Blue Angel #2 Finds Permanent Home at Seattle's Museum of Flight

Thousands of aircraft enthusiasts on social media documented her journey across the country from Pensacola, Florida as retired Blue Angel #2, registered by the U.S. Navy as number 163106, found its new home at the Seattle Museum of Flight.

Bill the Buff Man and his detailing dynamo daughter Shae, and six members of the West Coast contingent of the Air Force One Detailing Team spent 4 days at the museum polishing her up for exhibit in the museum's new Airpark Pavilion.

The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C joined the Blue Angels in early 2004 after a distinguished combat record. It was a member of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 87 and was used in combat operations during Operation Desert Storm and Operation Southern Watch in Iraq, as well as Operation Continue Hope in Somalia. Furthermore, it flew over Afghanistan after 9/11, and flew strikes over Iraq in 2003.

"We will give the iconic plane a full polish and sealed it with a new paint protectant product created for our Team Leader, Renny Doyle of Detailing Success called Double Black Beadmaker," says Quinn. "Fortunately the plane will be permanently housed inside the pavilion, which offers cover from Seattle's inclement weather."

The team cleaned the plane, buffed out its lustrous blue paint, and protected it with a highly hydrophobic Beadmaker formula that repels water and dirt, while shielding the paint from further deterioration.