Charles A. Atkeison

The Navy's Blue Angels and Air Force Thunderbirds will thunder across north Georgia on Saturday as they begin a series of flyover salutes to Georgia's healthcare professionals and first responders.  

The flyovers of metro Atlanta will begin at about 1:35 p.m. and last for 25 minutes. The Thunderbirds six F-16 jets and the Blue Angels six F/A-18s will enter metro Atlanta over Marietta.

The two flight teams will fly across downtown Atlanta before looping northward up to Roswell, their closest approach to Forsyth county, at 1:39 p.m. They will then turn south for a long pass back over Atlanta and south to Peachtree City. 

“We are honored to fly over Georgia in a display of national unity and support for the men and women keeping our communities safe.” Thunderbirds commander and pilot Lt. Col. John Caldwell said on Friday. “These flyovers are a gesture of goodwill on behalf of the entire Department of Defense to the heroes of the COIVD-19 pandemic.”

The Thunderbirds are scheduled to return to metro Atlanta to perform during the Wings Over North Georgia airshow in October. The two-day event may be one of the few public air shows in which the Air Force squadron performs.

“The past several weeks have been filled with changes most of us have never seen in our lives,” Airshow President John Cowman said on Friday. “As we look to the future, careful consideration has been given to incorporating procedures and guidelines to host a safe and exciting event.”

Officials are encouraging people not to travel just to see the overflight, and everyone is being asked to respect current social distancing requirements as well as traffic safety regulations. 

(Charles A. Atkeison reports on aerospace and technology. Follow his updates via social media @Military_Flight.)