The 2023 Blue Angels Homecoming Air Show will celebrate “50 Years of Women in Naval Aviation.” According to an announcement from Naval Air Station Pensacola, the airshow “is designed to honor and recognize the significant contributions women have made to naval aviation since the enactment of the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act, which removed restrictions previously prohibiting women from serving in combat-related roles and ultimately opened the door for women to pursue careers as naval aviators.”
The two-day airshow, which will run Nov. 3 and Nov.4, is one of Pensacola’s biggest events—attracting more than 220,000 spectators. While the Navy says hundreds of women have served with the Blue Angels over the years, the 2023 season was the first with a female pilot, Lt. Amanda Lee. Other female performers at the show will include Air Force Capt. Aimee Fiedler, who leads the eight-member F-16 Viper Demonstration Team, and Melissa Burns, a professional aerobatic pilot and display skydiver.
Love it! So many women have had such an impact on aviation at all levels, for so very long. Events like these not only highlight those contributions, but they encourage young women to consider aviation as a career or at least a hobby, and that’s good for all of us.
Can’t believe it took the navy 50 years to have a female pilot with the Blues.
Rosemary (Bryant/Conatser) Mariner, one of the first 8 female aviator candidates to enter Navy flight school in 1974; and one of the six to successfully complete it to become a naval aviator, was a class mate of mine in the Professional Pilot program at Purdue University BS ’73. Great student, fine aviator and a genuine nice person. She died a few years ago of ovarian cancer and got the first all female missing woman formation flyover at her funeral.
In recent years, there has been a growing movement to recognize women in aviation. This movement has been led by organizations such as the Women in Aviation International and the Ninety-Nines. These organizations have worked to promote the advancement of women in aviation and to educate the public about the contributions of women to the field.
Consequently, there is now a greater awareness of the contributions of women to aviation. More and more women are entering the field, and they are achieving success at all levels. And now, congratulations to all women in naval aviation!
Lt. Commander, not Lt.
She must have received a recent promotion. When we saw her with the Blues at the airshow in Lincoln, NE., she held the rank of Lt.
Yes, I just checked the Blues website. She is now a Lt. Commander. Congrats to Lt. Commander Amanda Lee!
Call sign “Stalin”??
Maybe a play on “stalling”? Something from her pilot training?