Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Hill AFB Air Show

The Thunderbirds are flying as I type this. Watched them a bit from my deck, but eight miles from the runway and trees between makes it hard.

I teared up, remembering how I used to fly formation like that. Never again, of course, and that hurts.

But you can always say that you have done it! And Lived it! Many of us have not!

I was offered the job of T'Bird announcer at one time, and turned it down. Coulda, woulda, shoulda... But at that time, my daughters were pre-teens and the idea of them spending three years in Las Vegas with me gone 300 days a year was not tenable.

On the bright side, that decision eventually allowed me to be the NASA countdown guy, so it all worked out for the best.

Still, there is NOTHING like flying high-performance jets.

flying is one of those things that the more you do it, the more you WANT to do it and the less you do it the less you want to do it.

I am glad some of those days are past.

We go over the hill about 4-7 times a winter to watch the Blues off the end of the runway at NAF El Centro. Kinda ruins the regular airshow at Miramar you are so damn close. The last few years we have been treated to the T birds when they come down for the pilot exchange program........fantastic show they fly.

I'd give my left nut to go watch the T/Birds....

Entry price is not the question...$15/family !!!!!!!!

I'm 3+ hrs away.....hard to leave Podunk to go to the city

100K people ? My Gawd...........

Rocky....tell us of your AF career..........

NASA countdown guy !!!!!!!!! whoa......(:

https://www.ksl.com/article/5042955...ns-dazzling-spectators-with-performances

Tikka, one of these days, you're gonna send me an invite to come and ride into the backcountry, sip beer, and allow me to regale you with memories. And I'll show up.

In the meantime... When I was a little kid, I wanted to be three things. I wanted to be John Wayne fighter pilot. I wanted to be Scotty Powers, the guy who counted backwards for NASA, and I wanted to be Jack O'Connor gun writer. Believe it or not, I manged to be all three. (I was never as good as O'Connor but I did manage to publish almost 100 shooting articles.)

I was at Hill for 8 years, always "worked" the airshows, then would enjoy them the next day. The T-birds are fun to see. When I was there, worked with the "Viper West" demo team. IDK what they do with the new -35, but seeing the Viper train most Fridays was never not cool.

All that said, I am over the jet noise for a while. I am soon to be moving far away from it for a while.

Probably one the greatest recruiting tools ever for both teams. The shows they do over air stations are the best where they can get things down near the ground. They have to keep movements quite a bit higher around the mega cities. Videos from the ground suggest they're nice smooth synchronized rides. Shots from the cockpit indicate they're constantly on the stick and the epidemy of concentration.

I can't imagine the skills and training it takes to do ground level stuff upside down. Doesn't seem right to push the stick forward to climb out at the end.

Quite an accomplishment to make those teams. Being USN, I'm partial the Blue Angels. Back in about 1972 they did a 9-day airshow at Dulles (Transpo 72 ). I think every team in the world was there and 3 or 4 pilots bought farm that week. Even got to kick the tires and sit in the shade of a SR-71.

If I could do life over again, I'd not change a single experience across my 4 years of working Naval Air. Worked with A3-B's. I could do everything except pull the chocks and take off. Just tying them down and running them wide open for high power tests was a kick in the ass.

Reaching the age here where several of my pending experiences might be the last go around. One's final flight probably fits in that realm.

Rocky

UR on.......I've been known to just disappear for the day

Just like Thursday..almost headed to CR NP area...but didn't

Kool trail goes into the south Park..from Lower Bowns

Pic .........near there

I feel the same way when a Blackhawk or Huey fly over head. I used to be there. Those used to be my birds. I got to touch them, set in their seats, turn wrenches on them, move them with a tug and put fuel in them. I love the smell of 23699 mixed with WTR and the odor of mothballs. I miss it all. I know, I'm weird.

kwg

Those air show's are a huge needless waste of tax dollars.

Some of us who have flown close formation rather jokingly refer to the teams as the Blunderbirds and the Blown Angles because we KNOW how rough it is in there with your wings nearly overlapped in the turbulence from the lead jet. It is indeed a workout to keep a jet that close and appear to be welded together. You never actually move the controls, in fact. You THINK the plane up six inches or closer by a foot - and it goes there. You ignore EVERYTHING but Lead. If he flew into the ground, there'd be four holes exactly spaced.

Great shot Tikka!

Training........

I can think of a hundred other ways the fed's waste money

joe for example.....$400K

that dick head ain't worth $400/year

They are actually very valuable training opportunities, much like fly-overs at sporting events.

LIKE......

Rocky wants to go here (:

Air shows are more of a recruiting tool than training. The idea of getting to play with all those wonderful toys and getting paid to do it is a powerful incentive.

Those T-birds are pretty good but I like my Blues better. 😁 Very few understand the schedule and pace involved with being a member of either team.
Several years ago the Blues put on a show here at Meridian and when it was over I walked up to the ropeline with my grown daughter and her two daughters. They were completely flabbergasted when several of them called me by name because they had been students of mine earlier. Score one for “Pops” 😊

You're right, of course. Those tax dollars could best be used to pay for free housing, free food, free medical and hospitalization, free cell phones, free beer and whisky, free drugs, and free lotto tickets for all the illegal aliens pouring across our southern border plus all the welfare cheats already sucking at the tax payers' teat.

L.W.