This weekend’s Great State of Maine Air Show is more than just another stop for the U.S. Navy Blue Angels; it’s a homecoming for several members of the elite flight demonstration team.
Among them is Lt. Cmdr. Connor O’Donnell, a Freeport native who first saw the Blue Angels perform in Maine when he was just 10 years old.
“I was on top of my parents’ car in a parking lot,” O’Donnell recalled. “I’ll remember it forever.”
That experience inspired him to become a naval aviator, and now he’ll return to perform in front of a hometown crowd.
Blue Angels Commanding Officer Capt. Adam Bryan also has deep ties to Maine, with family living in Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough.
“I consider it my second home and am very excited to be back,” Bryan said.
The homecoming extends beyond the pilots. Sgt. Bryan Riquier, a Durham native who helps maintain the Blue Angels’ famous Fat Albert support aircraft, said the visit gives him the chance to reconnect with family and friends while showing them what he does.
Organizers expect the Great State of Maine Air Show to attract tens of thousands of spectators and generate an estimated $20 million for the Midcoast economy as visitors fill area hotels, restaurants, and businesses.
The air show takes place Saturday and Sunday at Brunswick Executive Airport. Saturday tickets have already sold out, while a limited number of Sunday tickets remain available.
