A Blue Angel F/A-18C Hornet will be installed at the Capt. Jeff Kuss USMC Memorial at Lee Victory Recreation Park on Wednesday, May 30 at 10:00 a.m. All Coast Aircraft Recovery will oversee the installation and Maxim Crane will provide the crane and support services for the mounting of the aircraft in coordination with CraneWorks who will be providing ground transport.
The 350-ton crane being utilized has a telescopic boom length of 210.1 feet, a tip height of 196 feet, and is configured to place the aircraft weighing 21,600 pounds on the memorial pedestal.
A portion of Sam Ridley Parkway East will be rerouted during the installation process. The Blue Angel aircraft is on permanent loan from the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida and will be on display as part of the Capt. Jeff Kuss USMC Memorial. The memorial is dedicated to Marine Captain Jeff Kuss who on June 2, 2016, at the age of 32, lost his life in a tragic in-flight accident while flying as Blue Angel #6 in practice for the Great Tennessee Air Show.
The memorial dedication will be held on June 9 at 10:00 a.m. at Lee Victory Recreation Park in Smyrna and is open the public.