How does someone become a Blue Angel demonstration pilot? Navy and Marine Corps pilots meeting the basic requirements submit an application directly to the team via the Applications Officer. Applicants visit the squadron at scheduled show sites early in the show season to observe the team firsthand. Finalists are selected mid-season and interviewed at the Blue Angels squadron in Pensacola, Florida. The new demonstration pilots and support officers are selected by unanimous vote. The Chief of Naval Air Training selects the Flight Leader/Commanding Officer.
What happens if a Blue Angel demonstration pilot is ill or hurt? Safety is paramount for every demonstration. Each pilot is responsible for good health and safety; however, the Blue Angels Flight Surgeon will medically disqualify a pilot if one should become ill or injured. Should the Flight Leader/Commanding Officer be grounded for medical purposes, the demonstration will be canceled.

Why don't the Blue Angels maintain a spare pilot? With the number of practice hours required to safely fly a demonstration a spare pilot could not be utilized effectively. Each pilot must complete 120 training flights during winter training in order to perform a public demonstration safely. The teamwork required for the high speed, low-altitude flying in the tight Blue Angel formation takes hundreds of hours to develop. A substitute pilot would not have enough time in the formation to do this safely.