KEYS STORMS & CLIMATE CHANGE

Meteorologist Set To Present At Lecture Series In Key Largo

BLUE ANGELS TO HEADLINE NAS KEY WEST’S BICENTENNIAL AIR SHOW APRIL 15-16

Aviation aficionados can view the dynamic flying of the U.S. Navy’s elite Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Squadron as well as other military and civilian professionals Saturday and Sunday, April 15-16, during the Southernmost Air Spectacular.

Presented by Naval Air Station Key West and held in the vast skies above the Lower Florida Keys, the 2023 show is themed “200 Years of the Navy in Key West.” The theme commemorates Commodore David Porter’s 1823 arrival and construction of the first U.S. Navy buildings on the island. Today, Naval Air Station Key West is the Navy’s premier air-to-air combat training station.

Other planned show highlights include demonstrations by the U.S. Navy Reserve Adversary Squadron VFC-111 “Sun Downers,” flying the supersonic Northrop F-5N Tiger II, the same aircraft featured in the 1986 film “Top Gun”; the F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team, operating the Air Force’s most advanced multirole fighter aircraft; the NAS Key West Search and Rescue Unit; the Legacy Flight team, created to honor the people and aircraft that have defended the U.S. and featuring a historic P-51 Mustang; and the U.S. Special Operations Para-Commandos Parachute Team, whose members skydive from 12,500 feet.

The 32nd annual lecture series, The Delicate Balance of Nature, returns to its inperson venue in Key Largo with a lecture that delves into the correlation between climate change and the impacts of tropical storm and lower-end hurricanes in the Florida Keys.

Nancy Barnhardt, of the Florida Keys National Weather Service in Key West, will serve as guest speaker on Wednesday, March 22 at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. Doors open at 7 p.m. with the lecture beginning at 7:30 p.m.

The duration, speed, size and direction all play a part in how a storm affects the Florida Keys. With sea level rise and king tides already affecting coastal flooding, storm surge and additional flooding is a major concern. A longerduration, weaker storm, which is becoming more prevalent, may be able to produce damage similar to a faster-moving, stronger storm. Barnhardt will address these concerns.

The lecture is sponsored by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park. Attendees can view the lecture in person at the Visitor Center and Aquarium Auditorium at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. It will also be offered virtually on Zoom, sponsored by the Friends of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park and Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park.

available to Friends members, and everyone is invited to join and support the Key Largo Florida State Parks. Early Zoom registration is also offered to members. For more information on the Friends and to join online, visit: https://pennekampparkfriends.org/

There is no cost to enter the park for the lecture series. Seating is limited, so it is recommended that visitors arrive on time to be assured a seat in the wheelchairaccessible auditorium.

Attendees may wish to bring a cushion for added seating comfort. Temperatures in the auditorium vary and a sweater or light jacket may be desired. Please help us to accommodate those who are chemically sensitive by not wearing fragrances or other scented products.

To attend this event virtually, registration is required. The Zoom format creates the opportunity for others to attend, but it will be a limited audience (100 online participants). Please plan to sign on a few minutes in advance of the presentation to ensure your inclusion in the list of attendees. Information to register will be available on the Friends web page: https:// pennekampparkfriends.org/events Click on the event shown on the calendar.

For more information or accessibility needs, contact Elena Muratori, park services specialist, at 305-676-3786. For more information on Florida’s State Parks, visit www.FloridaStateParks.org.

The air show is headquartered at NAS Key West’s Boca Chica Field, located at MM 8 on the Florida Keys Overseas Highway. Gates will open at 10 a.m. both days, with the show scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.

The legendary Blue Angels are internationally recognized for their superb formation flying and demonstrations of maneuvers used in aerial combat. The squadron, whose winter home was NAS Key West in the 1960s, will perform maneuvers in F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter aircraft beginning around 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The Blue Angels date back to the end of World War II, when Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Chester W. Nimitz ordered the formation of a flight demonstration team to showcase naval aviation. An estimated 11 million spectators view their shows each year.

Also scheduled are civilian aerobatic exhibitions by leading air show performers including the four-man AeroShell Aerobatic Team, four-time World Aerobatic Championships freestyle winner Rob Holland, showman Skip Stewart flying his custom-built biplane Prometheus and flyer Bill Stein in his Zivko Edge 540.

Demonstrations by the famous Aftershock Jet Fire Truck and Eric Nelson’s Precision Exotics cars are planned as well.

In addition, attendees can view the Chapters Health Valor Program’s “American Veterans Traveling Tribute Wall,” an 80% scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C.

Static displays of more than 30 civilian and military aircraft, food and beverage vendors, virtual games and other attractions at vendor booths, a kids’ zone with rides and inflatables, souvenir booths and the presence of the Southernmost Car Club are to add to the show’s appeal.

General admission to the air show is free and spectators are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets. Alternatively, they can purchase reserved box seats or “Flightline Club” VIP seating either in advance or, if available, on show days. Event information and ticketing is at airshowkeywest.com. — Contributed

U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Brian Vaught stands on an F/A-18F Super Hornet of the Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron on Naval Air Station Key West’s Boca Chica Field. The Blue Angels are set to headline the Southernmost Air Spectacular April 15 & 16.

V. HUYNH/U.S. Navy

JANICE GARY

is a writer, dog mama and author of the awardwinning memoir, “Short Leash.” Her lifelong love of the Keys led her to living local on the rock with her husband and their dog, Ozzy, the Canine Tornado. janicegary.com