Blue Angels

[Sooner in Tampa]

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/6803/dscf2767sk5.jpg

Taking off during the AirFest at MacDill in Tampa. The view was great from the water. Good freakin times.

[C&CDean]

Gotta love an airshow. Of course I'm partial to the Thunderbirds (who pwn the BA) - not so much in terms of flying ability/show/etc. but more so because their birds are better birds. But who doesn't love Fat Albert with a JATO goin' on?

[jk the sooner fan]

i dont know about the strike eagles out "birding" the hornets....its a pretty close call.....maybe one of the pilot guys can set it straight

they're both fun to watch, but i've always been partial to the thunderbirds myself

[C&CDean]

i dont know about the strike eagles out "birding" the hornets....its a pretty close call.....maybe one of the pilot guys can set it straight

they're both fun to watch, but i've always been partial to the thunderbirds myself

F-16 > F-18.

I only wish they flew F-15's. Talk about busting some windows out.

[jk the sooner fan]

i went to an airshow in germany - ramstein, and the dude flying the F15 took it straight up, for a long long way......love watching that airplane

[C&CDean]

My favorite. Still holds a ****pot of records.

[Sooner in Tampa]

The F-16 was pretty impressive.

I am partial to the F-18...I did a couple of yrs in a squadron...best tour in the Corps for me. The F-18 is a more air to ground so it just doesn't handle as well as the 15 and 16.

[Sooner in Tampa]

http://icons.wunderground.com/data/wximagenew/t/TampaGuy/4.jpg

[Hamhock]

has anyone ever been to one of their practices? we're going to florida this summer and thinking about driving over to watch a practice.

anyone???

[soonerboomer93]

yet another reason they shouldn't be retiring the f-14

[BigRedJed]

I got chummy with the BA ground crew a couple of years ago when they were in town. Met them by chance, had drinks with them a couple of nights. They hooked me up with a couple of VIP passes to their tent at the airshow. It was especially cool because one of the pilots at the time was a guy from Mustang, LCDR David Varner, USN. His whole family was there, and I got to chat with them a bit.

The lead guy on their ground crew sort of ran the whole show for them. He's the one that I had hit it off with, so I was wired in. I had no idea how integral he was, but they're all pretty dependant on him and the other ground crew.

The cool thing was the way the planes seemed to be putting on the whole show just for those of us in the VIP tent. There were several moves I was pretty sure were lined up specifically to buzz that point on the field.

[BigRedJed]

Oh, and a week or so later, I got a sweet personalized and autograped poster in the mail, signed by all of the pilots, and suitable for framing.

[StoopTroup]

They were at the Tulsa Airshow that got rained out a few years ago.

I was on the ground in Tulsa as they were doing some practice runs.

They flew right over me and it was so loud I was physically forced to my knees as they flew over.

I bet they were 3-400 feet over my head flying upside down maybe less...

I didn't have time to put ear protection in...

Wow.

[Newbomb Turk]

my bestest Blue Angels pic from when they were in OKC a few years back:


http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/8951/angelsoy0oe4.jpg

[bluedogok]

has anyone ever been to one of their practices? we're going to florida this summer and thinking about driving over to watch a practice.

anyone???
In 1999 we went to Pensacola Beach right after the Fourth of July and they practiced every morning off the beach. The Pensacola NAS Blue Angels Air Show (http://www.pensacolabeach.com/blues/) is usually in July so they are practicing during the week before at their home base, this year the show is July 21 and November 9-10, they are at Tinker June 9-10 and Muskogee October 27-28.

We stayed at the Clarion - Pensacola Beach (http://www.choicehotels.com/ires/en-US/html/HotelInfo?hotel=FL517&sid=) and would walk right out to the beach and watch them flying a few hundred yards off the shore. There are many more places to stay now than at that time, but the little beach house type suites of the Clarion was nice. I took a bunch of pictures but have never scanned them in....they are laying around here somewhere.