Having entertained air show audiences since 1946, the Blue Angels US Navy aerial display team recently improved its wireless audio system with antennas from RF Venue and design from InConcert Productions.

The Blue Angels’ routines are carefully choreographed manoeuvres that partially rely on radio communication between pilots in the air and a pilot on the ground, who in turn communicates events to the announcer. ‘Back in 2013, new members for the Blue Angels wanted to get closer to the spectators on the ground while they were performing,’ says Jay Rabbitt, president of InConcert Productions and Air Show One, the provider of specialised airs how PA systems and air boss communications equipment at shows across the US. ‘The announcers used to stand on a platform and did not move, severely limiting their interaction with the audience, so they wanted to take a wireless mic and walk up and down the crowd as far as possible so they could be seen.’

Over the past three years, InConcert Productions developed a road kit that could withstand the rigors of outdoor environments and wirelessly congested airbases where many shows are performed. A pilot on the ground, dubbed Number 8, monitors a series of radio scanners for transmissions from pilots and then relays information via an IFB to the announcer, known as Number 7. The announcer commentates via a wireless microphone while walking through the crowd.

‘Number 8, she’s also a pilot, talks to the announcer through the IFB,’ Rabbitt explains. ‘Together, they time when the manoeuvres are going to happen, so that he starts talking at the correct point.

‘But they were running into problems. The wireless worked well, but they weren’t getting enough distance. We were already using passive paddles, but they wanted more range. I told them that there was only one place to go, and that was with RF Venue because the antennas would give us the extra range needed, as well as being durable and easy to transport.”

The Blue Angels are currently in a three-month winter practice session, which takes place at a Naval Air Facility – a former bombing range – in the deserts of California. InConcert tested a high-gain CP Beam helical antenna for the IFB link, and a Diversity Fin for the announcer’s wireless microphone, and the Blues decided to take the antennas permanently on the road.

‘The people who are doing sound on the tour are airplane mechanics with the team,’ Rabbitt says. ‘One minute, they’re replacing engines and sheet metal, then they get assigned into the position of being a sound person. The stuff has to be very easy to set up, very easy to pack, and it needs to be able to handle extreme abuse.’