Talk about a tight formation.
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And I bet this all looks boring as hell from the ground. The hoo-hah about The Thunderbirds displaying at Oshkosh in '14 was massive... and then during their first display, thousands and thousands of the spectators were walking out. It was the most boring display by a professional team that I have ever felt the need to stick-out and watch.
The tightness of the group was ...impressive... by as a result, the dynamics were lame. The result was a poorly choreographed routine, with long gaps crowd centre while the team repositioned - usually at warp-factor-snot, which means everything takes so much longer and over much greater distances.
Give me a safer, more dynamic display. Please.
The tightness of the group was ...impressive... by as a result, the dynamics were lame. The result was a poorly choreographed routine, with long gaps crowd centre while the team repositioned - usually at warp-factor-snot, which means everything takes so much longer and over much greater distances.
Give me a safer, more dynamic display. Please.
Such astonishing accuracy is indeed a revelation, I for one had no idea such close work was possible and I am full - deeply full - of admiration but I wonder what, once it's been demonstrated, is the point in continuing to do it beyond ensuring this esoteric skill is not lost. After all it has no practical or tactical use and the public can neither see nor appreciate it during displays.
I am left with more than a whiff of phalanxes of N Korean troops skipping like a bunch of poofs in their ludicrous quick march or the hilarious Monty Python antics of Pakistani and Indian "soldiers" at their disputed border. No doubt circus tricks do defuse tension but I suspect this is a result quite unintended by the "Brass" in this particular situation.
Doubtless training your army to emulate Nadia Comonenç skipping, backfliping and doing the splits in perfect split-second symmetry across the paradeground is impressive, but it adds not one jot to your warfighting reputation and can quite easily damage it through it's pointless ridiculousness.
Sure, it demonstrates vast precision but so do the dancing Indo-Pak border-guards. Isn't there a risk this sort of thing just looks self-indulgent?
I am left with more than a whiff of phalanxes of N Korean troops skipping like a bunch of poofs in their ludicrous quick march or the hilarious Monty Python antics of Pakistani and Indian "soldiers" at their disputed border. No doubt circus tricks do defuse tension but I suspect this is a result quite unintended by the "Brass" in this particular situation.
Doubtless training your army to emulate Nadia Comonenç skipping, backfliping and doing the splits in perfect split-second symmetry across the paradeground is impressive, but it adds not one jot to your warfighting reputation and can quite easily damage it through it's pointless ridiculousness.
Sure, it demonstrates vast precision but so do the dancing Indo-Pak border-guards. Isn't there a risk this sort of thing just looks self-indulgent?
Last edited by Wageslave; 17th Jan 2016 at 19:46.
Both the Blues and the T-Birds fly a very tight formation. Which takes a lot of skill, I would certainly agree.
But the dynamics of such a formation result in a display which lacks the immediacy of either the Reds or the Patrouille de Frances' displays.
The whole razamatazz of the 'drive in', choreographed hand shakes with 'plane captains' etc pads out the display hugely. OK for the genpub, perhaps, but aircrew cringe at the "Flying Blue 2 in this great Texas sky is Lootenant Hiram B Chickensexer the third, a college letterman for track and field who graduated University of Whatville before gaining his wings of gold....
" stuff from the commentator. Whereas other displays speak for themselves...
Impressive flying? Indeed. Appropriate for a formation flying display? Perhaps not.
But the dynamics of such a formation result in a display which lacks the immediacy of either the Reds or the Patrouille de Frances' displays.
The whole razamatazz of the 'drive in', choreographed hand shakes with 'plane captains' etc pads out the display hugely. OK for the genpub, perhaps, but aircrew cringe at the "Flying Blue 2 in this great Texas sky is Lootenant Hiram B Chickensexer the third, a college letterman for track and field who graduated University of Whatville before gaining his wings of gold....
" stuff from the commentator. Whereas other displays speak for themselves...Impressive flying? Indeed. Appropriate for a formation flying display? Perhaps not.
Last edited by BEagle; 7th Oct 2017 at 12:24.
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Blangels
Having watched their work up in El Centro over several years I can say that their formation flying is unmatched. The downside is that there are only four aircraft in the formation. They fly along the crowd line till BVR before changing the formation and then return. It doesn't have the dynamic of the Red Arrows of change of formation in front of the crowd and, with nine aircraft.
You can't do any manoeuvres when you're that close together.
The couple of feet apart that the Reds fly is still very impressive in itself, then they throw in moves like Whirlwind (formation 9-ship aileron roll and change of formation), Twister (single Red barrel rolling around the formation) and Rollbacks (5-ship formation with positions 2 & 4 barrel rolling from inside to outside, positions 1 & 5 moving outside to inside to fill the gap) all close-formation dynamic displaying in front of the crowd line
Have you seen this though, you need to see it on a tablet or smart phone.
