New pilot begins training with Blue Angels

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The Associated Press

160806-N-ZP059-082 SEATTLE, Wash. (Aug. 6, 2016) – The U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, fly in formation over Lake Washington while performing at an airshow during Seattle’s 67th annual Seafair Fleet Week. Seafair Fleet Week is an annual celebration of the sea services wherein Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen from visiting U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships and ships from Canada make the city a port of call. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jacob G. Sisco/Released)

PENSACOLA, Fla. — A new pilot has begun training with the Navy’s elite Blue Angels.

The Pensacola News Journal reports that Cmdr. Frank Weisser is practicing with the flight demonstration squadron during an extended break in their performance schedule.

Navy Lt. Joe Hontz, a Blue Angels spokesman, says the team will fly in smaller formations until Weisser is ready to join the full six-jet demonstrations.

The Blue Angels’ next performance is scheduled Sept. 3 at the Cleveland National Air Show in Ohio.

Weisser previously served with the Blue Angels from 2008 to 2010. The Navy announced his return in July, about a month after the death of Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss.

Kuss, a native of Durango, Colorado, died June 2 when his jet crashed just after takeoff during a Blue Angels practice for a Tennessee air show.

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The Associated Press