July 22nd, 2019 : Blue Junior

[xoxoxoBruce]

The US has the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds, the UK the Red Arrows, Canada has Snowbirds, and Aussies have the Roulettes.
Japan, not to be outdone has the Blue Impulse.

As with any display team, the Blue Junior perform slaloms, twists and twirls, without leaving the ground and at a terminal speed of 25mph. Just in case, the ‘aircraft’ are fitted with stabilizers. One might assume these are bolted on to avoid crash landings or because the riders hadn’t learned to balance. The real reason: the extra fuselage/bodywork means team members can’t put their feet down, and need the stabilizers to stop the flying scooters from toppling over when stopped.

But we’re being unkind, because team members had to go through two months of training before they were permitted to perform with Blue Junior, and they had to practice two or three times a week to keep up to scratch. Set up in 1993 by ten maintenance crews, Blue Junior has performed at many air shows and festivals, including the Japanese Air Force 60th anniversary celebrations, though obviously not with the original crew. “Everywhere they go, aircraft buffs and kids gather round the scooters – they are very popular,” said Japanese Air Staff Office spokeswoman Mariku Yasui. “As there are few humour-oriented activities here,” said one team member, “we feel a sense of achievement and delight, seeing how spectators enjoy the show.”

To transform the Gyro and Dio into planes, the team built a cunning construction of GRP and plywood over an aluminum frame, which in turn was bolted onto the scooter. The results look… plane-like…especially the propellers on the flying Dio’s, which were powered by automobile windshield wiper motors. Blue Junior – the perfect way to defuse international tensions.

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