Blue Angel #5 looks like he comes pretty close to tying the low-altitude record at Fleet Week while also coming within a hair’s breadth of getting through the number. In front of people.
I’d like to make gray-headed commentary on such things as pressure waves, transonic drag rise or low altitude training rules. Instead, I think I’ll just leave you with this:
Groovy.
(And a H/T to Kevin for the link.)
Groovy. And kewl too.
Thanks Lex.
And yeah, I think its better without any commentary.
Made me pick my feet up.
Gives new meaning to the term “jet wash”.
Wow! Very cool.
One of the demo planes on a high-speed low-altitude pass at the airshow this weekend (can’t remember–one of the F-18s, maybe?) came awfully close to the number, too. People started to gasp and exclaim as the cloud became more and more defined. I started wondering who was going to be paying for the windows in my car, haha!
Seriously hot stuff.
Too bad the humidity was too low to see that a couple weeks earlier at the Salina airshow (Blue Angels and the Canadian Snowbirds on the same afternoon. It was a good day too.)
Yeah but it’s better when a TOMCAT does it. The redeeming part is when the TOMCAT has to plug into the KA6D after the pass. ANYTIME BABY??????????????
Ugly Grumman Forever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
So… that’s what the Chief meant when he sent me for a bucket of — jet WASH!
I luv it like that!!!
Yup, the Universe doesn’t care if you’re having fun, so keep yer wits about ye! I think that’s one of Niven’s Laws.
Was that the lound noise we heard?
Our family was aboard the USCGC George Cobb on Saturday and rode in during the Parade of Ships. Later in the afternoon, we positioned ourselves as a reference potential target for the turnarounds.
You can see the vessel for a brief moment during the pass.
For the first time in my life, I was able to take over 500 10MP digital images on a single battery charge. Glad I had the capability. The Air Show was simply excellent.
Once saw an Omani Jaguar (Jag-You-Are, as the Brit ex-pat pilots pronounced the name of their steed) leave a similar wake.
In retrospect though, considering that it was more choppy SW of Masirah, it must have been one bone jarring ride.
Theo Spark has some French at low level.
Real or not?
Here are some more French Longer but not as low.
Theo has images of other highly aerodynamic lifting bodies, oddly selective by gender. Surfer beware.
From memory: The speed of sound at sea level is 1100 feet per second, or 711 mph. So, I’d guess he’s going 650+mph AT 50 FEET AGL!!!
It’s just not fair, some guys get the best toys to play with.
Well, poo. They didn’t do that here last weekend. I want my money back.
Not really. But that would have just been the icing on the cake. They sure put on a helluva show.
He coulda dragged his tail in the water like that other Blue did in the intercostal waterway offa PCOLA a while back, to be real dramatic.
We know a Hornet will fly with a wet tail.
b2
It took several attempts to catch it; but, just as the aircraft enters the picture on the left side of the screen, there appears to be an object that gets tossed into the air. Anybody else catch it? I wonder what it is? Something without much weight that gets kicked up in the jet wash? Inquiring minds want to know.
Using the remix button at the end of the clip, the object appears at about 10.98 seconds. Hmmm…
That will go down in demo team history as one of the nicer moves of all time. Nice flying.
That object may be Jonathan Seagull.
b2
Way cool!
I miss the Blue Angels shows. The Thunderbirds used to come to Fairchild AFB, but we’ve never made it to see them; don’t know if they still do.
The Blues always put on a good show. Makes me homesick (or whatever you call the “good old days” of active duty living on the Base — never thought I’d say that). Loved watching them practice before the shows then.
At the MCAS Miramar Air show this past weekend, one of the F/A-18 “square inlet” Super-Hornets did a low speed pass during their demo. Humidity was just right to get that cone of pressure very visible on the plane. Announcer said the pilot made his pass at just “up-to-and-touching” the underside of Mach 1. It was, as Lex says, Groovy.
Had the Thunderbirds at Miramar. Simply spectacular! I remember the first time I saw the T-birds, they were in F-100 Super Sabers.
Navy.mil has a real nice still shot of this from 2 years ago.
http://www.navy.mil/management/photodb/photos/051009-N-7559C-001.jpg
That entire gallery is worth looking through.
Rey, that was exactly the event I was talking about in my comment above. Hi, neighbor!
Well, at least the high humidity and all that rain did something good…
I can’t remember which day that happened (I was there two days)… was that the same day one of the Thunderbirds overshot the formation at the end of the show?
I am sad and embarassed to admit that I have never been to an airshow. And this year, when I completely planned tn attending one, for the first year ever, it was cancelled. Life just ain’t fair…
My brother keeps promising to take me to some “real good ones”. (I think he may just be an air show junkie.) Promises, promises…
Perhaps I’m missing something, but it was the Thunderbirds who were at the Miramar Air Show this year and not the Angels. However, that in NO way takes away from the thrill!
