Basic question from somebody who has never done any display flying, just a bit of aeros over 20 years ago. Do those smoke generators not make it more difficult for the pilot? At a couple of places in that routine, during the tumbles, the aircraft seemed to fall back through the smoke and the poor guy looked to be IMC for a few seconds. Surely not healthy at that altitude & attitude! How much would a display pilot refer to instruments? I suppose it must be easier in a HUD equipped aircraft.
Hats off to display pilots.