New Blue Angels

GRG55 said:
Or the F4 again? :D
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I'd imagine the A4 was better still. I've see all 3 types in my lifetime, but not fresh enough in my memory to be able to judge which was the best.

ETres said:
They'd be more interesting if they switched back to using Hellcats or Bearcats.
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do you think that would be all that much better than the teams such as Aeroshell?

flyingron said:
The RCAF Snowbirds do a better show in fifty year old aircraft :) Also lets them park in Vintage at Oshkosh.
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I do agree they put on a great show. I appreciated that they did it with so many more aircraft and it was so much more "graceful". Also impressive that the overall team size is so much smaller and I assume lower "budget"
 
I find it interesting that they fly basically the dogs of the fleet. Understandable especially when we have guys in combat that the best would go to them, but at the same time surprising to me....
 
Brad W said:
I find it interesting that they fly basically the dogs of the fleet. Understandable especially when we have guys in combat that the best would go to them, but at the same time surprising to me....
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The old airframes are also the lightest in the fleet. Weight goes up over the life of a program as things get added. They won't be dogs once the mods are done.
 
keen9 said:
They won't be dogs once the mods are done.
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...yah, maybe not in terms of performance

I was watching a cockpit cam video a year or two ago...one of the VIP rides they do, and was noticing just how ragged out the bits of the panel and interior I could see were...held together with duck tape....that's what I meant. high time and used hard, The fancy gloss paint job sure does look great from a distance though!
 
Brad W said:
...yah, maybe not in terms of performance

I was watching a cockpit cam video a year or two ago...one of the VIP rides they do, and was noticing just how ragged out the bits of the panel and interior I could see were...held together with duck tape....that's what I meant. high time and used hard, The fancy gloss paint job sure does look great from a distance though!
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I did a FOD walk around them at Miramar once. The paint jobs aren’t that nice up close either. It’s amazing how much touch up paint, grease, hyd fluid etc is on the outside.
 
Velocity173 said:
I did a FOD walk around them at Miramar once. The paint jobs aren’t that nice up close either. It’s amazing how much touch up paint, grease, hyd fluid etc is on the outside.
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I think that's because the ground crews spend 75% of their time keeping their pilots spotless n' shiny.
 
The first time I saw them they were flying F-11s ...
 
ETres said:
I think that's because the ground crews spend 75% of their time keeping their pilots spotless n' shiny.
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I can’t imagine how much time they spend just keeping them airworthy, especially right now in winter training. Two to three hops a day for 6 days a week would be a maintenance nightmare.
 
I’m in a minority, but I’m kind of tired of the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels. The routines are about the same since I was a kid. Absolutely loved the air force's single pilot demonstration of the F-16 at Sun N Fun a couple years ago. Spectacular.

Wish the flight demonstration teams would rethink their show some more.
 
NordicDave said:
Wish the flight demonstration teams would rethink their show some more.
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Platform switches are when that happens to highlight the new capabilities. Not a lot different with the Super Hornet vice the Legacy but the article does note

"While a transition team is hard at work in the simulator figuring out the Super Hornet version of the Blue Angels' routine, replicating dramatic spectacle itself is not the only focus of the initiative. The new routine will be built around the Super Hornet's attributes and limitations."

I saw the Blues as a kid in Phantoms and then A-4's and at age 4 even saw the Thunderbirds in F-100's. I was in AOCS in 86 when the Blues were transitioning to Hornets and always flying there. Pretty hard to be a candidate and pay attention to a Naval Law class when the Blues were working the pattern right over bldg 633. I'm sure that explains my grades :D

All of the platforms have their show strengths. It's easy to become blasé after years watching them up close and personal at Pensacola and El Centro but having been retired for 12 year now I'm looking forward to seeing them in the "new" jet.



 
Brad W said:
I'd imagine the A4 was better still. I've see all 3 types in my lifetime, but not fresh enough in my memory to be able to judge which was the best.
do you think that would be all that much better than the teams such as Aeroshell?
I do agree they put on a great show. I appreciated that they did it with so many more aircraft and it was so much more "graceful". Also impressive that the overall team size is so much smaller and I assume lower "budget"
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I would have loved to see them in the F-4s. I can only imagine how loud 6 F-4s in full afterburners would be.
 
How about F4u Corsairs for about 5yrs...could watch and listen to them all day long!
 
NordicDave said:
Wish the flight demonstration teams would rethink their show some more.
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Can’t really change much. No energy toward the crowd, and about the only new trick in decades that can be done safely are the high alpha passes.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Wow, haboob by hornet, never seen that before!
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Yep. NAS El Centro is a popular spot to get hit by # 6s jet blast. Usually the solos go the other direction so this is kinda rare.

Back in 97, #6 actually hit that fence with his nozzles on the pull-up. That section of fence was obviously replaced. Heard a rumor that the radar reflector pole was painted yellow with the blue 6 after that incident.
 
NordicDave said:
Wish the flight demonstration teams would rethink their show some more.
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yeah, about the only variation is the switch-ups between the low and high shows.

There for a while I went to so many airshows I felt like I just about had the script memorized. Different venues sometimes help.

