Fleet Week marks homecoming for Blue Angels pilot from San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO - For Lt. Scott Goossens, the 2020 San Francisco Fleet Week Airshow is a special homecoming.
"It's exciting, it's emotional, it's all of the above. I'm just so excited to be here," he told KPIX 5.
The #3 Blue Angels pilot was born and raised in San Francisco's Cow Hollow neighborhood.
"This was my inspiration as a kid. I grew up every year watching the blue angels flying over sf watching the fleet week airshow and I remember as a kid thinking it was the coolest thing in the world," said Goossens.
The St. Ignatius alumni grew up starstruck by the supersonic jets.
"Being in class on Thursday and Friday just like we're about to do, the jets would be whizzing outside the windows and the teachers knew they had no hope in keeping us focused on the lesson plan," recalled Goossens. "I remember thinking 'I can't believe this is a job' and that sparked my interest when I was young."
He'll have one of the best views in the city during the airshow, soaring thousands of feet in the air. But he says some of his maneuvers will take him close to home -- literally.
"Some of my lines take me right over the neighborhood I grew up in and point me towards my high school, and some of the over top maneuvers where we're upside down seeing the city below," he added.
It took him ten years to get to this point, and the journey wasn't easy.
"Lots and lots of training. Every pilot that comes to the Blue Angels has about 1,250 hours flying tactical jets. They're qualified to land on aircraft carriers all around the world," Goossens said.
But he delivered an important message for Bay Area kids who see the airshow with dreams of joining the squad.
"Don't lose track of your dreams whether you want to be a Blue Angel, a teacher, doctor, whatever it is pursue that with all of your passion," said Goossens. "You will fail many more times, I am a prime example of that ... [but] it's those who persevere and continue to dream are the ones who get to where they want to be."