I can't get my head round how it's filmed, but it's fantastic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6SsB3JYqQg
I can't get my head round how it's filmed, but it's fantastic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6SsB3JYqQg
I have a response to those who say such a tight formation is pointless as members of the public can't see how close they are to each other - I am a member of the public and I could see it in the video! Looked very impressive to me!
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Bull
I'm afraid nobody will listen.
This is Pprune, the RAF rumour service.
Only the Red Arrows are any good, all others are cr@p.
Anything that others do but the Reds don't must obviously be pointless and dangerous otherwise the Reds would do it. QED.
Personally I do think the Reds are probably the best, though I do enjoy the "are they going to die" antics of the other European teams.
The fact that the Reds also do things that require excellence for it's own sake but are essentially opaque to non aviators seems immaterial to the Red brigade.
Personally, I'm all for excellence for it's own sake.
I'm afraid nobody will listen.
This is Pprune, the RAF rumour service.
Only the Red Arrows are any good, all others are cr@p.
Anything that others do but the Reds don't must obviously be pointless and dangerous otherwise the Reds would do it. QED.
Personally I do think the Reds are probably the best, though I do enjoy the "are they going to die" antics of the other European teams.
The fact that the Reds also do things that require excellence for it's own sake but are essentially opaque to non aviators seems immaterial to the Red brigade.
Personally, I'm all for excellence for it's own sake.
Should you wish to book the Blue Angels for your flying display, the list of requirements makes intesting reading... 
You want how many ve-hicles...?!
You want how many ve-hicles...?!
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Bull,
Their closeness does indeed look very impressive IN THE VIDEO, because your viewpoint is close enough to appreciate it. Not the same from the ground. If the object of the display is to entertain the crowd from the crowd line, then much more is required. Unless you are Tourist who appreciates excellence for its own sake, even if you can't see it.
Their closeness does indeed look very impressive IN THE VIDEO, because your viewpoint is close enough to appreciate it. Not the same from the ground. If the object of the display is to entertain the crowd from the crowd line, then much more is required. Unless you are Tourist who appreciates excellence for its own sake, even if you can't see it.
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Great Film of Blue Angels in cockpit
Landmarks appear to be filmed over Lake Washington ( Seattle- bellevue ) note floating bridges ( no traffic cuz they are closed for show and for practice )
Music sucks
Note pilot" grin" while under multi g's
HOLD ON TO YOUR HAT!
Footage courtesy of the U.S. Navy & the Blue Angels… Video runs 3 minutes 44 seconds. Go Full Screen….
This footage is of the "slot man" in the Diamond formation, the toughest flying due to wingtip vortices, etc. When he "smiles", he is pulling some serious positive/negative "g" forces.
WOW! What a ride! Notice the rest of the formation in the Pilot's reflective goggles!
]Sound on, open video link and click ‘Play’ arrow: [URL="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u4D0yx4DvBk?rel=0"][B]https://www.youtube.com/embed/u4D0yx4DvBk?rel=0
[URL="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u4D0yx4DvBk?rel=0"]
BLUE ANGELS - Insane Footage Takes You Inside the Cockpit ..
Music sucks
Note pilot" grin" while under multi g's
HOLD ON TO YOUR HAT!
Footage courtesy of the U.S. Navy & the Blue Angels… Video runs 3 minutes 44 seconds. Go Full Screen….
This footage is of the "slot man" in the Diamond formation, the toughest flying due to wingtip vortices, etc. When he "smiles", he is pulling some serious positive/negative "g" forces.
WOW! What a ride! Notice the rest of the formation in the Pilot's reflective goggles!
]Sound on, open video link and click ‘Play’ arrow: [URL="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u4D0yx4DvBk?rel=0"][B]https://www.youtube.com/embed/u4D0yx4DvBk?rel=0
[URL="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u4D0yx4DvBk?rel=0"]
BLUE ANGELS - Insane Footage Takes You Inside the Cockpit ..
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Number Four F-18 Hornet Blue Angel 360 degree Camera View
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAskHF2LATU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAskHF2LATU
Lack of face protection in the event of ejection, no O2 supply from a mask if there is a fumes in the cockpit event and doing aerbatic maneouveres when chewing gum, imagine if he inhales the gum and has coughing fit in close formation. Not an awfully good example in my view of flight safety.
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I guess NOT wearing a G-suit cannot be seen in these videos however like the other deleterious aspects mentioned above the USN (apparently) have good reason. For example the inflating/deflating G-suit bladders would interfere with precise formation abilities of said pilots.