N8BA callsign “Navy 8” is a DC-6B painted like the iconic Blue Angels R5D-2/3 Transporter from 1959. The R5D-2/3 was the Naval version of the commercial airline DC-4, the military versions were C-54’s. The R5D-2/3 served as the United States Navy Blue Angels Transporter for the F-9F8 Cougar and F-11F-1 Tiger from 1956 until 1968 when it was replaced by the C-121.

The Blue Angels transport aircraft were assigned to NAS Pensacola operations and loaned to the team until they received their first fully dedicated transporter, Fat Albert in 1974. The first R5D (C-54P) to be painted in the Blue Angels colors was BuNO: 50868 in 1959. Prior to this, the aircraft were the standard Navy transport colors of white top and gray bottom. The aircraft would later have the #8 painted on the tail as the maintenance officer at the time was designated #8 and was one of the Blue Angels pilots. Pilots #1 - 6 are the demonstration pilots and #7 was the narrator/ PIO officer and #8 the Maintenance Officer. Its call sign was Navy 8 because of this as he was one of the pilots that flew the aircraft from site to site. The other pilot and crew were assigned to NAS Pensacola Operations and a lot of times was the designated Plane Commander.

I created this livery on behalf of the Virtual Blue Angels team. The Virtual Blue Angels were formed in January of 2004, and have been going strong ever since. It has been checked by the team and approved for public release. There are slight deviations from the original livery to make the DC-4 livery fit the DC-6 but is as close to the original as possible. (and yes, the ailerons and elevators were not painted on the original aircraft. :-) could not find a reference why.

I am therefore very pleased to be able to make it available here today exclusively for anyone interested on behalf of the Virtual Blue Angels. No aviation enthusiast should ever miss this teams breathtaking shows. The Virtual Blue Angels are a group of enthusiastic flight simulation pilots who strive to be the best of the best among the flight sim community. They fly the F-18C Hornet and now F-18E Super Hornet in DCS World and regularly broadcast live on Twitch and are the absolute highlight of every virtual air show. They aim to emulate the dedication and professionalism of the real Blue Angels through their videos, screenshots, and live shows.
For more information about the Virtual Blue Angels, check out their Facebook at www.facebook.com/virtualblueangels
A link to their videos can be found at https://vimeo.com/user130089655

-------------------------------------------------------------

Note: This upload includes the unchanged livery for MSFS 2020 and, in addition, the identical livery for MSFS 2024.

Further information can be found in the download folder.

.