Seattle’s getting a preview. The U.S. Navy Blue Angels will run two practice sessions over Lake Washington on Thursday, July 30, starting at 11:00 AM — the official warm-up to their weekend performances at the Boeing Seafair Air Show. It’s a homecoming of sorts for the elite flight demonstration squadron, which is celebrating its 80th anniversary season this year, and it finally gives Pacific Northwest aviation enthusiasts the concrete scheduling details they’ve been waiting for since the team’s winter certification back in February.
The practice windows are locked in: 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM, then again from 3:30 PM to 4:40 PM. Their F/A-18 Super Hornets will work the south end of Lake Washington, using the same flight box as last year—keeping the I-90 floating bridge and Seward Park open to traffic. Navy Capt. Adam Bryan, commanding officer of the Blue Angels, put it this way during the February certification: “Earning this certification is always an honor, but it carries special weight this year as we prepare to celebrate the squadron’s 80th anniversary. This team has worked incredibly hard to be ready to honor that legacy and represent the men and women of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.”
The Full Weekend Schedule
After Thursday’s practice, the Blue Angels headline every day from Friday, July 31, through Sunday, August 2. They’re the grand finale—performing around 3:30 PM on Friday and Saturday, 3:30 PM on Sunday—after military support demos, civilian aerobatic acts, and the Apollo Mechanical Cup hydroplane races wrap up.
Friday’s free general admission, courtesy of Windermere. Sunday gets something special: a Boeing 737 National Archives Freedom Plane will fly over at 3:20 PM, just before the Blue Angels take to the sky. That aircraft, decked out in commemorative livery celebrating America’s 250th anniversary, is touring eight cities with founding-era documents before its Seattle stop ends on August 16 at the Museum of History and Industry.
Who Else Is Flying
The Boeing Seafair Air Show is stacking the lineup with military jets, vintage warbirds, and civilian aerobatic specialists. You’ll see the U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II, U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III, AH-64 Apache Attack Helicopter, U.S. Army Yellow Thunder Harvard/T-6 Aerobatic Team, Melissa Burns in a PBY-5A Catalina (a 1944 patrol bomber), and Torrey Ward flying his Microjet. The U.S. Coast Guard is demonstrating search-and-rescue; Saturday adds a U.S. Army helocast demonstration.
One notable absence—”Fat Albert,” the Blue Angels’ iconic C-130J Super Hercules support aircraft, won’t be there. It’s sidelined for the entire 2026 season undergoing major center wing box replacement and life-extension maintenance in Cambridge, England. A Lockheed Martin C-130 has been part of the squadron’s airshow operations since 1970.
Before You Head Out
Practice times can change without notice, and the flights aren’t guaranteed. Check Seafair.org before heading to Lake Washington on Thursday. Free viewing spots surround the lake—Seward Park is right on the flight line, and you’ve also got Mount Baker Beach, Stan Sayres Park, Madrona Park, and Luther Burbank Park on Mercer Island. The Washington State Patrol will be enforcing speed and distracted driving laws; the I-90 bridge is closed to stopping and viewing.
The air show airs on FOX 13 on Sunday, August 2. For real-time updates and day-of confirmations, head to blueangels.navy.mil or Seafair.org.
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