The Thunderbirds vs. The Blue angels...

Nope, mine is newer. it almost looks like that. It has a slider that slides over the camra "eye". Slide it down it turns on.

www.digitalcamera-hq.com...

Here it is in a ad.

The S-3 is a good airplane but a PIG to refuel. We used to have when they'd come in off the ship, because we could guarantee there was going to be a fuel spill. Anytime we would pump over 18psi on the hoses, the vents would open, and the fuel would dump all over the ramp.

I heard once that in the '70s the USAF display team went through a rash of accidents, having to do with a "right-wing over" manouvre or something. Is this true?

If it is then my vote would go to the Blue Angels. Plus there was the whole Van Halen film clip! And John Hiatt mentioned them in Blue Telescope!

As for display teams flying slow planes etc. The RAAF went one even cheaper than the RAF's Hawks. When the Aermacchi trainer was retired in favour of the Pilatus the Roulettes began flying in props! Of course any RAAF display also contains a Pig doing a dump and burn, which looks awesome when it's done on a cloudy/misty night.

A few years ago I was living in Adelaide when the RNZAF sent its Skyhawks to the Clipsal 500. That was before Helen decided to sell them of course. They were noisy! And a hell of a lot faster than the bulldogs. And they were flying in dull AF coulour scheme, not bright display colours, so it was a little bit scarier to see them screaming around over the parklands!

The grand prix always used to get a De Havilland Vampire in. That was a trip.

The early 80s the Thunderbirds had a crash that killed all of the Diaomnd members. They followed the team lead into the ground after the Diamond Loop. He had a control malfuncion and couldn't pull out, and the others followed him right into the ground.

Weird this topic came up, the T-birds were in town yesterday for the Chicago Air & Water show. They didn't fly Sunday, because two of the planes actually bumped wings in the air on Saturday. Everybody saw a piece of the plane fall off, and the show was over.

Impressive while it lasted though.

Here's a link:

NBC 5 Chicago

Originally posted by Zaphod58
The early 80s the Thunderbirds had a crash that killed all of the Diaomnd members. They followed the team lead into the ground after the Diamond Loop. He had a control malfuncion and couldn't pull out, and the others followed him right into the ground.

Geez, I didn't know that... How did it happend... Propably just a misstake but still...?

There was some kind of flight control malfunction. The others are trained to watch the lead, and he couldn't pull out, so they were watching him, and went straight into the ground. He tried to pull out, but didn't have enough time.

Originally posted by Zaphod58
There was some kind of flight control malfunction. The others are trained to watch the lead, and he couldn't pull out, so they were watching him, and went straight into the ground. He tried to pull out, but didn't have enough time.

I always thought that things like this is why God let them invent ejection seats. With all of the fly-by-wire flight controls in jets these days the chances of a recovery from a flight control problem is slim to none. The problem is that you have to be a great pilot to even be on one of these teams and all great pilots have great egos. Sometimes the ego overrides common sense and a crash like this is the result. This more than anything is probably the reason for the Thunderbirds cancelling Sunday's show. They need to take the time to examine what happened, how it happened and how to prevent it from happening again.

This was back in the early 1980s when they were flying T-38s. The crash was the reason why they transitioned to the F-16. The other three pilots probably never even saw the ground. The entire flight is flown with them watching the flight leader. The NEVER look anywhere but at him, even when they're seperated from the Diamond. ALL their cues are taken from his plane, and him on the radio.

Actually as far as ego goes, the T-Bird pilots and Blue Angel pilots are the most down to earth people I've ever met. They're good, they know it, but they don't flaunt it. I've seen them take HOURS talking to kids and being patient with what most people would consider silly questions. They LOVE to deal with people and are always incredibly patient and very laid back and relaxed around everyone they meet.

This current incident says a LOT about the quality of the current Team. In the before picture, they're holding formation, they apparently collided, and never broke formation, or even seperated enough so that people on the ground knew they touched, other than to see something fall from one of them. In the after picture they're in the exact same position, the only difference being that the missile rail is missing from the right wingtip.

[edit on 23-8-2005 by Zaphod58]

[edit on 23-8-2005 by Zaphod58]

Originally posted by Zaphod58
Actually as far as ego goes, the T-Bird pilots and Blue Angel pilots are the most down to earth people I've ever met. They're good, they know it, but they don't flaunt it. I've seen them take HOURS talking to kids and being patient with what most people would consider silly questions. They LOVE to deal with people and are always incredibly patient and very laid back and relaxed around everyone they meet.

This current incident says a LOT about the quality of the current Team. In the before picture, they're holding formation, they apparently collided, and never broke formation, or even seperated enough so that people on the ground knew they touched, other than to see something fall from one of them. In the after picture they're in the exact same position, the only difference being that the missile rail is missing from the right wingtip.

[edit on 23-8-2005 by Zaphod58]

[edit on 23-8-2005 by Zaphod58]

I ment to use the word "ego" in the psychological definition not as a personality trait. It might have been the wrong word to use. What I ment by ego is that a fighter pilot's confidence in his/her ability, and their drive to excel. I do not mean this as a slight to fighter pilots. Once they are in the air they tend to think that they have no equal, that they can handle anything that comes up and the last thing that they want to do is to look bad in front of their peers. This makes them tend to stay with a damaged or out of control aircraft longer than they should and not eject.


Or maybe like me they rode the ejection seat simulator and it scared them bad enough that they figure the hell with that I'll stick with the plane.

I've seen all three ... the Blue Angels, the Thunderbirds and the Red Arrows. I've seen all three teams perform on several occasions. I am also a pilot and recognize skill when I see it. The Red Arrows are number one in the world and are vastly superior to any team America has to offer. And I have to say that I'm not biased at all ... I'm American!

i was going to say Thunderbirds until i realized you weren't talking about the puppets... nevermind!

wait a minute...maybe you are!

[edit on 15-11-2007 by never_tell]

I was just at the Nellis AFB show and watched the thunderbirds. Good as always.

However, in talking to one of the organizers, he said that there may be achance that both the Blue angels and the Thunderbirds would be there at the 2009 show

reply to post by JIMC5499


hard to punch out when there is a wingtip over your canopy

Originally posted by Zaphod58
The early 80s the Thunderbirds had a crash that killed all of the Diaomnd members. They followed the team lead into the ground after the Diamond Loop. He had a control malfuncion and couldn't pull out, and the others followed him right into the ground.

I didn't know this. Must have been tragic. My condolences, belated though they may be.
I hope this enforced a sense of independence, however minimal, in formation aerobatics.

A small correction to an otherwise well written summary. You state at the end that the F/A 18 is now the front line fighter for the USAF.

Not so.

The front line fighters that are now being retired are the F-15, F-16 and F-117. In their place will be the F-22 Raptor and the (Joint Strike Fighter) F-35 lightning.
There will be a Naval and Marine version of the F-35, but the F-22 is Air Force only. The F/A 18 was never bought by the Air Force with the advent of the F-35.

BTW the Thunderbirds have been around longer and to my eyes look sharper then the Blue Angels. In the 70s both flew F-4s and it was then they looked the most similar in the sky.

reply to post by looking4truth


The Thunderbirds pull more G's than the Blues. The reason for this is because they can wear G-suits. The reason the blues can't is because the stick is between their legs, and the sudden inflating may bump it and ruin the formation. The F-16's stick is on the side and out of the way thus permitting the Birds to wear G-suits.