By Michael Hernandez
NEWBURY PARK—Lt. Col. Steven Chealander, a former U.S. Air Force Thunderbird pilot, announced during Thursday’s “Fireside Chat” that the legendary Thunderbirds would be flying Friday afternoon over Naval Air Station Point Mugu, Thousand Oaks and the Simi Valley Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. The flyover will take place at 3:05 p.m. over Naval Air Station Pont Mugu and at 3:08 p.m. over the Simi Valley Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
The Air Force Thunderbirds will begin their Southern California flight plan at 12 pm. in San Diego flying over 15 San Diego hospitals and end at 12:25 p.m.; then head to Orange County at 1:35 p.m. and southern portions of Los Angeles County; before reaching Riverside County around 2:10 p.m. and then heading to Ventura County around 3 p.m.
Lt. Col. Chealander, who carried the “football” (the nuclear briefcase always by the President of the United States) for President Ronald Reagan stated that flying over the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library “was very meaningful” to him and said that the local Ventura County flyover would have eight jets rather than the traditional six jets and be flying a formation known as the Super Delta 8. The Thunderbirds would be flying at 400 mph and as low as 500 feet said Lt. Col. Chealander, who is chairman of the Thunderbirds alumni pilots group.
The jets usually are busy participating in air shows but now the team is flying across the nation with routes over hospitals to salute health care heroes. The Air Force Thunderbirds joined with the Navy Blue Angels to do joint air demonstrations and flew over major cities in the East Coast recently.
Southern California residents were advised to watch the flyover from the safety of their home-quarantine and refrain from traveling to watch the event. They were also advised to maintain physical distancing and avoid large gatherings.
Editor’s note: We didn’t see or hear it in Oxnard- not sure what happened. But here’s the spectacular downtown San Diego flyover- starts just before 5:00 on video HERE
Michael Hernandez, Co-Founder of the Citizens Journal—Ventura County’s online news service; editor of the History Makers Report and founder of History Makers International—a community nonprofit serving youth and families in Ventura County, is a former Southern California daily newspaper journalist and religion and news editor. He worked 25 years as a middle school teacher in Monrovia and Los Angeles Unified School Districts. Mr. Hernandez can be contacted by email at [email protected].
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We saw them flyover in the Santa Rosa Valley. Pretty impressive.
Technically they flew over the North part of TO and were barely visible. Bummed not to see them and I have a great vantage point.
Luckily we saw the flyover. But what kind of flyover is that, they are flying too high? If I didn’t look up, we will miss it. We didn’t even hear any sound. It’s a waste of my time driving to Pt. Mugu. Some kids I met were very disappointed too because they didn’t see them. What a disappointment.
Blue Angels are wayuyyy better. Go Navy!
They were suppose to fly over Los Robles hospital and missed by more than a mile. It’s a good thing they weren’t dropping bombs!
Avesome!