Blue Angels return to North Texas for first time since 2021
FORT WORTH – People sitting out on restaurant patios during lunch Thursday were simultaneously looking up and leaning away from tables to get a view as the U.S. Navy Blue Angels roared into town for the first time since 2021.
The demonstration team is performing Saturday and Sunday at the Wings Over Cowtown Airshow at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base on the city's west side.
The squadron last performed in North Texas at Alliance Airport in 2021.
"It's really exciting for me to have an opportunity to be here and to kind of give a little bit of that back to show the general public… who don't get to see the Navy Marine Corps a whole lot," said team Commander Alex Armatas. "Show them what this team does. Show them what the Navy Marine Corps does and the kind of professionalism and excellence that's out there in the fleet."
The show is also a homecoming of sorts for the pilot of the #3 aircraft, Lt. Wes Perkins, a new team member who grew up in Hutto but said he remembered often driving up to watch shows at the JRB and Alliance.
CBS News Texas has its own team connection. Facilities manager Ron Rentfrow helps get pictures and video on TV and online, but 50 years ago he was the team photographer for the Blue Angels – from 1970-1973.
"I was a pilot already, so I had flown a lot, but I had never flown in a military fighter," Rentfrow said, remembering his time with the team. "I was a little apprehensive the first time."
Gates are scheduled to open at 9 a.m. each day with performances from additional demonstration teams beginning at 11 a.m. The Blue Angels are scheduled to end each day from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.
By late Thursday, the show website showed free passes for parking on base were sold out for Saturday but some passes remained for Sunday.
