{"id":2751,"date":"2015-06-07T14:43:42","date_gmt":"2015-06-07T14:43:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.migflug.com\/jetflights\/?p=2751"},"modified":"2015-06-07T14:43:42","modified_gmt":"2015-06-07T14:43:42","slug":"first-blue-angels-female-pilot-takes-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/first-blue-angels-female-pilot-takes-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"First Blue Angels female pilot takes flight"},"content":{"rendered":"

It had always been\u00a0U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Katie Higgins’ dream to become a pilot, and follow in her family’s steps.<\/p>\n

This became reality in 2011, when she received her wings. But last weekend was probably the best day of her life, when she successfully became a Blue Angels pilot. If that doesn’t sound important to you – She also is the first female Blue Angels pilot!<\/p>\n

In an interview with CBS News<\/a> she told them\u00a0\u201cI saw the Blue Angels fly when I was a young kid,\u201d\u00a0–\u00a0\u201cI was definitely inspired by that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although several other women have been on the Blue Angels team, none have ever been in the cockpit during a Blue Angels air show until Katie Higgins arrived.<\/p>\n

\"BLUE-ANGELS-320x320\"<\/a><\/p>\n

She discounted talk of her surprising inclusion\u00a0in the Blue Angels as being a form of damage control after a former commander\u2019s recent sexual harassment scandal.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWell, honestly, I would just tell them to watch the show. They can\u2019t tell the difference between mine and the other two pilots on here because I fly it just as well as they do,\u201d the officer told CBS.<\/p>\n

Capt. Higgins\u00a0will be flying the Blue Angels\u2019 C-130 aircraft, known globally\u00a0as \u201cFat Albert.\u201d\u00a0It may not go as fast as the F-18s, but it’s every bit as integral to the show and the ride is surely as\u00a0thrilling.<\/p>\n

“I definitely didn’t come on the team to break any barriers or anything like that, that definitely wasn’t my agenda,” Higgins said. “It just so happened that I was the first female to perform in a demo here, and if that is inspiring to people, if that’s inspiring to little girls around the country, then I’m doing my job.”<\/p>\n

Want to fly with the Blue Angels?\u00a0We wrote an article about flying with the Blue Angels<\/a>. We did this because we received so many requests about that.<\/p>\n

Source(s) –<\/p>\n