I just got back from a 4 day business trip. My plan was to get caught up and back in the saddle. Unfortunately, I am being distracted - ALOT.

I'm looking out my 19th floor office window (right now) and watching the Blue Angels practicing for the air show that is scheduled in Rochester this weekend. They are probably 2-4 miles away. What a show. This has been going on for 1/2 hour and I expect there will be a repeat tomorrow.

I may not have noticed except the first fly-by was so close and so loud it scared the bejesus out of me. Fortunately, I took Ajax's advice and have started to wear Depends, so all is well. I am sending this off so I can watch the show. Man - are they ever close!!!

put a sign in your window that says..

T-BIRDS DO IT BETTER...

and see how much closer they get..

i grew up on air force bases, so i fully comprehend the greatness of watching one of their shows.. very amazing!

bigjohn

Yeah, I work right next to Lockheed, which is at Moffet Field in California. When they practice for airshows, they almost fly right over our parking lot. All the car alarms go off, pretty funny. Though it's cool to see the flyovers, stunt planes, vintage planes coming in too.

My dad was a fighter pilot in the early days of jets so I grew up with a love for watching. We happened to live near a navel air base after he left the air force so I have many happy memories of both the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds coming to perform. Dad always told me the Thunderbirds were better

I was working in SF awhile back, on the 18th floor of a building, and I kept hearing planes go by. It was just a few months after Sept. 11 and I began thinking, "There's no way that downtown SF is in flight paths... I wonder what the hell is going on?!" It turned out that it was Fleet Week, and the Blue Angels were doing a show! We went out on the balcony/roof area of the 20th floor and watched. It was quite a heady experience.

Looks like play time is over today - I just watched them land at the airport. What a show (and productivity buster! ). I ended up with 5 folks in my office watching the antics. Those guys got REAL close to the building I'm in. Fun interlude. Hopefully, they'll be back tomorrow at about the same time.

i have similar memories.. going to all these airshows as a child and seeing the biggest and fastest jets on the planet right before my eyes.. SR-71 blackbirds, C-5 cargo carrier, B-52 stratto-fortress, F-14 tomcats, etc..

we always had a great time.. and we used to be able to climb up in them, i dont know if they still let kids do that these days??

bigjohn

My brother and I were military plane nuts as kids. There was a Navy base nearby, so we saw all kinds of planes all the time, and we also went to a couple air shows.

The most impressive flyover I ever witnessed was when a B-2 did a wide sweeping turn over Berkeley when I was a student. Sure it might be a stealth plane, but it's damn huge, and loud!

The Blue Angels did the Schenectady County Air Show 2 years ago and the Thunderbirds did it last year. During practice and the show, both groups flew right over my head quite a bit, scaring the heck out of the neighborhood dogs and setting off some car alarms. I was more impressed with the Blue Angels (maybe because a Hornet is bigger than a Fighting Falcon, or maybe because the solid navy blue paint job had more impact than the the "bird" paint job).

Try to get closer!

It was my impression too that the deep blue paint job really contributed the drama going way back before the F/A18 and F16. Remember the Thunderbirds flying the F100 and the Blue Angels the F4. Haven't seen either one for a long time now.

On that note, I wonder if The Thunderbirds will switch to the F22. With its vectored thrust capability, it should be able to fly circles around everything else out there.

I'm not a huge plane fanatic, but I can appreciate them. I was more into cars when I was a kid. However, I did have some cool experiences as a military contractor. Years ago, went to Long Beach, CA to do some work at the McDonnell Douglas facility where they were building the B17's (or whatever the newer ones are called, told you I wasn't a plane buff...) We got to walk around the manufacturing floor, in and around the aircraft and on the wings. VERY cool. The new aircraft (back then) were quite modular and you could turn it into a cargo plane, medical plane, etc very quickly. The entire inside was set up w/ rails and everything slid in and out. The entire craft could be piloted by 2 people. I was impressed.

Another interesting side note. Before my trip, I had coincidentally just read Michael Crichton's Airframe book. I can verify that much of what he wrote was pretty close to what happens on the manufacturing floor. My company was tasked to help track equipment and repair schedules on the floor. This was seen by the workers as intrusive, since many of them counted on overtime and perhaps some did not work as efficiently as they should have just so they could get more $$$. During my stay there, some of my equipment was taken, moved, hid because our work was a threat to their workstyle. Kinda sad.

My guess is they will go to the F35 because it is the replacement for the F16, single engine, lighter and more economical, which were all factors in going to the F16 from the F4.

In reply to:

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On that note, I wonder if The Thunderbirds will switch to the F22. With its vectored thrust capability, it should be able to fly circles around everything else out there.

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That would SO rock, but alas that plane is jsut way to expensive, I highly doubt they could justify having ~8 or so set aside for a flight team.

Now I've never been connected to the military but planes in general have always been a very high interest for me. I would ABSOLUTELY kill (well ) to see a SR-71 fly. I think if I could manage to see that I could die happy.

I'm pretty excited the T-birds will be in town this yr for Offutts air show. I haven't seen them for a long time, 2 yrs ago was the Blue Angels. It was pretty aumusing to hear them talk all the smack about being the best but they had a delay to start because one plane had engine trouble, then during the start of the show a 2nd plane had to land for another problem.

Coolest plane I've seen in person was the F105 Starfighter. Big long engine with little wings. Made the coolest sound I've ever heard from a jet.

I could ramble on forever with this topic

My very earliest memory was watching Apollo 11 in black and white. [2 years old]

I'll die happy when I can get a ride in one of these...

Ya Hooo!

The few dollars left over from my HT/audio purchases are already ear marked for a special savings account. 20 years and counting...

Jag

That was pretty cool.

I'm exicted about Armadillo thou, since I'm a huge fan of John Carmack and his video games.

http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/armadillo_test_040617.html

Ya, the whole Ansari contest sends shivers down my spine.

My retirement plan? Condo in florida ( canadian reference ) ? Nope, Space! How lucky we are that this is could very well be a real possibility in our life times.

For me I'll go with whoever gets me there first.

Cheers,Jag

There was an air show two weeks ago in the area. I was doing yard work when I heard a familiar engine sound that I couldn't quite place. P-51 Mustang/Allisons.
Ray, I think your absence coupled with the fact that there was some large nude photo shoot in Buffalo is too coincidental. Either that or the second job you took to pay for your daughters wedding is consuming your liesure time.

I love WWII aircraft too, P51 is so cool looking in the air.

F4U Corsair - Whistling death.

The starfighter was the F104 the Thunderchief was the F105. All while I was growing up my father had a little plaque on the wall of his home office, an award for flying the F104 Starfighter while it was an experimental aircraft. Flew it about 1000mph though I believe it was capable of around mach 2. My little local county airport has an F104 on static display, mounted on a pole pointed up at about 30 degrees. I guess that is because Chuck Yeager lives here. It is a suprisingly small aircraft.

hehe nice!

The Offutt air museam here in town has a SR-71 hanging from the CEILING as you walk in the door to pay. It it absolutely amazing to see it that way.