A Blue Angels jet targets Volunteer Park (Image: Tiffany Von Arnim via Flickr)

Freedom isn’t free but the roar of the Blue Angels screaming over the city won’t cost you anything this week as the Boeing Seafair Airshow returns to the skies of Seattle. Below, you will find the schedule for the week’s practices and performances including when the U.S. Navy will be buzzing Capitol Hill.

The crew and its squadron of Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet jets are fresh in from Fargo, North Dakota. Chicago is next on the list, then Colorado Springs, Wichita, and Cleveland.

The jets regularly zip across Capitol Hill and sometimes feel exceedingly close to the ground. At 443 feet above sea level, Volunteer Park is one place to salute the pilots as they pass. At the top of the park’s 75-foot water tower, you can make eye contact as you say hello.

From The Museum of Flight:

Blue Angels Flight Schedule

Please note that flight times are subject to change without notice.

Monday July 29

1:35 PM — Team Arrival

Wednesday July 31

9:45 AM — Single jet media flight
12:15 PM — Single jet media flight

Thursday August 1

11:00 AM — Blue Angels 1–4 Practice Flight
12:00 PM — Blue Angels 5–6 Practice Flight
2:20 PM — Blue Angels 1–6 Practice Flight
3:20 PM — Fat Albert Practice Flight

Friday, Saturday and Sunday August 2–4

3:35 PM — Fat Albert Show
3:45 PM — Blue Angels Full Show

The annual performance in Seattle continues to draw its mix of criticism and big crowds. In addition to being part of the Navy’s recruiting and public awareness efforts, it is also a showcase of Boeing’s engineering in what used to be the aerospace giant’s backyard. Boeing is now headquartered in Crystal City, Virginia.

The Blue Angel’s squad of 11 jets weigh in at around $70 million a pop and the program’s budget has reportedly hovered around $40 million a year depending on things like fees charged to shows like Seafair. It is probably a decent long-term investment as the Navy has continued to struggle with recruitment, missing goals by around 25% last year.

As for Seattle’s blue — and grey — skies, critics say the airshows pour something around 650 metric tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. Sadly, that is a teensy fraction of the pollution regularly produced by the city’s industry, drivers, and buildings.

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