The 2008 schedules for the North American military teams were released yesterday at the ICAS convention. Below is a listing by date and location.

BA United States Navy Blue Angels
GK United States Army Golden Knights (Black & Gold teams)
SB Canadian Air Force Snowbirds
TB United States Air Force Thunderbirds

08 March
NAF El Centro, CA - BA

13-16 March
Sacramento, CA (15-16 only) - BA
South Padre Island, TX - GK
San Angelo, TX (15th only) - TB

29-30 March
NAS Meridian, MS - BA
Tyndall AFB, FL (29th only) - TB / GK

05-06 April
NAS Kingsville, TX - BA
Punta Gorda, FL - TB / GK

12-13 April
Smyrna, TN - BA
Lakeland, FL - TB

19-20 April
Peoria, IL - BA / GK
Wilmington, NC - TB / GK

26-27 April
Vidalia, GA - BA
Charleston AFB, SC (26th only) - TB

03-04 May
Ft. Lauderdale, FL - BA / SB / GK
March ARB, CA - TB / GK

07 May
Anderson, SC - SB
Myrtle Beach, SC - GK

10-11 May
Barksdale AFB, LA - BA / GK
Pittsburgh, PA - SB
Langley AFB, VA - TB

14 May
Duluth, MI - SB

16-18 May
Andrews AFB, MD - BA / GK
Malmstrom, MT (17-18 only) - SB
Fort Smith, AR (17-18 only) - TB / GK

21-23 May
Naval Academy - BA
Cranbrook, BC (21st only) - SB

24-25 May
Jones Beach, NY - BA / GK
Janesville, WI - SB / GK
Tinker AFB, OK (24th only) - TB

28 May
USAF Academy, CO - TB

31 May
Danville, VA - GK
Portage, MB - SB
McGuire AFB, NJ - TB

01 June
Danville, VA - GK
Brandon, MB - SB
McGuire AFB, NJ - TB

04 June
Kapuskasing, ON - SB

07-08 June
MCAS Cherry Point, NC - BA / GK
Montreal F1, QC - SB
Rockford, IL - TB / GK

10 June
Magog, QC - SB

14-15 June
Quebec City, Canada - BA / SB / TB
Army B-day OCPA - GK

18 June
Kingston, ON - SB

21-22 June
Davenport, IA - BA / GK
Sioux City, IA - GK
CFB Borden, ON - SB
Klamath Falls, OR (21st only) - TB

24 June
Eielson AFB, AK - TB

25 June
Goderich, ON - SB

28-29 June
Huntsville, AL - BA / GK
Evansville, IN - GK
Ottawa, ON - SB
Elmendorf AFB, AK - TB

01 July
Canada Day, Ottawa, ON - SB

03 July
Dubuque, IA - GK

04-06 July
Traverse City, MI (5-6 only) - BA / GK
Cape Girardeao, MO (5-6 only) - GK
Stampede (4th only) - SB
Battle Creek, MI - TB

11 July
Pensacola Beach, FL - BA

12-13 July
Milwaukee, WI - TB

16 July
Thompson, MB - SB

19-20 July
Duluth, MN - BA
Gary, IN - GK
Yellowknife, NWT (19 only) - SB
Edmonton Grd Prx (20th only) - SB
McChord AFB, WA - TB

23 July
Cheyenne, WY - TB
Prince George, BC - SB

26-27 July
Twin Falls, ID - BA
Helena Military Open House - GK
Wetaskiwin, AB - SB
Rochester, NY - TB / GK

30 July
White Rock, BC - SB

02-03 August
Seattle, WA - BA
Dawson Creek, BC (3rd only) - SB

06 August
Penticton, BC - SB

08-10 August
Fairchild AFB, WA (09-10 only) - BA
Abbotsford, BC - SB / TB

13 August
Rocky Mtn House, AB - SB

16-17 August
BA - Chicago, IL - BA / GK
Yankton, SD - GK
Springbank, AB (16th only) - SB
Offutt AFB, NE - TB

20 August
Atlantic City, NJ - TB

23-24 August
Greenfield, IN - GK
Moose Jaw, SK (23rd only) - SB
Kansas City, MO - TB / GK

27 August
Welland, ON - SB

30-31 August
Cleveland, OH - BA / GK
Toronto, ON - SB
Travis AFB, CA - TB / GK

01 September
Cleveland, OH - BA
Toronto, ON - SB

02 September
Van denBos School - SB

06-07 September
NAS Brunswick, ME - BA / GK
Halifax, NS - SB
Westover ARB, MA - TB / GK

10 September
Stephenville, NL - SB

12-14 September
Eau Claire, WI (13-14 only) - BA / GK
Summerside, PEI (13-14 only) - SB
Reno, NV (12-13 only) - TB

20-21 September
NAS Oceana, VA - BA
Midland, TX - GK
Dover 400, DE - GK
Victoria, BC - SB
Scott AFB, IL - TB

24 September
Tri Cities, WA - SB

27-28 September
Grand Junction, CO - BA
Parkersberg, WV - GK
Chico, CA - SB
Salinas, CA - TB

01 October
Douglas, AZ - SB

04-05 October
MCAS Miramar, CA - BA / GK
El Paso, TX - SB / GK
Vance AFB, OK (4th only) - TB

11-12 October
San Francisco, CA - BA / SB
West Chester, PA - GK
Ft Worth, TX - TB / GK

17 October
15 Wing Moose Jaw, SK - SB

18-19 October
Little Rock, AR - BA / GK
Huntington Beach, CA - GK
Dobbins ARB, GA - TB

25-26 October
NAS Jacksonville, FL - BA
Houston, TX - TB

01-02 November
Lackland AFB, TX - BA / GK
Lafayette, LA - TB / GK

08-09 November
Cape Canaveral, FL - BA
Las Vegas, NV - TB

14-15 November
NAS Pensacola, FL - BA

Roger Buis, owner and pilot of the popular airshow helicopter named OTTO, has announced his retirement. Although the OTTO airshow routine had a kid based theme with blowing bubbles and bouncing yoyo’s, I was always impressed with the helicopter airmanship that Roger displayed. In recent years Roger also performed an airplane-to-helicopter transfer with John Mohr and stuntman Todd Green.

Thank you Roger for an outstanding airshow routine and good luck in your future endeavors.

An online petition to save the Red Barons has been started by Ed Shipley at Airshowbuzz. If you enjoyed watching the team perform (or wish you had) then click the image to add your name to the list.

The Schwan Food Company, owners of the Red Baron® Pizza Squadron aerobatic team, have announced their retirement after 28 years of performances. The official announcement in PDF format can be found here along with a discussion of the retirement at Airshowbuzz.

I had the fortune of seeing the team perform twice in their final year. First at the Gathering of Mustangs & Legends where I took the photos below. The last time was at the Jacksonville Sea & Sky Spectacular where I had the opportunity to have the team autograph a photo from the Gathering.

Thank you to Schwan Foods and all the pilots, maintenance crews, and announcers for providing the airshow circuit with a top notch aerobatic team throughout the years. You will be missed but not forgotten.