Who are the Blue Angels?
The Blue Angels are an elite navy demonstration group that travels across the United States performing their show to the thousands that come and watch. However, their show is unlike anything else. When it comes down to showtime, the show takes to the sky as the Blue Angel aviators take control of their McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornets. These jets are specifically tuned for aerial stunts of all kinds. This includes flips, corkscrews, and other arrays of highly precise maneuvers with little room for error . One of their most dangerous tricks includes a four man formation where each of the planes roll out left into one another. This trick is called the Left Echelon Roll and requires a lot of trust between team members to to precisely time and perform the maneuver. While it takes years of training and hard work to become a blue angel, being one is an incredible accomplishment for any Naval Aviator.
The Blue Angels and Forces
The Blue Angels must compensate and plan for high forces in each in every flight. These forces that they experience are called G-forces and the aviators experience them at take off and when they maneuver through their aerial tricks. A G-force is the force acting on any object measured in terms of g.
1 G-force = 9.8 m/s^2
Whenever the blue angels accelerate in take off, accelerate to perform a trick, or to just simply accelerate to the necessary speed to break the sound barrier, they experience intense amounts of g-forces. The most amount of g-forces that these highly trained pilots are able to handle is about 12 g's without any sort of g-suit to help them out.
In Perspective
F=ma
At 12 g's of g-force for a 70 kg person
9.8 * 70= 686
That's 686 Newtons of force on the pilot
9.8 * 70= 686
That's 686 Newtons of force on the pilot
Effects of this G-force on the Pilot
This additional g-force pulls towards the ground forcing all the blood in the body to pool at the feet of the pilot. As a result, the blood in the brain is rushed away causing blackouts and potential brain damage. In order to combat this effect of g-force, pilots utilized two major devices. The first is a g-suit that uses compression to force the blood to not leave the brain. Most pilots use this method but, due to the circumstances of the plane, blue angel pilots have to use the second device which is to do the compression process manually. The Blue Angel aviators perform what they call the "hook" maneuver which clenches different muscle groups throughout the body to prevent blood from pooling at the feet. This complicated process is all done while the pilot is performing intense aerial tricks and formations.
Does this also apply if they are making high speed, low radius turns?
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