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Posted: 9/2/2010 12:26:31 PM EDT
Saturday, the Thunderbirds will be performing at the Martinsburg, WV National Air Guard base. All day today, they've been practicing and flying over my house. The awesomeness of this is mind blowing in that I'm able to watch these guys play. Do you know how hard it is to get good pics of these fast movers when you have a small area of sky available to get pics through due to trees? Wow.
If any of the Thunderbird pilots or crew dwell here on arfcom, thank you for today. Thank you for what you do and keep rockin' the skies!   
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Posted: 9/2/2010 12:30:19 PM EDT
[#1]
It's an F-16, but it has some sort of......graffiti.... on it.
Someone's in a lot of shit. |
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Posted: 9/2/2010 12:31:48 PM EDT
[#2]
Quoted:
It's an F-16, but it has some sort of......graffiti.... on it. Someone's in a lot of shit. 
Its got possum pic on the underside! |
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Posted: 9/2/2010 12:33:19 PM EDT
[#3]
Hadn't seen the Thunderbirds in a decade...they still use F-16's?
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Posted: 9/2/2010 12:33:33 PM EDT
[#4]
The last air show at Richards-Gebaur AFB had the F-18's doing that over my front yard. It was great.
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Posted: 9/2/2010 12:34:49 PM EDT
[#5]
Quoted:
Hadn't seen the Thunderbirds in a decade...they still use F-16's? Yeah... LOL. Love that plane too!!! |
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Posted: 9/2/2010 12:35:02 PM EDT
[#6]
One of the only good parts of living in Vegas is getting to watch these guys fly on a regular basis. They're out of Nellis AFB
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Posted: 9/2/2010 12:39:10 PM EDT
[#7]
I grew up outside Langley AFB and I remember being out at recess in elementary school watching them practice all their maneuvers. Just swinging on a swing with a front row seat. Going to the air show over the weekend was no fun cause you already got to see the routine a few times.
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Posted: 9/2/2010 12:39:11 PM EDT
[#8]
Quoted:
Quoted:
It's an F-16, but it has some sort of......graffiti.... on it. Someone's in a lot of shit.
Its got possum pic on the underside! Yeah, 'zactly. Someone's gonna get some KP over this. |
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Posted: 9/2/2010 12:46:18 PM EDT
[#9]
Just a note. Since 2009, the Thunderbirds swapped to Block 52 jets. Many on aircraft on the current team are combat vet's!
 ETA: Here is ARFCOMs official demo team jet. For those that get Air Force magazine, there is a two page photo of this jet operating in Iraq. I'm trying to find it digitally.  |
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Posted: 9/2/2010 12:48:25 PM EDT
[#10]
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Posted: 9/2/2010 12:51:17 PM EDT
[#11]
Quoted:
Doesn't the g suit interfere with the fine muscle control needed to fly in tight formation? |
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Posted: 9/2/2010 12:55:18 PM EDT
[#12]
American muscle in action...I love that stuff.. |
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Posted: 9/2/2010 12:55:36 PM EDT
[#13]
Thanks for the pics.
When I lived in the bay area (CA) I ALWAYS took "practice day" off work so that I could watch the Blue Angels prepare for Fleet Week. |
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Posted: 9/2/2010 12:57:39 PM EDT
[#14]
I'm going this weekend can't wait
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Posted: 9/2/2010 1:01:21 PM EDT
[#15]
You need to get a line filter for that camera.
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Posted: 9/2/2010 1:07:20 PM EDT
[#16]
Quoted: Quoted: Doesn't the g suit interfere with the fine muscle control needed to fly in tight formation? Yep. They run so close to each other that they can't risk having the suit inflate and bump the control yoke. So they have to pull those G's with no help from a suit. BAD ASS!
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Posted: 9/2/2010 1:10:37 PM EDT
[#17]
Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Doesn't the g suit interfere with the fine muscle control needed to fly in tight formation? Yep. They run so close to each other that they can't risk having the suit inflate and bump the control yoke. So they have to pull those G's with no help from a suit. BAD ASS! ..and what if the jet, this one for instance, doesn't have a control yoke? |
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Posted: 9/2/2010 1:13:29 PM EDT
[#18]
The Blue Angels will be in Cleveland this weekend. I'll be there with my 11 year old daughter. I haven't seen the BU's since 83 when they were flying Skyhawks.
