Attendees will be thrilled and amazed to the skill and daring of these flying young men in their flying machines, with various types of home-built aircrafts, as they make three passes over downtown. All three passes will exhibit different formations and patterns. It may be a small town, but one might say our aviation team ‘rises’ to the occasion…
— from a story by Joanne Laird in the July 1, 2021 Pagosa Springs SUN, ‘San Juan Squadron honored as grand marshals’.
They kept flying back and forth over downtown, on Friday, ‘practicing’ for Saturday’s Fourth of July flyover.
Back and forth. Making noise like a gang of souped-up Harley motorcycles with wings.
But you know, I didn’t mind.
I certainly understand that you want to practice your routine, when two thousand people are going to be watching the performance. We’re talking ‘precision aerial maneuvers’ here.
No sense in suffering a plane crash over Highway 160, right when the town is all dressed up and watching the parade in a patriotic mood. (Although it would certainly generate some excitement at the event… if six or seven guys came parachuting down amidst falling plane wreckage… and we all had to run for cover.)
According to Ms. Laird’s article in last week’s SUN newspaper — providing some intellectual background on the San Juan Squadron’s 2021 parade flyovers on Saturday — our home-grown formation flying team as flown patterns over a number of Pagosa events, including Veterans Day, Memorial Day, and Pagosa Springs High School homecoming — entirely at their own expense, with countless hours of ground training and aerial practice.
“While this parade flyover will not be spending your tax dollars to see the Blue Angels or Thunderbirds, you might agree that these talented flyers are just as competent,” she wrote.
I’ve never seen the Blue Angels perform. But here’s a video.
Surprisingly similar, I think, to what we witnessed here in small-town Pagosa on Saturday. I hate to think, however, what an actual Blue Angels event would have cost the US taxpayers.
But… now that I’ve wondered about how much the Blue Angels would cost? … I can’t stop thinking about it.
Price of each specially-equipped F/A-18 A Hornet: $56 million.
US Navy annual budget to maintain the squadron: $40 million, which includes…
Annual pilot salaries: $12 million.
Annual salaries for 114 support personnel: $5.6 million.
Fuel costs for rehearsals and performances: $20 million per year.
Staff lodging and meals for shows: $2 million per year.
These talented young men in their enormously expensive Blue Angel flying machines typically perform in cities that can’t afford to properly maintain their water infrastructure or transit systems.
We have pretty good water infrastructure in Pagosa Springs — not great, but pretty good — and our transit system in planning to expand. And we have the San Juan Squadron pilots performing at no cost to the taxpayers.
Can life get any better?
Underrated writer Louis Cannon grew up in the vast American West, although his ex-wife, given the slightest opportunity, will deny that he ever grew up at all.