OAKLAND (KCBS RADIO) – The Blue Angels took to the skies from Oakland International Airport on Thursday for test flights ahead of this weekend's Fleet Week Air Show. One of those pilots is a San Francisco native, who will be flying over his hometown for the first time as a member of the legendary flight team.
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As a child, Lt. Scott Goossens remembers daydreaming, watching the jets fly overhead on the playground or from a San Francisco rooftop.
"I remember it would be the coolest thing in the world," he told KCBS Radio. "We'd be in class and on Thursday and Friday, just like we’re about to do this week, the jets would be whizzing outside the windows and the teachers knew that they no hope in keeping our attention on whatever lesson plan they had for that day."
"That was the backdrop of this team when I was a kid, that's what I remember seeing growing up and it's what I associate the Blue Angels with, flying over San Francisco Bay."
Now he’ll have the opportunity for a homecoming, taking flight and performing the Blue Angels' daring maneuvers over San Francisco while looking over the city's landmarks from a most unique vantage point.
"Some of the over the top maneuvers when we're gonna be upside down overhead the Bay and being able to see the city below and the Golden Gate Bridge," he explained. "Some of my lines take me up into the neighborhood that I grew up in."
Goosens didn't take up flight until he was 25, joining the Navy then becoming a flight instructor.
He said he hopes to inspire others, not necessarily towards aviation or the Navy, but rather toward excellence and a pursuit of success and a chosen path.
"90% of people at that first sign of difficulty will give up and it's those who continue to persevere and pursue that dream are the ones that ultimately end up getting where they want to be," he said. "Whether you want to be a Blue Angel, whether you want to be a teacher or a doctor, whatever that is that you may be interested in, pursue that to the best of your ability and with all your passion."
This Fleet Week marks the second year the Blue Angels will fly F/A-18 jets, with Goossens piloting the number 3 aircraft. He said he's hoping to get quite the hometown contingent on the ground watching soar.
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