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Posted: 9/2/2010 1:14:51 PM EDT
[#19]
It's a decepticon
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Posted: 9/2/2010 1:18:42 PM EDT
[#20]
The F-16 has a side stick controller. And the anti-G garment only extends to the abdomen at about the level of the bottom of
the rib cage, at most. It doesn't cover the arms so that particular reason for not using it isn't really applicable to the F-16. I'm not sure why the Thunderbirds don't use the anti-G garments other than for appearance (it'd look odd on their blue flight suits) and for the additional time and movements it takes to get into them and connected up in the jet. Congress made a law quite a few years ago that demands that the Thunderbirds fly front line fighters, not trainers. My guess is that they will eventually transition into the early block F-22s, which due to their "older" avionics can't be easily upgraded to later block standards and are mostly used for training and not for combat. But I think that transition is still years away. CJ |
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Posted: 9/2/2010 1:19:21 PM EDT
[#21]
Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Doesn't the g suit interfere with the fine muscle control needed to fly in tight formation? Yep. They run so close to each other that they can't risk having the suit inflate and bump the control yoke. So they have to pull those G's with no help from a suit. BAD ASS! ..and what if the jet, this one for instance, doesn't have a control yoke? I knew some fighter jock (or wanna-be) would point this out. Sometimes a little trolling is good for the soul. (I know it's a fly-by-wire side-stick controller...
 ) |
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Posted: 9/2/2010 1:55:41 PM EDT
[#22]
if the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds got into a bar fight who would win?
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Posted: 9/2/2010 2:01:04 PM EDT
[#23]
Awesome pics but can it take off on a treadmill?
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Posted: 9/2/2010 2:02:00 PM EDT
[#24]
Quoted:
if the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds got into a bar fight who would win? Navy vs. Airforce? LOL... no comment I'd love to see a tandem show display with both groups at the same time... that would be almost orgasmic. |
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Posted: 9/2/2010 2:07:51 PM EDT
[#25]
Quoted: Neither any of the 3. It was an honest question: Why don't the tbirds wear them? Or do they?Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Doesn't the g suit interfere with the fine muscle control needed to fly in tight formation? Yep. They run so close to each other that they can't risk having the suit inflate and bump the control yoke. So they have to pull those G's with no help from a suit. BAD ASS! ..and what if the jet, this one for instance, doesn't have a control yoke? I knew some fighter jock (or wanna-be) would point this out. Sometimes a little trolling is good for the soul. (I know it's a fly-by-wire side-stick controller... ) |
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Posted: 9/2/2010 2:10:54 PM EDT
[#26]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Doesn't the g suit interfere with the fine muscle control needed to fly in tight formation? Yep. They run so close to each other that they can't risk having the suit inflate and bump the control yoke. So they have to pull those G's with no help from a suit. BAD ASS! If you're pulling enough G's to inflate your g-suit while in close formation.... you're doing it wrong. It only starts inflating around 3 G's. At least, mine does. |
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Posted: 9/2/2010 2:12:15 PM EDT
[#27]
F-16 for the fucking win.
I grew up on MacDill AFB and loved hearing these planes overhead all the time.
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Posted: 9/2/2010 2:14:28 PM EDT
[#28]
Holy Shit!!!
Romulan Birds of Prey!!! 
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Posted: 9/2/2010 2:19:56 PM EDT
[#29]
Quoted:
if the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds got into a bar fight who would win? I don't know, but I saw the Blue Angels perform at Moffett NAS back in the 90's. Great show. I got to run out on the levees at lunch with them flying 100 ft. over my head.
Anyway, like I said great show. Then the Air Force F-16 demonstrator came up. One of his maneuvers was to come in hot, just under mach, right on the deck. Then, right between the hangars, he flipped it on one wing and did half rudder, full throttle 360's just off the tarmac. It was like watching a 68 Camaro do tail-out donuts back in high school. Vapor was pouring off the leading edges. I had never seen anything like it before. Did not know it was even possible. I certainly have not seen it since. He stole the freaking show! John |
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Posted: 9/2/2010 2:23:22 PM EDT
[#30]
Quoted:
if the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds got into a bar fight who would win? Blue Angels, of course. They've got Marines on the team.
