Butch voris biography of christopher

Voris was again given the job of organizing the team. He remains active in naval aviation through a variety of organizations such as the Golden Eagles, a highly distinguished and select group of Naval and Marine aviators. From the knot loop which opened the show to the inverted three-ship pass at less than 50 feet, Voris led the Blue Angels through a dynamic show sequence which thrilled the crowd and established a standard of excellence which has become the trademark of every Blue Angels show.

Voris landed on fumes after shooting down a Japanese Zero fighter and flying by dead reckoning in total darkness. In , Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Chester Nimitz ordered the formation of a flight exhibition team to boost Navy morale, demonstrate naval air power, and maintain public interest in naval aviation. However, an underlying mission was to help the Navy generate public and political support for a larger allocation of the shrinking defense budget.

Another reason was to show potential recruits that aviation was inherently safe once pilots were trained. Being able to perform 3-dimensional close proximity manoeuvring would also be awe inspiring. Voris selected two fellow instructors to join him Lt. Maurice "Wick" Wickendoll and Lt. Mel Cassidy, both veterans of the War in the Pacific , and the three spent countless hours developing the show.

The group perfected their initial maneuvers in secret over the Florida Everglades so that, in Voris' words, " Air Force, might just create a similar aerial demonstration team and beat the Navy in going public. Their first demonstration before Navy officials took place on May 10, and was met with enthusiastic approval. On June 15 Voris led a trio of Grumman F6F-5 Hellcats , specially modified to reduce weight and painted sea blue with gold leaf trim, through their inaugural minute-long performance at the Southern Air Show at Jacksonville, Florida 's Craig Field.

The group, known simply as the "Navy Flight Exhibition Team", thrilled spectators with low-flying maneuvers performed in tight formations, and according to Voris by " My objective was to beat the Army Air Corps. If we did that, we'd get all the other side issues. I felt that if we weren't the best, it would be my naval career. The team soon became known worldwide for its spectacular aerobatic stunts.

During a trip to the " Big Apple ", Lt. Wickendoll came across an advertisement in The New Yorker for the city's popular "Blue Angel" nightclub. Voris liked the name and on July 19 officially made it the team's moniker. On August 25 the squadron upgraded their aircraft to the F8F-1 Bearcat. Though Voris left the team on May 30, the "Blues" continued to perform nationwide until the start of the Korean War in , when due to a shortage of pilots the team was disbanded and its members were ordered to combat duty.

From June 9, to January 20, Lt. The Blue Angels were officially recommissioned in October, , and Voris was again tasked with assembling the flight team he was the first of only two commanding officers to lead the group twice. Voris returned to re-form and lead the Blue Angels, this time flying the combat-proven F9F-5 Panther fighter jet. We were doing a Corpus Christi demo show for a midshipman orientation.

Butch voris biography of christopher

We'd had to cancel the show the first day because it was too rough. We started the show with a parade pass at a todegree bank showing off the US Navy on the bottom of the wings. Three Hellcats, roaring across the sky, wingtip to wingtip, performed aerobatic rolls and maneuvers that were second nature to combat, but seldom ever seen by the public.

Voris called the group the Blue Angels, after an advertisement he saw for a New York nightclub in New Yorker magazine. Johnny Magda was shot down while flying a combat mission over Korea. So, the boys in blue were brought back in June to pick up where they left off. Although Voris had survived many close calls during World War II—including a Japanese bullet zipping through the bottom of his cockpit—Voris would experience yet another dance with the Grim Reaper.

The single-seat, tricycle gear Panther had a wingspan of 37 feet, 5 inches, and weighed 16, pounds fully loaded. Grumman F9F-5 Panther jets of the U. Navy flight demonstration team Blue Angels in In a move that has never been repeated by either the Navy or the Air Force, the Navy sent its flight demonstration team into battle. He was making a low-level attack with rockets and guns when gunfire struck his Panther.

The pilot managed to get the aircraft out to sea, but it went down in the water and Magda, just 33, was lost. William M. Fechteler ordered that the Blue Angels be re-formed as a flight demonstration team. Voris, now a commander, had been on the verge of retiring, but was brought back to reorganize the team and did so on Oct. The F9F-5 was the main production version of the ubiquitous Panther.

Voris was able to land his badly damaged aircraft but Lt. Bud Wood ejected. He never separated from his seat and was killed on impact. F7U Cutlass jets of the U.