Blue Angels Homecoming Show - Now with actual air show pictures!

[hppants]

Great pictures. I'm very familiar with your equipment and you obviously know how to use it. My father is a free lance shutterbug and my son enjoys it as a hobby. My son shoots a D-80 and my dad has 6 or 8 of the x000 series and 2 chest of drawers of lenses to pick from. My boy enjoys going to pops to pick out a lens of his choosing for the day. Good thing, because those babies aren't cheap!!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the F-18 Superhornet is the only plane every made that can actually accelerate in a full 90 degree climb. IOW - it's motors put out more thrust than it weighs, which is freaking unbeliveable when you think about it. At our local show, we have a guy that flies one of those - may be the same person in your show as well.

Seeing those pictures gets my blood pumping, can you tell?

 

[Top_Speed1]

Your images are amazing!

TANKS

 

[wfooshee]

Great pictures. I'm very familiar with your equipment and you obviously know how to use it. My father is a free lance shutterbug and my son enjoys it as a hobby. My son shoots a D-80 and my dad has 6 or 8 of the x000 series and 2 chest of drawers of lenses to pick from. My boy enjoys going to pops to pick out a lens of his choosing for the day. Good thing, because those babies aren't cheap!!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the F-18 Superhornet is the only plane every made that can actually accelerate in a full 90 degree climb. IOW - it's motors put out more thrust than it weighs, which is freaking unbeliveable when you think about it. At our local show, we have a guy that flies one of those - may be the same person in your show as well.

Seeing those pictures gets my blood pumping, can you tell?

Any of the "teen" and later fighters can accelerate vertically. F-14, F-15, F-16, F-18. As a matter of fact, in the Blue Angels show the two solos fly a side-by-side high-alpha pass (the "tailstand") with a 25-degree angle of attack and 90 knots of airspeed. After the pass, one drops the nose and burners away to the left, and the other raises the noise and climbs out!

It depends on loading, too. It may be that with maximum ordnance loaded that they can't accelerate vertically....

 

[gixxerjasen]

IIRC, the F15 was the first to have more thrust than weight and be able to accelerate in a vertical climb.

 

[Patriot]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the F-18 Superhornet is the only plane every made that can actually accelerate in a full 90 degree climb. IOW - it's motors put out more thrust than it weighs, which is freaking unbeliveable when you think about it. At our local show, we have a guy that flies one of those - may be the same person in your show as well.

Seeing those pictures gets my blood pumping, can you tell?

F-15 Eagle was the first...now any front line fighter post 90's can:

F-16

F-18

all the current 2005 plus (strike) fighters both in production and development

 

[MNFJR Pilot]

Hope crap what awesome pictures!!!!!! Got any more?

 

[majicmaker]

Walt... Dude.... Those pictures are Amazing. That is some serious **** there! :clapping:

 

[majicmaker]

Hope crap what awesome pictures!!!!!! Got any more?

I think he said something about shooting 763 shots. So, Yeah! I think he's got plenty more! :yahoo:

 

[wfooshee]

Well, OK..... but most of what I shot was very redundant. I'd shoot 6 or 8-shot bursts as things happened, and if I liked one, I'd keep it. If not, the whole burst went into digital oblivion. I actually only kept about 150, most of which are still redundant. But.....

No warbirds this time around, first time I can remember not seeing a bunch of WWII planes at this show. There was this P-51 there for the Air Force Heritage Flight (which I didn't photograph because I was in search of food when it happened) just after its takeoff. (Looking at this again, I find the windsock distracting, that flash of orange. I may clone it out someday.)

Another one of the F-16 turning hard

One of the Fat Albert passes

The Blues doing a staggered roll

 

[wheatonFJR]

HOLY CRAP...You shots are fantastic! :yahoo:

Thanks for sharing...what an awesome show put on by true professionals.

