Barksdale Air Force Show

[hppants]

My dad and I recently went to the air show at Barksdale Air Force Base. Those people put on a great event and we thoroughly enjoyed it. My dad is quite the shutterbug, as you can see and he agreed to share a few of his shots.

All 8 motors were screaming WFO on this low-pass B-52 fly over.

I think those acrobatic prop pilots really must have a screw loose.

I believe this was a B-23.

Good shot, dad!

Bombs away!!!!

There was a Mig-17 at the show.

And he was not afraid to light the candle!!!

I always enjoy seeing the Mustang. When they perform I look around for the old people and see the pride in their faces. It gives me a warm feeling.

But of course the stars of the show are the Blue Angels and their magnificent F-18 Hornets!!!

They were awesome!!!

Starburst formation!!

It was a nice day.

 

[HotRodZilla]

That's Awesome. Your dad took great pictures!!

 

[wheatonFJR]

B25

Nice photos!

 

[wheatonFJR]

All 8 motors were screaming WFO on this low-pass B-52 fly over.

60 year old Bomber...the lumbering machine of doomsday.

 

[airboss]

P 51, nothing sounds sweeter than that Rolls Royce Merlin at full song.

 

[LKLD]

Fantastic captures! Some of those brought back memories of controlling while in the Air Force.

 

[majicmaker]

B25
Nice photos!

Yep! The B-25 Mitchell

 

[majicmaker]

Mitchell was drummed out of the Army for insisting that Air Power would make Naval sea vessels vulnerable. He was right of course and they named the B-25 after him. Sweet Justice!!

 

[RiderX]

P 51, nothing sounds sweeter than that Rolls Royce Merlin at full song.

The four hornets in tight diamond sounds pretty sweet to me, but perhaps I'm biased.

 

[hppants]

I'm with RiderX (awesome username, btw) - when those Blue Angels light up both afterburners, the sound is incredible.

The Rolls engine on the P-51 is much more subtle, but you get the impression that it works like a swiss watch.

 

[wfooshee]

Told you you'd like it!!!!!

 

[hppants]

Absolutely! Thanks wfooshee for putting the bug in my ear!

 

[TalonChief]

I'm a career USAF maintainer who grew up in/around the Annapolis area. The Blue Angels always do a better show than the Thunderbirds, IMO. We used to watch them fly over the Chesapeake Bay every year for Academy graduation, of course that was back in the F-4 days.

 

[wheatonFJR]

I'm a career USAF maintainer who grew up in/around the Annapolis area. The Blue Angels always do a better show than the Thunderbirds, IMO. We used to watch them fly over the Chesapeake Bay every year for Academy graduation, of course that was back in the F-4 days.

There were years that both teams were on F4s. I love both teams.

On another note: my Uncle flew on the first teams of F105s that went to North Vietnam, AFTER that nutcase McNamara told them when and where we would be hitting them. Idiot.

I love all our military fliers...like many, I dreamed of becoming one when I was little.

 

[TalonChief]

There were years that both teams were on F4s. I love both teams.
On another note: my Uncle flew on the first teams of F105s that went to North Vietnam, AFTER that nutcase McNamara told them when and where we would be hitting them. Idiot.

I love all our military fliers...like many, I dreamed of becoming one when I was little.

T-Birds were flying T-38s by the first time I saw them in the '80s. When I got to Eglin AFB in the early '90s, there were still a number of the original Weasels, as well as other highly-decorated Vietnam era flyers, around. I knew I was never going to fly them, so I took the best route I could and worked on them. These days it's AC- and MC-130s; not as fast as fighters, but they make up for that in firepower and willingness to go to crazy places in the dark.

WRT the OP, I also worked D and G-model BUFFs. That H in the pics is a comparatively new jet in comparison to the Ds, but still an amazingly well-built airplane. As for Mustangs, I can still remember the first time I heard one. I was driving south on, I think, Route 163 in San Diego when one came off the runway just south of Clairemont (forgive my 33-YO memory if I'm wrong....). I was in a 1960 Beetle with no interior soundproofing and that plane rumbled my insides. There's just nothing like the sound of those V12s. The mechanical complexity of those engines is lost on today's maintainer.

 

[wfooshee]

About the only thing that sounds better than a Mustang is multiple Mustangs!!!