EL CENTRO, Calif. -- The Navy’s Flight Demonstration Squadron, The Blue Angels, have prepared all winter for this very moment.  Aviation Electronics Technician 1st Class (AW) Anthony Koppi, a first-year crew chief with the Blue Angels, pops to attention and greets Blue Angels Opposing Solo pilot Lt. Cmdr. Frank Weisser, as he prepares to enter the cockpit of his Boeing FA-18 Hornet.

Along with the rest of their team, Koppi and Weisser have spent a lot of time together during the last four months.  The Blue Angels spend their winter months training six days-a-week in El Centro, Calif., in preparation for their 2010 air-show season.

These countless hours of training together not only ensure a safe evolution, but they also create an essential bond of trust between pilot and crew chief.

“The crew chief signs the ‘A’ sheet (Aircraft Acceptance Sheet),” said Koppi a native of Conroe, Texas. “There are only three people who sign it.  It’s the crew chief, the maintenance chief, and the pilot himself.  Once you put your signature on that sheet, you’re saying that you have looked over that aircraft and it’s completely safe for flight.”

Coming from a background where he worked specifically with P-3 Orions, Koppi has had to make a lot of adjustments transitioning to the Blue Angels.

“When I came to the Blue Angels I didn’t know anything about the FA-18; I didn’t know anything about being a crew chief,” he said. “I had to learn everything from the ground up.”

As a first-year crew chief Koppi has a lot of responsibility riding on his shoulders.  Members of the squadron are expected to represent the pride and professionalism of the Blue Angels on and off the job.

As crew chief, Koppi is responsible for pre and post flight inspections, setup of the pilot’s survival gear in the cockpit and the overall appearance of the aircraft.
According to Koppi, his success as a crew chief has come from the endless hours of training and hard work.

“The Aircraft has got to take off,” he said. “Sometimes we may be given 20 to 30 minutes to complete an inspection and we are trusted to do that.  It gets stressful, but we overcome that through training.  You start off slow perfecting the method, and through perfecting the method you end up being able to increase your speed and increase your accuracy just by repetition.”

The relationship between a pilot and his crew chief goes back to the early days of naval aviation.  Koppi is very aware of the role he plays.
“Crew Chiefs have a legacy,” he said. “They have a history of being very professional and having a very intimate relationship with their pilot.  I hope with my time here with
Blue Angels I can live up to that legacy.”

In 2010 the Blue Angels are slated to perform in 35 cities throughout the United States.  Koppi and his fellow crew members will be there every step of the way.

EL CENTRO, Calif. -- People from all around came out to Navel Ari (NAF) Facility El Centro, March 13 for the 2010 annual air show to see the Blue Angels and other areal acrobatic demonstrations, while others came for a completely different reason.

Members from three separate US Navy Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) units worked together to construct one of the highlights of the El Centro Air Show, known as the Wall of Fire.
 
“We have an eight man crew from different EOD shore detachments and everybody is pitching in” “We have people from Point Mugu, San Diego, and Fallon Nevada” said EODCS (EWS) Shawn Meyer assigned to EOD Mobile Unit 11.
 
The EOD’s air power demonstration consists of three separate Explosive displays. All are done with the aesthetics of a vintage B-25 Mitchell, an American twin-engine bomber for a realistic effect. The first set of explosions was a strafing run, which simulated 22 millimeter rounds striking the ground and is constructed with detonation cord and 50, half pound TNT blasting caps.
 
The second in the lineup was a bombing run that consisted of four, five gallon bags of fuel. The bags were placed on one pound TNT blasting caps wired together with detonation cord.
 
For the finale was the five hundred foot long “Wall of Fire”. The wall is 64, five gallon bags of fuel individually placed upon 63, one pound TNT blasting caps that were wired together in a web of detonation cord.
 
“The Wall of Fire is a five hundred foot long pyrotechnics effect. We’re going to use 500 gallons of gas and diesel fuel, fifty-fifty mix with a one pound of TNT booster underneath each shot,” said Meyer.
 
All of the explosives were detonated from a post 1,250 feet from the blast sight to ensure the safety of the crew.
 
“The most important thing to me about the Wall of Fire is the safety, the safety of the crowd, the safety of the performers, and the safety of our team,” said Meyer.
 
“EOD started doing the Wall of Fire at air shows because we had the technical expertise and the safety record,” continued Meyer. 
 
While safety is paramount to the EOD units, the amount of man power the team put into the planning of the Wall of Fire was also a major part.

“We’ve been working for this air show, on and off for about three months. We spent a lot of time testing for our first air show. It took us months to come up
    
with the best solution, people kept coming up with great ideas and we would have to test these out.”

“It’s about three months of work for three shots totaling a second a piece… it’s defiantly worth it,” said Lt. Mark Anderson assigned to EOD Mobile Unit 11.
Once the stage was set and all of the explosives and cords were checked, there is nothing to do but wait.

The B-25 drones around the air field making wide turns till it was just over the blast site, the team sits and waits. With little notice the crowd is in awe of the loud blasts of explosives and the massive fire bombs and black dust clouds that are thrown into the air.

With all of the long hours of planning and hard work that go into the Wall of Fire, the pay off is worth it for the EOD teams that are involved.

“The best part of the Wall of Fire is after the show when the crowd comes up and lets you know how great it was,” added Meyer.

100311-N-5226D-220 EL CENTRO, Calif. (March 11, 2010) The Navy flight demonstration team, the Blue Angels, fly in delta formation over Naval Air Facility El Centro during a practice show. The El Centro air show is the first of 35 air shows in the Blue Angels 2010 season. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Stephen D Doyle II/Released)

100313-N-5016P-003 EL CENTRO, Calif. (March 13, 2010) The freestyle motocross team "Metal Mulisha" performs at the El Centro Air Show. The El Centro air show is the first of 35 air shows in the Blue Angels 2010 season. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Arif Patani/Released)

A crowd of nearly 30,000 aviation enthusiasts gathered under the clear blue Southern California sky for the NAF El Centro Air Show on March 14. Numerous military and civilian aircraft, old and new, were on display.