I'm glad those warbirds are on our side! :clapping:

 

[majicmaker]

No warbirds this time around, first time I can remember not seeing a bunch of WWII planes at this show. There was this P-51 there for the Air Force Heritage Flight (which I didn't photograph because I was in search of food when it happened) just after its takeoff.

That right there is the Grand Daddy of them all my friends. That "D" model broke the enemies back and put an end to their progress. With a little help (Actually a Lot) from the Rolls Royce Merlin engine. God Bless America! :clapping:

 

[wfooshee]

Yep. A fighter that could go all the way to target with the bombers, then dish out the pain when it got there!

As for that shot, I have to say that I'm rather pleased with myself. That's all the way out at 300mm zoom (450mm film equivalent,) panning with the plane and shooting at a sedate 1/160th of a second shutter speed. I just hate frozen propellers! Blurred prop, blurred background.

 

[majicmaker]

Yep. A fighter that could go all the way to target with the bombers, then dish out the pain when it got there!

As for that shot, I have to say that I'm rather pleased with myself. That's all the way out at 300mm zoom (450mm film equivalent,) panning with the plane and shooting at a sedate 1/160th of a second shutter speed. I just hate frozen propellers! Blurred prop, blurred background.

I am impressed my friend! I must look at your set up one of these days. I might learn a thing or two.

 

[Patriot]

Yep. A fighter that could go all the way to target with the bombers, then dish out the pain when it got there!

"Red Tails" is a good flick

 

[MNFJR Pilot]

Well, OK..... but most of what I shot was very redundant. I'd shoot 6 or 8-shot bursts as things happened, and if I liked one, I'd keep it. If not, the whole burst went into digital oblivion. I actually only kept about 150, most of which are still redundant. But.....

No warbirds this time around, first time I can remember not seeing a bunch of WWII planes at this show. There was this P-51 there for the Air Force Heritage Flight (which I didn't photograph because I was in search of food when it happened) just after its takeoff. (Looking at this again, I find the windsock distracting, that flash of orange. I may clone it out someday.)

Another one of the F-16 turning hard

One of the Fat Albert passes

The Blues doing a staggered roll

Gotta a few hours in the "Herky Bird" myself. Great pictures!!!!!

 

[clocklaw]

I noticed in these pics that there are two number 7's....were we just extra lucky or was there a story to this?

 

[majicmaker]

I noticed in these pics that there are two number 7's....were we just extra lucky or was there a story to this?

If any of the birds on a team go bad they use a bird from another team to do a show. It's not often but, it happens. I found a crack in a very bad place on one once and they yanked it out of service with a show coming up.

 

[wheatonFJR]

I noticed in these pics that there are two number 7's....were we just extra lucky or was there a story to this?

If any of the birds on a team go bad they use a bird from another team to do a show. It's not often but, it happens. I found a crack in a very bad place on one once and they yanked it out of service with a show coming up.

Do they have two teams?

 

[wfooshee]

I noticed in these pics that there are two number 7's....were we just extra lucky or was there a story to this?

These pictures are some from Friday, some from Saturday. In the Blues, you'll see some shots with 2-seat planes, which were flown by #2 and #3 on Friday. Shots from Saturday are all four single-seat, their regular aircraft.

I think in the Friday show next year's new pilots got ride-alongs.

As for spares, I have no idea how many they have, but Saturday morning they rolled off #4 and replaced it with another #4. They were both out there so it's obviously a different plane. Maybe they have a spare for each, maybe they have a single spare and a box of really sticky decals. I don't know.

 

[majicmaker]

I noticed in these pics that there are two number 7's....were we just extra lucky or was there a story to this?

If any of the birds on a team go bad they use a bird from another team to do a show. It's not often but, it happens. I found a crack in a very bad place on one once and they yanked it out of service with a show coming up.

Do they have two teams?

Yes they do! A team stays home and trains Newbies while the second team goes on the road. They overlap only briefly at home for stuff they all have to do.