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Posted: 9/2/2010 2:24:25 PM EDT
[#31]
Quoted: Quoted: if the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds got into a bar fight who would win? Navy vs. Airforce? LOL... no comment I'd love to see a tandem show display with both groups at the same time... that would be almost orgasmic. A couple of years ago, the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds BOTH performed at the Patrick Air Force Base Open House airshow. The Blue Angels performed, followed immediately by the Thunderbirds. Both teams put on great shows. Neither was flawless, and neither was appreciably better than the other. Both teams performed to a high standard of airmanship and it's just fine to say that they were so close to equal as not to matter. Needless to say, airshows featuring BOTH teams are rather rare. |
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Posted: 9/2/2010 2:27:22 PM EDT
[#32]
Quoted:
Just a note. Since 2009, the Thunderbirds swapped to Block 52 jets. Many on aircraft on the current team are combat vet's!
ETA: Here is ARFCOMs official demo team jet. For those that get Air Force magazine, there is a two page photo of this jet operating in Iraq. I'm trying to find it digitally. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v616/CobraChief/00-0223.jpg Here is one of Shaw's past demo jets tail # 542. 
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Posted: 9/2/2010 2:36:37 PM EDT
[#33]
Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Doesn't the g suit interfere with the fine muscle control needed to fly in tight formation? Yep. They run so close to each other that they can't risk having the suit inflate and bump the control yoke. So they have to pull those G's with no help from a suit. BAD ASS! If you're pulling enough G's to inflate your g-suit while in close formation.... you're doing it wrong. It only starts inflating around 3 G's. At least, mine does. My understanding is that the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels pull upwards of 6 G's during some of their formation maneuvers. And that's why they don't wear pressure suits. |
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Posted: 9/2/2010 2:40:13 PM EDT
[#34]
Quoted: Quoted: Neither any of the 3. It was an honest question: Why don't the tbirds wear them? Or do they?Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Doesn't the g suit interfere with the fine muscle control needed to fly in tight formation? Yep. They run so close to each other that they can't risk having the suit inflate and bump the control yoke. So they have to pull those G's with no help from a suit. BAD ASS! ..and what if the jet, this one for instance, doesn't have a control yoke? I knew some fighter jock (or wanna-be) would point this out. Sometimes a little trolling is good for the soul. (I know it's a fly-by-wire side-stick controller... )I meant I was trolling with the yoke comment. See above - they don't wear G-suits because they can't take the chance that inflation during a high-G formation maneuver will bump the side-stick controller - which is a operated by VERY small movements of the pilot's hand. The last fatality of a Blue Angels pilot occurred when he pulled a 6.8G turn at low altitude, and 'greyed out.' There was some discussion about the team wearing G-suits from then on, but as of now they still do not. |
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Posted: 9/2/2010 2:42:08 PM EDT
[#35]
Cool pics.
Also, why does no one cry for the 14.4 modem user? WHY?!???!!!!!1111 |
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Posted: 9/2/2010 2:49:31 PM EDT
[#36]
That's Russian.....
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Posted: 9/2/2010 2:51:56 PM EDT
[#37]
I used to live in South Tampa. They would fly over my house during the air show at MacDill.
Cool stuff!
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Posted: 9/3/2010 8:18:14 PM EDT
[#38]
I spent 41 years about a mile from the main runway in Fresno, Calif. Fresno is the main ANG base for fighter coverage over a big part of the West coast. Used to watch the F-16s all the time, awesome to see them take off with burners. Saw the T-birds from my rooftop several times. The single plane usually came right over the house.