Lex, would you know?
Veritas et Fidelis Semper
Hey, FBL, I wondered about your comment but didn’t want to to make any assumptions. We went on Sunday and sat in the box seats so we were in a pretty good spot to see all the action. I don’t recall one of the Thunderbirds overshooting, but they had to resort to their low-level performance as the cloud deck came in by about 2:30 pm. What struck me about the Thunderbird pilots as they rolled by prior to take-off was how engaged they were with the audience. As each plane rolled by the grandstands, each pilot was either waving or “raising the roof” or “whoo-whoo-ing” in ther cockpits, each one of them looking over at the audience and interacting with the peeps on the ground.
Hey, Deborah – the schedule turned out this year with the Blues in Hawaii and the T-Birds at Miramar. Which, the more the merrier says I.
Although, had it been me in charge (it never is) I might have cast a hairy eyeball at San Francisco Fleet Week this year, considering.
Can you believe how dangerous that airshow stuff is? I don’t think they should be allowed to endanger the fine people of San Francisco like that. No more air shows.
N
Not to mention the noise. My dog?
He peed a little.
How does one trackback at a WordPress site? I clicked on the trackback link, but all I get is the comments form.
Anyhoo… I just had to steal this! And said, in part, over at my place:
Oh yeah baby – Blue Angels – from June 2007.
Michelle – you simply must correct that oversight on your part and get thee speedily to the next air show. They are, to use the current vernacular, da bomb.
Michelle, Strongly suggest you also cease and desist from ever using “Groovy” or “kewl ” (sp) in any sentence again. Best
Aw, but Snake, it seems to fit in so well around here …
Would you take away all my fun?
Guy, I played with the video a bit. Whatever it was, it came from the left foreground, from the land, and then spun into the water between the Blue and the camera.
and Snake…Kewl…groovy…yup, still got my Man-card
“Whatever it was, it came from the left foreground…”
I think Badbob called it.
Michelle, Nothing personal…I snark because I must… its my nature. Best
But of course, good sir.
‘Twould not be you, otherwise.
Its why we (almost) love you.
I’ve been out on SF Bay for many Fleet Weeks
as crew on a sailboat and the resident
airshow expert for my friends.
There is nothing like watching #5 come streaking down
the waterfront before show center building up speed
to make “the cloud” appear! This can only be seen
from a boat opposite the shore. The other highlights are
seeing the “Sneak Pass” happen over the crowd on the shore
(he’s flying right at you) and the solo 360 turn above your head.
I’ve seen the Birds and the Blues at many airshows-
SF Fleet week is among the best. My program
is to take off work Fri, go to the end of Municipal Pier
where #7 is narrating and the radio trailer is there,
go sailing Sat and Sun with friends.
The crackpots you read about do not speak
for most of us-just witness the crowds on the
shore (many who paid big bucks for a box seat)
and all the boats in the background.
Thanks for the cool video post and congratulations for
capturing a great moment!
Blue Skies,
Rich
Rey, now that I think about it, the overshot and the high-speed I was thinking of were on separate days. Sounds like the announcer’s reaction to the high-speed pass is part of the script… but I saw the cloud building a number of times that day and nothing came close to the “solidity” it had on that particular pass (Friday, I think it was…).
As for the overshoot, it all developed rather quickly and was not right in front of everyone. It was on the far side of “show center,” moments after the Solos touched down, so people weren’t paying as much attention.
Three Thunderbirds were in formation, moving from audience right to left, and the fourth was supposed to catch up and slide into that rear slot. However, he was closing way too fast. I was standing near a couple USMC pilots and shot a quick look at them to see their reactions. When they exchanged silent but somewhat startled looks, I returned to the Thunderbirds in time to see the 4th one roll side to side, pull his nose up, then finally give up (push back down and shoot past the 3-ship from below). He quickly slowed after that and slid back and up into perfect position.
Kinda scary, though…
D’oh! Should’ve mentioend above that it was Sunday I was referring for the overshot.
I was standing on a crowded pier with about 100 other people when Blue Angel #5 roared by and the collective gasp sounded as if it came from one throat. Perhaps we should have been upset about his flirting with the rules (as I presume he was), but we were all just incredibly excited to have seen something like that. As for me, I also thought it was the BA’s way of raising a polite finger to Supervisor Chris Daly, with his talk of doing away with the Angel’s air shows in San Francisco.
[...] tying the low-altitude record at Fleet Week. “In front of people,” as Neptunus Lex noted. I love it, I love it, I love it. Call me an evil neocon. I don’t care, because I love [...]