possibly the 2011 show at Lynchburg, Virginia?
A 'knock it off' break is at about 1:50 into this video clip:
Blue Angels' top officer relieved of command
Kate Wiltrout
May 28, 2011
The Blue Angels' top officer was relieved of command at his request Friday, days after the team performed a lower-than-normal maneuver during an air show.
Cmdr. Dave Koss, commanding officer of Naval Flight Demonstration Squadron, made the request to Rear Adm. Bill Sizemore, the Navy announced Friday.
The Blue Angels' six F/A-18 Super Hornets jets flew below their specified altitude Sunday at the Lynchburg Regional Air Show. They had finished about three-quarters of their performance, and ended the maneuver after breaching the standard. All landed without damage or injury.
It isn't clear whether the pilots accidentally or deliberately flew lower than normal.
"I performed a maneuver that had an unacceptably low minimum altitude," Koss said in a statement. "This maneuver, combined with other instances of not meeting the airborne standard that makes the Blue Angels the exceptional organization that it is, led to my decision to step down."
https://pilotonline.com/news/militar...412038247.html