The First Female Blue Angel Jet Pilot Is From Minnesota + Studied At UMD

Lieutenant Amanda Lee is the first female Blue Angel Demonstration Team Pilot and she's from right here in Minnesota! She'll be returning to Duluth with the Blue Angels for the Duluth Airshow.

The Duluth Airshow's finale is the incredible Blue Angels demonstration that will take place on Saturday, July 15, and Sunday, July 16. Lt. Lee flies her F-18 in the number 3 position. That's in the left wing of the formation.

She's not the first female pilot in the Blue Angels, but she is the first female pilot to fly a jet in the formation team. Marine Corps Captain Katie Higgins was the first woman to join the Blue Angels when she was selected to fly the C130 transport plane "Fat Albert."

Lt. Amanda Lee was born in Moundsview, Minnesota, and graduated from Irondale High School. She was an athlete in both high school and college playing ice hockey, soccer, and swimming.

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Lee then went on to study at the University of Minnesota Duluth. While she was at UMD, she enlisted in the US Navy as an Aviation Electronics Technician. While in her first command at the VFA-136 "Knighthawks," she was selected to become a pilot in 2009. It was part of the Navy's Seaman-to-Admiral commissioning program.

Lt. Leet then attended officer training and also enlisted in Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry.

Lt. Amanda Lee joined the Blue Angels last fall. She's accrued over 1400 flight hours and over 225 carrier landings. ABC News did a story on her breaking barriers for women in the military.

If all of that wasn't impressive enough, Lee also has been awarded four Navy Achievement Medals. She was deployed in Operation Inherent Resolve - a campaign that took place in Iraq, Syria, and Lybia.

Look for Lt. Lee and the rest of the Blue Angels performing at the Duluth Airshow next month!