Not long after moving to jacksonville, fl..they had the show out at the beach. They rotate one year at the beach and the next at NAS JAX..well more or less anyway.
So anyway, it was a low & wet day. I put my lawn chair down IN the water so nobody would be standing in front of me. The pressure waves on the high speed stuff really made for some nice condensation over the wings and strakes that day...& it sure did seem like they were flying a good bit lower and faster than 'normal'!
 
The Blues have added several maneuvers and modified others over the years. A show today is significantly different than in 87 when they got F-18s. Music added as well. Not sure how they could modify it anymore while still maintaining an acceptable level of safety. The biggest change is that because of budget cuts, they don’t fly nearly the number of shows they used to do.
 
I wish they did more individual solo demonstrations for tight turns in a climb, loops, etc. They could probably freshen it up with more solos using 2-3 planes in sequence, and more 2 plane maneuvers. It's the similar single soloist and formation flying every show. Also largely the same between the two major demonstration teams. All very impressive, but seen it before.

The most memorable shows in my life were:
  • 1979 Grissom Airforce base: Ground attack demonstration using A-37 Dragonflys. 2 planes drawing ground fire, 4 on bombing runs etc.
  • 1980 Duluth, Mn: Before Thunderbirds, local National Guard squadron fly demonstration of 4 F4 Phanton II's. Full after burner I'll never forget
  • 1985? Moffet Field, SF Bay Area: 129th Air rescue Guard team performing downed pilot rescues with hostiles attacking. A-10 strafing, C-130 dropping Hatties bomb, ATV's driving off the aft C130 gate while in low ground effect to get to the downed pilot after parachuting in.
  • Same Moffet show, Blue Angles. Lots of airspace on a clear day before the airshow rules tightened up
  • 2018 Sun N Fun: F-16 solo demonstration following F-86 solo demonstration. Amazing.
  • 2019 Salinas, Ca: Vampire firepower demonstration following great solo demonstration
 
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I figured the show wasn’t for us bored old people, it’s new and cool for the kids and others who have never seen them before.
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
I figured the show wasn’t for us bored old people, it’s new and cool for the kids and others who have never seen them before.
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It is just recruiting marketing, after all.

Navy licenses better music for whatever reason. Bigger contract with BMG or Sony? Never checked. LOL.
 
labbadabba said:
I would have loved to see them in the F-4s. I can only imagine how loud 6 F-4s in full afterburners would be.
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First airshow I ever went to as a young teen was in 1969. I remember a bunch of things about it. Art Scholl flying his Super Chipmunk to Gershwin playing on the tinny broadcast loudspeakers. Bob Hoover doing three different acts that afternoon in the Shrike and the P51. And the Blues flying F4s, thundering down the show line. Totally awesome, all of it.
 
Might not be much of an air show season this year. Looks like events are already getting canceled due to COVID-19. They could just do like they’re doing for sporting events and put on the show but no spectators allowed. :)
 
Speaking of air shows past, you’ll never see a military lineup or static display like the 1980s shows again.

 
Do the super hornets have a side stick? The Blues have always had a stick between their legs which prevented them from wearing a G-suit. The inflation in the legs would move the position of their arm and also the stick. Bad idea when 30 inches from another planes cockpit.
 
Velocity173 said:
Speaking of air shows past, you’ll never see a military lineup or static display like the 1980s shows again.
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I remember the New Orleans airshows in the early 90s. The entire ramp was packed with one of just about everything from every branch of the military. Last time I went in 2004 or 5, I bet there was less than a dozen aircraft total.

cgrab said:
Do the super hornets have a side stick? The Blues have always had a stick between their legs which prevented them from wearing a G-suit. The inflation in the legs would move the position of their arm and also the stick. Bad idea when 30 inches from another planes cockpit.
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The Super Hornet is still a center stick. The cockpits didn't change a lot, other than replacing some push buttons and analog gauges with digital and touch screens.

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Early practice. Looks like they’re just feeling out the jets for right now.

 
The one thing I always like in the Blues show is the gear down inverted pass. Second is the TBird low pass max AB from behind the crowd that seems to always send a few beer cups in the air.

Cheers
 
The Thunderbirds started flying very conservatively after the incident in Chicago a few years ago, and really ruined their show, IMHO. The BA's have much tighter spacing, and don't depend on doing 3 "sneak" passes in order to entertain people. The sneak pass is kind of like when a comedian tells a fart joke. It's funny to have one as part of your set, but when you start depending on them in order to keep people in their seats, it gets old quickly.
 
Groundpounder said:
The Thunderbirds started flying very conservatively after the incident in Chicago a few years ago, and really ruined their show, IMHO. The BA's have much tighter spacing, and don't depend on doing 3 "sneak" passes in order to entertain people. The sneak pass is kind of like when a comedian tells a fart joke. It's funny to have one as part of your set, but when you start depending on them in order to keep people in their seats, it gets old quickly.
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Velocity173 said:
Might not be much of an air show season this year. Looks like events are already getting canceled due to COVID-19. They could just do like they’re doing for sporting events and put on the show but no spectators allowed. :)
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They're having a drive-in airshow here in Georgia next weekend. PS - No GA fly-ins. :(

Here's the link: https://www.wingsovernorthgeorgia.com
 
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