Looks like the pilot did not make it R.I.P. https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/military/thunderbirds-pilot-killed-after-jet-crashes-near-las-vegas/
He was brand new to the Thunderbirds and was the solo. No details on what happened yet. Next performance cancelled at March AFB or whatever they call it now.
The reports I have read state that he was the "Slot" pilot #4 http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/19909/thunderbirds-f-16-pilot-pronounced-dead-in-nevada-crash Not to change the subject but the accident happend on Wednesday, that is normally there day off for the team.
Since they couldn't train a replacement slot pilot quickly enough, I guess they would fly with 5 aircraft the rest of the season.
That could be an option, but then you're taking out a pilot from their squadron that likely has other (imo more important) duties.
Jim, I have not seen any specifics about the crash. But from what I have seen hanging around Nellis that when they take off from practice they take off in the Diamond with the smoke on and return to Nellis in the Arrowhead formation prior to breaking off to land. So more than likely they were in formation, at the time.
If they were in formation, it's a good thing he was the slot pilot. If he had been in one of the other positions, he might have taken a teammate with him...
Why does how they takeoff and land have anything to do with their positions during the rest of the flight or at the time of the accident?
The Blue Angels do take off in diamond formation (must replace a lot of canopies), but the Thunderbirds do not. The slot pilot moves into the diamond once airborne.
Here's a Thunderbirds TO for their routine at McChord a couple years ago. Mt. Ranier in the background. Take-off is at 17:10.
Ditto here - on the oceanfront in San Juan, P.R. in 1964! I also saw the Blue Angels fly F-11 Tigers during the same time period.
F-84F for me. Also saw them in F-105s, which did not last long. Took up a huge amount of airspace, but really made a lot of noise.
I have an interesting "what if" art print of the Thunderbirds in P-51s, circa 1947. After all, their Navy counterparts were already active!
First Thunderbird aircraft was the straight wing F-84G in 1953. They switched to the swept wing version in 1955. The F-84G did not look too advanced over the P-51. Dad's last operational fighter was the F-84B. He said they used to have the crew chief tie a bag of sand in front of the nose gear with a line snaked into the cockpit. When you could not stand it any longer on the take-off roll, pull the line and drop the sand to make her think she had run out of runway and she would finally rotate and take off. The old saying was, build a runway around the world, and Republic would build a fighter that would use every inch of it.
