Snapshot
August 31, 2010
Panther and Hornet
This Grumman F9F Panther was recently restored to Blue Angels livery and then honored in late June by the current Blue Angel team at the Aviation Heritage Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The restoration was spearheaded over the last few years by the Park's director Dan Cherry, a Kentucky native, as well as a Vietnam veteran and former Thunderbird flight leader. The children of a fallen naval aviator, John Magda, were also there to see the restored Panther. Magda, also a Kentucky native, was killed in action flying a Panther in the Korean War not long after he served as the lead pilot of the Blue Angels when the demonstration squadron flew Panthers, their first jets, sixty years ago.
Photo: John Fleck
Comments