Though I tend to focus solely on the commerical aviation and the airline sector it is always nice to have a new voice in the blog, especially when the voice is outside the commerical side and more into the military side.
Peter Ford worked on the Blue Angels Maintance and Public Relations team from October 1993 to January 1998. Though his tour of duty with the Blue Angels was unusally long, nearly five years, a lack of qualified personel in his position were inlisted, so he gladly stayed on the team. Peter Ford currently lives in England with his wife and new baby girl, however he took time out of his busy life to answer a few of my questions for him.
1. What were your job titles when working for the Blue Angels?
I was on the team from October 1993 to January 1998 and my tour with the Blue Angels was not a typical tour since most enlisted members only do 2 to 3 years with the team and then return back to the Fleet but due to lack of qualified personnel coming onto the team several of us were extended.
My first year with the team I was No. 4 Crew Chief and my responsibilities were to look after the No. 4 jet (slot position), which included cleaning, inspecting and maintaining the jet with other team members.
My second year I worked in Air Frames which also included helping the Crew Chiefs to clean the jets, fixing and maintaining/inspecting all hydraulic systems, which include flight controls and landing gear of all F18 jets and C130 within the squadron.
My third and fourth year I was selected as the No 7 Crew Chief which once again my responsibilities were to clean, inspect and maintain the 2 F18’s which are 2 seater jets with the additional responsibility of helping set up show sites before the rest of the squadron arrived, the safety brief and flight physiology given to media personnel and famous people who were selected to fly in the back seat of the No 7 jet and the manning of the spare (which is the F18 that would be used during the air show if another F18 developed maintenance problems or was unable to perform in the air show).
2. How did working for the Blue Angels come about? How did you get the job?
Working for the Blue Angels came about first of all as a young boy I had always wanted to join the Navy. Joining the Blues came about after reading an article in one of the Navy magazines asking for applicants.
So after meeting all their qualifications I applied to join the team and was informally interviewed at one of the show sites, and then was invited back after submitting my package for a formal interview. After being selected I went under a 3 month trial period where I was trained and tested to my limits and then granted to wear the Blue Angel crest and becoming a team member. Like most other sailors both enlisted and officer we are sailors first, we come from the fleet and we return to the fleet at the end of our tour. We are just sailors doing extraordinary jobs given the privilege and honour to represent the US Navy and our country in this way.
Tomorrow's entry will include questions about daily PR tasks that the Blue Angels did, and how the internet has changed the Blue Angels.
» Continued Interview from TheAirlineHub
Continuing from the earlier post.....3. Where are the Blue Angels based out of?The Blue Angels were established in 1946 and based out of NAS Jacksonville, Florida and then in later years they moved to NAS Pensacola, Florida where they are... [Read More]
Tracked on: May 31, 2006 1:22 PM | Permalink to Trackback