U.S. Navy Blue Angels’ Fat Albert Heading to England for Life-Extending Maintenance; Expected to Miss 2026 Air Show Season
The world’s most recognized C-130J Super Hercules, belonging to the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and affectionately known as “Fat Albert,” is expected to miss the 2026 air show season as it heads to England for extensive maintenance that will expand the aircraft’s service life by decades.
Now that the Blue Angels’ 2025 air show season is officially over, Fat Albert will head across the Atlantic Ocean to Cambridge, England, home of Marshall Aerospace, for replacement of the center wing box as well as routine maintenance and a full paint strip and repaint. The center wing box is a critical component with a finite lifespan, and is a major primary structure that connects the aircraft’s outer wings to its fuselage. The center wing box bears significant operational load and sustains exceptional stress during flight. Once it reaches its end of life, it must be replaced in order for the aircraft to remain airworthy. Lockheed Martin’s new enhanced service life center wing box is a highly cost-effective way to extend Fat Albert’s lifespan by 20+ years.
“Given Marshall’s extensive history with the venerable C-130, I am confident Fat Albert will be in good hands. Marshall’s timely completion of this major maintenance event will ensure Fat Albert’s return to service with the Navy Flight Demonstration Team in time for show season.”
Fat Albert has close ties to Marshall Aerospace in Cambridge, having arrived initially after production from Lockheed Martin in Marietta, Georgia for entry-into-service with the Royal Air Force. Fat Albert flew with the Royal Air Force from 2001 to 2017, before returning to Marshall Aerospace 2019 for maintenance, paint, and modifications ahead of entry into service with the United States Navy and the Blue Angels. Fat Albert left Cambridge in 2020, and crossed the Atlantic before arriving to its new home at NAS Pensacola, Florida.
Since its entry-into-service with Blue Angels, Fat Albert has flown 100,000 miles a year, transporting essential equipment and personnel to show sites across the country each weekend. Fat Albert also kicks off many of the Blue Angels’ demonstrations, performing high-speed, low-altitude passes, as well as steep climbs, sharp banks, and combat landings. It is the only C-130 in the world that performs regularly in air show demonstrations. This flying results in elevated stress and fatigue on Fat Albert’s airframe and components, requiring an unusual degree of expert maintenance and care on a regular basis.
