USN Blue Angels perform the Double Farvel: Diamond formation flat pass with aircraft 1 and 4 inverted. The Diamond consists of pilots: Commander Steve Foley (#1 Flight Leader/Commanding Officer), Lt. Commander John Saccomando (#2 Right Wing), USMC Major Mathew Shortal (#3 Left Wing), and Lt. Commander Max McCoy (#4 Slot).

We set up for what Shortal says is the most challenging maneuver of the demo for a Blues Slot pilot--the Diamond Double Farvel. The two wingmen slide outboard, giving the No. 1 and 4 jets room to maneuver. On Foley's command "Set . . . Roll it in!" both Foley and Shortal roll inverted. No. 2 and 3 remain upright, still in formation. Our half snap roll throws me violently side to side. Somehow, Shortal and I now are flying upside down, with our jet's nose halfway up No. 1's belly. "Boss" is also inverted, between us and the nearby Pensacola runway. We stay that way for a good 20 sec., streaking past the crowd at constant altitude. "Anytime we roll, we use full stick deflection, so we all match [roll rates]," Shortal explains. "Boss and I align with the horizon, I call 'Take it in,' make sure everybody's safe, then call 'Smoke ON!' The Double Farvel is the most challenging maneuver in the demo for a Blue Angel Slot pilot. It's the coolest, but also the hardest, maneuver I fly. You're hanging in the straps, and it's hard to reach the controls. It's just not intuitive. The Navy and Marine Corps never train to fly inverted, on top of another guy. It took a lot of practice and patience to learn. When I flip upside down for the Double Farvel and fly up close to Boss, I'm not looking at airspeed, altitude--nothing," Shortal continues. "I'm focused on Boss, looking right down at his [engine] intakes, trying to stay 2 ft. above his jet, holding a nice, stable platform. It's easy to get into a PIO [pilot-induced oscillation] there, so I just concentrate on being smooth and holding it." -[Aviation Week]

Photo by Bob Nelson, on Sunday July 10, 2005 at the Far