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The U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team is practicing at Hill Air Force Base this week for their upcoming airshow at Ocean City, Maryland.
The F-35 Demonstration Team has recently started to travel again to perform at airshows across the United States.
“We’ve performed at two socially distant airshows in July kicking off our season,” said Capt. Kristin “BEO” Wolfe, pilot and commander of the F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team. “It’s really rewarding to finally get back on the road to showcase what we have been practicing the past few months.”
The F-35 Demonstration Team performances were cancelled back in March 2020 when the Department of Defense released guidance in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic that stopped movement for the team.
“It’s unfortunate we were not able to make it out to all the airshows we had planned this year, but safety of our audience is a priority,” said Wolfe.
Most of the airshow season was cancelled for safety concerns due to COVID-19, leaving the F-35 Demo team on standby until recently when more socially distant airshows became available.
“We've done the F.E. Warren Air Force Base show and then we did Thunder Over Cedar Creek Lake in Mabank, Texas,” said Capt. Kippun Sumner, public affairs advisor for the F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team. “Next week on August 15th and 16th, we will be in Ocean City, Maryland.”
People planning to attend the upcoming airshows expecting to meet the demo team members need to know members of the team are limiting their social interaction with members of the crowd.
Normally during each airshow the team attends meet and greets with local schools, Reserve Officer Training Corps detachments, and a tent for memorabilia sales.
“A big part of it is trying to find new ways to do outreach amongst the public,” said Sumner. “Kind of like a lot of people we have embraced that new normal and gone the virtual route.”
Sumner says team has been doing a lot of video conferencing calls with Civil Air Patrol squadrons, ROTC detachments, aviation fan clubs, and more to try and garner interest through the virtual route.
“Even though the way we engage with the public has changed our mission has not,” said Sumner. “We are still a demonstration team that is meant to recruit, engage, and inspire the next generation of airmen and educate the public on the Air Force’s newest 5th generation aircraft.”
The F-35 Demonstration Team public affairs team has also taken to social media to engage and showcase the aircraft and the demo team members.
All interested parties can follow the team on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for all of the latest news about upcoming airshows and cancellations by searching #f35demoteam.
| Date Taken: | 05.05.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 10.08.2020 15:04 |
| Story ID: | 380578 |
| Location: | HILL AIR FORCE BASE, UT, US |
| Web Views: | 33 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, On the Road Again, Your F-35A Lightning II, by TSgt Zachary Boyer, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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