We are thrilled to partner with the Moffett Field Museum at NASA Ames Research Center for this release. The Museum preserves and shares the remarkable military and NASA history of Moffett Field, and this partnership will result in several releases that directly benefit their mission.
JETs Vol. 26-33 features a remarkable piece of United States Navy, Blue Angel, and NASA history: a Lot 6 F/A-18A outer wing section. BuNo 161973 was a Lot 6 Hornet that flew with the Blue Angels as Blue Angel No. 1. On January 23, 1990, this aircraft was involved in a midair collision with Blue Angel No. 2 during formation practice near NAF El Centro, California. No. 2's pilot (flying BuNo 161524) ejected safely, and 161973 was flown back to El Centro despite major damage to its right outer wing. The aircraft's right outer wing was removed and replaced and the aircraft returned to service.
The outer wing eventually became NASA Ames property and survived years of outdoor storage, complete with investigation grease-pencil markings and physical evidence of the impact on the underside of the wing. By the time the Moffett Field Museum acquired it, the assembly had been stripped of nearly all serviceable components. The Museum is home to other notable NASA F/A-18 hardware and an entire Blue Angel Hornet airframe formerly used for wind tunnel testing. In their collection was another component we released last year: tags and Air Drops cut from a panel removed from BuNo 161703.
Provenance. By the time it arrived at the Museum, removal paperwork for the outer wing was long gone. In this case, BuNo attribution was done using oral history and the known data about the mishap and the outer wing. 161973 is the only F/A-18A Blue Angel Hornet to be involved in a midair collision and to have its right outer wing removed as a result.
Variants. The JETs this week are offered in 3 color variations: Blue, Yellow, and Blue/Yellow. Each are offered in Thin and Structured. The Thin are anything but, with most being .25" thick; some over .5" thick. The Structured feature Hi-Lok fasteners and aluminum structure on the backside of the tag. All tags ship on a lights-out card by James Martin featuring the diamond over Pensacola Beach. Note: The Structured tag photos show the backs of the Structured tags paired with a Thin tag to show the front color. Rivet/Structure and paint color spread is random. No 2 tags are the same.
On 14 August only, receive a bonus Blue Angels holographic sticker with every JET purchased.
Shipping. All JETs will ship the week of the 24th.
This run is limited to 260 total JETs. You can add a Standard Air Drop to your JETs order at a discounted price on release day only. The Air Drops have been cut from the same outer wing.
