Fleet Week SF 2024

For the past two years, Karl (the notorious San Francisco fog) had been the nemesis of our family during Fleet Week. I have so many fond memories of Fleet Week, and in 2022, I even bought premium box seats for the air show for the first time—but Karl dashed those hopes. Last year was a slight improvement, though we could only catch limited maneuvers from the Blue Angels (I realized it later). This year, I debated whether to risk buying another premium box seat but decided to give it one last try.

We arrived at Marina Bay about an hour before the air show. A few patches of clouds made me a bit nervous, but the forecast promised clear skies by the afternoon. The clouds seemed low, so they likely wouldn’t interfere much with the show. From last year’s experience, we knew that the food options in the premium box area were somewhat limited, so we grabbed lunch at the public concession stands instead.

The show kicked off with the Navy parachute team’s drop, but unfortunately, there was a minor accident during the descent. We were watching the drop just 20 feet away, intending to head to our premium seats after the drop. I hoped everyone was all right. Thankfully, the rest of the show went smoothly (at least as far as I could tell).

The air show was spectacular. Aside from the Blue Angels, the F-22 Raptor impressed me the most. It was my first time seeing it in an air show, and its maneuvers seemed to defy gravity, almost unbelievable as a feat of human engineering. I was in awe of the technology that made such movements possible. The F-22 also performed a memorable heritage flight with the P-51 Mustang, which stirred something in me—perhaps a sense of respect that bridges over 70 years of aviation history.