"The smoke is the last thing," Sheldon Heatherington, an aviation photographer, says as he watches the sky. "That is to let everybody know it's time to go."
Pensacola is home to a set of airborne angels that folks flock to see.
"Almost every practice, there have been big crowds," says fellow aviation photographer Don Bumgarmer.
The pride of the United States Navy, the Blue Angels, who open their practices on Wednesdays throughout the summer.
"You get the high-speed pass, you get all the sound, the thrill," explains Bumgarmer.
Traveling at 300–600 mph, crowds gather right on the runway at The National Naval Aviation Museum for free.
"These guys are the best of the best," says Bumgarmer.
Yet it's best to keep an eye on the sky. Although weather can cancel the Blue Angels' practice, you can still take control of your own Blue Angels simulator.
The National Naval Aviation Museum is home to flight simulators, as well as 100 years of Naval history.
"It's an amazing collection of aircraft and exhibits that people from all ages, from young to 100, would enjoy and get a lot out of," says Shelly Ragsdale, the museum's director of marketing.
Here, Ragsdale explains, there are few barriers.
"You can go up close and personal with these aircraft," she says. "You can touch them."
From the NC-4, which was the first aircraft to fly across the Atlantic Ocean — to Marine One, which carried away President Richard Nixon for the last time — there are more than 100 aircraft on display inside and out.
"This is what keeps our country safe," an onlooker remarks at the sights inside the National Naval Aviation Museum.
———————————————
Tankful on Television
Live in a Bright House? You can catch new Florida on a Tankful stories each Thursday and Saturday on News 13 and Bay News 9. New editions play at the end of each hour starting at 6 a.m.
Classic Florida on a Tankful stories can be found each Friday and Sunday on Bay News 9 and News 13 at the end of each hour starting at 6 a.m.