In a blue and yellow Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, U.S. Navy Lt. Amanda Lee roared into New Century AirCenter on Thursday, ahead of this weekend’s KC Garmin Air Show.

Lee, a Minnesotan, is the first female pilot for the Navy’s elite Blue Angels. You can spot her flying left wing in fighter jet number 3 this weekend in Gardner.

“I kind of fell into flying for the Blue Angels,” said Lee, who enlisted in the Navy in 2007 as an Aviation Electronics Technician. “I used to work on these airplanes as a maintainer, and when I picked up my commissioning program, I transitioned into the pilot spot, kind of hoping to get back to the same aircraft that I used to work on,” she said.

Lee, who joined the Blue Angels team last September, has more than 1,400 flight hours and 225 carrier landings under her wings.

“I can’t believe I got picked up for this incredible team,” Lee said.

As the first female pilot for the elite demonstration squadron, Lee said the support from the public has been “absolutely incredible.”

Read more: https://www.kansascity.com/news/local...

---
More from The Kansas City Star:
Subscribe: http://bit.ly/2FDe1zT
Twitter:   / kcstar  
Facebook:   / kansascitystar  
Website: https://www.kansascity.com/
Digital news subscription: http://bit.ly/2CDAZoD