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Posted: 9/3/2010 8:35:59 PM EDT
[#39]
Quoted:
I am pretty sure the thunderbirds wear G-suits during displays. And they also have their 02 masks on. Video at 1:32 you can see them wearing them before boarding. |
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Posted: 9/3/2010 8:38:39 PM EDT
[#40]
Quoted: Saturday, the Thunderbirds will be performing at the Martinsburg, WV National Air Guard base. All day today, they've been practicing and flying over my house. The awesomeness of this is mind blowing in that I'm able to watch these guys play. Do you know how hard it is to get good pics of these fast movers when you have a small area of sky available to get pics through due to trees? Wow. If any of the Thunderbird pilots or crew dwell here on arfcom, thank you for today. Thank you for what you do and keep rockin' the skies! http://i477.photobucket.com/albums/rr136/efillc/curiosities/Picture126.jpg http://i477.photobucket.com/albums/rr136/efillc/curiosities/Picture125.jpg http://i477.photobucket.com/albums/rr136/efillc/curiosities/Picture124.jpg http://i477.photobucket.com/albums/rr136/efillc/curiosities/Picture123.jpg http://i477.photobucket.com/albums/rr136/efillc/curiosities/Picture122.jpg http://i477.photobucket.com/albums/rr136/efillc/curiosities/Picture121.jpg http://i477.photobucket.com/albums/rr136/efillc/curiosities/Picture120.jpg NICE! Sorry about your DMV btw.... we didn't do it!  |
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Posted: 9/3/2010 8:42:45 PM EDT
[#41]
Quoted:
if the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds got into a bar fight who would win? On treadmills? |
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Posted: 9/3/2010 8:50:12 PM EDT
[#42]
Quoted: Quoted: if the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds got into a bar fight who would win? Navy vs. Airforce? LOL... no comment I'd love to see a tandem show display with both groups at the same time... that would be almost orgasmic. Uhm....why does hair pulling, nail scratching and name calling come to mind....
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Posted: 9/3/2010 9:23:13 PM EDT
[#43]
Quoted:
The F-16 has a side stick controller. And the anti-G garment only extends to the abdomen at about the level of the bottom of the rib cage, at most. It doesn't cover the arms so that particular reason for not using it isn't really applicable to the F-16. I'm not sure why the Thunderbirds don't use the anti-G garments other than for appearance (it'd look odd on their blue flight suits) and for the additional time and movements it takes to get into them and connected up in the jet. CJ Saw them in the middle of aug. just before they climb in cockpit they throw on some type of G-suit 
Great show |
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Posted: 9/3/2010 9:27:38 PM EDT
[#44]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
if the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds got into a bar fight who would win? Navy vs. Airforce? LOL... no comment I'd love to see a tandem show display with both groups at the same time... that would be almost orgasmic. Uhm....why does hair pulling, nail scratching and name calling come to mind.... Only if there is a Marine on the team. Navy and AF get along fine. |
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Posted: 9/3/2010 9:30:47 PM EDT
[#45]
I havnt seen them since I was 7 or 8. I need to see them again soon.
Nice pics, thanks for sharing
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Posted: 9/3/2010 9:34:04 PM EDT
[#46]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Doesn't the g suit interfere with the fine muscle control needed to fly in tight formation? Yep. They run so close to each other that they can't risk having the suit inflate and bump the control yoke. So they have to pull those G's with no help from a suit. BAD ASS! yeah, it will inflate so much it hits the joystick on the side of the pit whatever 
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Posted: 9/3/2010 9:45:14 PM EDT
[#47]
To bad Martinsburg is 4 hours away.
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Posted: 9/4/2010 4:32:46 AM EDT
[#48]
Quoted:
To bad Martinsburg is 4 hours away. Too bad the airport is 4mi away
I'm just gonna open the window and wave to them. 
Quoted:
if the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds got into a bar fight who would win? Does it really matter? They're both 'ours' ....and just how cool is that?!!!
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Posted: 9/4/2010 4:39:26 AM EDT
[#49]
It's really cool to see them practice. I lived in Galveston for a while, and I would sail right off the end of the runway in the bayou. Once a year, there was an airshow, and they would practice the 2 days before hand. Nothing like seeing an f-18 go full throtle, completely vertical right over your head.
Those things are just awesome. |
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Posted: 9/4/2010 4:50:43 AM EDT
[#50]
Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Doesn't the g suit interfere with the fine muscle control needed to fly in tight formation? Yep. They run so close to each other that they can't risk having the suit inflate and bump the control yoke. So they have to pull those G's with no help from a suit. BAD ASS! yeah, it will inflate so much it hits the joystick on the side of the pit whatever I'm just saying that the Blue Angels (and I thought the Thunderbirds as well) don't wear G-suits. And the reason is that the high-G formation maneuvers might cause the stick to move if the suit inflates. Maybe the T-birds do wear G-suits, precisely because the stick is on the side panel and far enough away from their leg that it wouldn't affect their hand on the stick, and the Blue Angels don't wear them, because the stick is between their knees. That actually makes more sense. |
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