More Blue Angels

You know what's cool about the Blues; there's little military value in what they do, but it is cool they do it because they can.

 

Close formation during flight through weather is very similar and is used by nearly all fighter aircrews. Helps maintain flight integrity when visibility is very low. Occasionally, all of us have gone lost wingman during flight in heavy clouds, but the tighter you are, the easier it is to maintain contact. The Blue Angels and Thunderbirds just do it a bit more precisely than the average fighter pilot after hours and hours of practice.

The training also comes in handy during aerial refueling, where you have to fly relatively precise formation on the tanker for the USAF, or have to make precise contact with the drogue for the USN and USMC.

 

Son of one of our neighbors just got picked to fly for them next season. Moms worried because it is dangerous. I reminded her he could be flying combat missions in Syria. Besides, just operating off a carrier ain't exactly like being an accountant.

 

Like most of us and you especially being a Navy brat, I have been watching them since I was a kid. Watched them at NAS Alameda. They and the Thunderbirds really are good PR for those in and out of uniform. As cheap as I am about my tax dollars it is worth it in the big picture.

I remember them flying F4's and the announcer called them the loudest air show on earth.
That was true.

 

I saw them when they were flying F6F's and F8F's back in the late 40's. I believe that flying close formation in a prop job is much more difficult than with the jets.

 

Again, I think it is cool they do this, just to do it. One of the biggest chicken**** things Obama did was shutting down to blues, that and stealing a shuttle from Houston.


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I'll add that to the long list of stupid ***** he did. I am running out of space on my hard drive keeping track of it though. Good thing he is almost gone.

 

I am sure it is and as much as I am more interested in recips in general the sound of 12 J79's buzzing the field was pretty cool.

 

I once saw a formation team of nine Tiger Moths in England - assuredly the slowest formation team around!

 

I'm a huge fan of the Blue Angels too but bottom line is that Congress and Obama had a big show down over the budget because Congress wanted to enact big budget cuts. The larger set of cuts with the sequester was intended to force both sides to compromise so painful cuts wouldn't go through, but ultimately no one blinked. The result is that a bunch of people got cuts where they didn't want them and the military was forced to tighten their belts.

The Blue Angels and Thunderbirds are great ambassadors for military aviation but they are not essential elements to waging war. The DoD could have allocated the budget to keep them flying at air shows that year but they made the correct choice to spend the funds in more essential areas.

 

Strap me in !
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