Blue Angel Pix

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Saw them last weekend at Seafair. They did a similar thing shown in that first picture. The pilot tilts the nose upwards and apply enough thrust to stay airborne so they move forward at an extreme angle and very, very slowly; it's crazy. I didn't have my SLR w/ telephoto, just a cheapo digicam but I managed to capture a few formation pics.

That 2nd image above is awesome. We saw the Blue Angels transport plane too but I don't recall seeing JATO packs on it. Granted we didn't see the behemoth take off or land. They're pretty darn impressive when flying in tight formation or when they fly towards one another and miss by what I'd fathom is a couple yards at high speed. A few were flying very close to the lake at high speed. Either he was approaching the speed of sound or it was high moisture kicked up from the surface of the lake, but that "sound barrier" mist cloud was starting to form around the plane.
 

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A few more

:D
 

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Just for the record let's get this straight, a LOOOOONG time ago I was told non (or semi non :evil: ) gun related military stuff was OK here at L&P. I try my best not to abuse that privilege.

;)
 
...when they fly towards one another and miss by what I'd fathom is a couple yards at high speed....
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Although it looks impressive, the most impressive thing here, IMO, is the timing of the crossing. Each pilot flies just over the right side of the runway. It appears like they're going right at each other, but in truth, they're safely apart. The tricky part is to make sure they cross right in front of the crowd.

Cool pix, none-the-less.
 
Man, that picture of the --C-130, is it?-- with the whirliness around its props is just plain _awesome_.

There's very little more able to send a shiver up my spine and a skip through my heart than to hear the thund'rous shriek of powerful aircraft streaking by overhead.

~Slam_Fire
 
I'm not gonna give away any secrets, but the Blues can be on combat status in 48 hours- And yes, there are guns in the birds. They fly with a 40lb spring attached to the stick so that they have to maintain a constant forward pressure (makes em fly much smoother) and DO NOT use G-suits (or as they are better known, speed pants), as they would cause bobbles during maneuvers. They do fly with a 3 foot overlap on the wings and 18 inches vertical between the wings during the overlap. And yes, they do bang wings occasionally. The white stuff you see is moisture in the air that is super compressed by the high lift vectors generated by the high G maneuvers. The same applies to Fat Albert's props (which, by the way, is actually a USMC bird with a Marine crew). There is also 1 Marine in the demo team and he is normally a Major.

I have pics somewhere of the Blues doing carquals to maintain their currency! :D
 
I'd heard they don't wear G-suits during those manuevers! :eek:

I imagine a quick trip to Maaco will take care of those dinged up wingies. I wonder if there's a "Blue Angels Special" every once in a while.

:p
 
If you get a chance to see the Blues on a rainy/overcast day, don't skip it!!
On days like that they do a 'lowshow' and I thought that was awefully impressive given less than 1500 feet to work with... :cool:


They did a similar thing shown in that first picture. The pilot tilts the nose upwards and apply enough thrust to stay airborne so they move forward at an extreme angle and very, very slowly; it's crazy.
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Crazy, maybe, but impressive none the less. Dad loves to relate a story where an AirFarce F16 tried the same thing and nearly crashed his bird. :scrutiny: I dunno, I wasn't there... but I wish I had been!
:neener:
 
I'd heard they don't wear G-suits during those manuevers!
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Yep, a G-suit is designed more to control G-LOC during unexpected maneuvers. Since the Angels know the maneuvers they're going to perform and when they're going to do them, they can prepare for and stay alert using breathing techniques (Hook maneuver). You may wonder why wearing the G-suits would cause "bobbles." Well, the pilots rest their right arms on their leg in order to get better control of the stick. Since a G-suit works by inflating and deflating bladders around the legs, you can probably imagine how resting your arm on a somewhat unpredictably moving object could hurt precision.
 
They did a similar thing shown in that first picture. The pilot tilts the nose upwards and apply enough thrust to stay airborne so they move forward at an extreme angle and very, very slowly; it's crazy.
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The high-alpha pass, which you describe, is definitely impressive, but it's not what #6 is doing in the first photo. He's doing the high-performance climb- when the opposoing solo makes his takeoff run, he gets just off the deck long enough to retract the gear, then pulls into a really steep climb. The thing you gotta watch for there is that an airplane steers sort of like a boat- kick the rudder and the stern actually moves outside the turning circle. Similarly, yank back the stick, and the tail initially drops before the plane gets some vertical velocity.

:D
 
The Angels rock, that's for sure! It's fun taking pictures of them, pretty challenging too! When the C-130 takes off with the JATO assist? Wow...that thing hauls...

I also like the Thunderbirds. I've also seen the Canadian SnowBirds, and the Italian team. (Green Arrows?)

I also have seen Patty Wagstaff perform a couple of times. Now that is awesome!
 
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