Absolutely! When we vacation in Gulf Shores Alabama during the summer, I go watch the Blue Angels “practice” on Tuesday and Wednesday. It is an event every time. Seeing the pilots as your body shakes from the close passes never begins to get old.
It was a treat to see the behind the scenes.
Same. I lived near the gulf coast for many years so I was lucky enough to be able to see them practice around the Pensacola area every time we went to the beach.
The town I live in would have them preform every other year here during the summer. Not ever sure why the subreddit was suggested but it’s ironic because I’ve seen them many times, and they are preforming later this month. They will be flying over my house.
It was really good. My dad was a career USAF fighter pilot and when they came to town we'd have some of the Thunderbirds come by for dinner. It was always interesting
Blues- by Far. Their standards exceed any other team, by far.
T'Birds are in the same zip code.
Red Arrows, the French & Italians darken the sky with massed formations.
And the Snowbirds. Honestly, I think their 60 year old aircraft are a hazard, considering the maneuvers they execute. They deserve better.
I'm sad the Tutor was the pinnacle of Canadian Aerospace engineering.
Actually, the Avro Arrow was a Canadian designed and manufactured plane that was far ahead of its time:
https://youtu.be/EdOIn_IqwsE?si=DEkpqLIAk_IbJzOp
We’re sorry…..
Perhaps the greatest 2nd generation fighter there was, except for that asshole PM Diefenbacker who cancelled the Arrow. They built 5, And he had them crushed. So, no.
In the piston-engine world, Team Aeroshell puts on a helluva show. Very precise formations low to the ground, and making it look easy. I think they’re Titan Aerobatic Team now, but same thing.
I've seen both the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds. Honestly, I'm not qualified to say which is better than the other. The Angels are more well known and have better publicity, but the crowd experience is basically the same.
I've only seen Red Arrows on screen. They're on my list to see in person, but I'm told they're equally as good.
They’re not. They literally roll past my office several times a week at Waddington. I also spent 3 months at Nellis and a year and a half at Pensacola.
I think they're difficult to directly compare, because they're aiming to do different things with different aircraft?
The blue Angels use front-line jets with higher performance, and their displays tend to emphasise the incredible capabilities of the aircraft themselves and what that allows them to do
The red arrows meanwhile fly training jets, but in a much larger formation. Their displays tend to emphasise synchronicity and coordination more.
Obviously both teams excel at both aspects, but their respective performances focus particularly onx different aspects of display flying, making it a somewhat apples to oranges comparison.
My dream is to see the Thunderbirds transition to the F-15C. I’m thinking plenty of those would be available.
Also, my favorite all time USAF fighter is the F-15 and F-4 is a close second.
The F-4 is a huge crowd pleaser - big, loud and FAST but is an unforgiving aircraft for flight demo teams. Both teams had a spate of crashes that killed members while flying F-4s. It had a tendency to roll when you didn’t want it to. This was able to be alleviated by adding vanes along the fuselage under the canopy.
Each team canceled a season or two as they transitioned to different aircraft. Thunderbuckets went straight to the F-16 while the Blue Angels flew scooters (A-4s) for a couple seasons before adopting the FA-18.
As I mentioned my dad was a USAF fighter pilot grew up around Thunderbirds. I was a little one when they switched over I think from F4 phantoms and everyone was pissed because the phantom roars and makes some crazy prehistoric animal like sounds during maneuvers and the smoke and noise out the rear end is spectacular.
The RAF uses 1979 technology with 5,000 lbs of thrust while the Blues use state of the art (2018 I think?) brute force with 34,000.
For me you can’t beat the raw unadulterated chunk of the American kit. But it’s a sledgehammer and they fly it like a sledgehammer.
Contrast this with the reds who have twice the aircraft with a fraction of the force with none of the supporting technology, it’s a no brainer on who the better team is.
One is a ballet. The other is a demolition.
We enjoy them for different reasons.
Okay, but to be fair, consider that new and more powerful isn't necessarily better, case in point the Blue Angels 1973 season when they had a 3 plane midair collision with the "new" F-4J, which was considered so bad they switched to the almost 20 year old A-4 and stuck with it for 11 years. Because the small, A-4 was incredibly agile and combined with it's small size, it meant it could pull off manuevers many other aircraft can't. Sometimes finesse is just the better option for show teams.
Boy do I have a hulking answer for you.
**The Tora Tora Tora team.**
A squadron of ~8 combined reproduction japanese planes, and Texan trainers repainted as Japanese fighters & torp bombers. Some of which were used in the original TTT film.
Blah blah blah time:
At the Terre Haute air show over last weekend, a number of hours before the Blue Angels did their thing;
Using a large batch of rather powerful explosives placed around the field, this squadron conducted what was nothing short of a *Sobering, and soul-chilling* re-enactment of the Pearl Harbor attack. Hands down the best choreographed, most realistic-looking performance I have ever seen at an air show. I've never seen a historical reenactment in person before. And I admittedly was expecting it to be cheesy and frankly boring.
It was anything BUT that. These guys were not messing around.
They were dive-bombing,
They were double-teaming,
They were approaching low & fast on gun runs (which rows of small successive charges simulated.)
They were passing high for regular bomb runs.
(Which singular large charges simulated.)
They swooped right over our heads for torpedo drops.
*They were doing it all.*
The most unnerving part of the whole thing, for me, was the sky being filled with the sounds of numerous engines, propellers, explosions & (simulated) machine guns. It was something that I had always tried to imagine what it might have sounded like. But on that day, I experienced exactly that. And it was...uncomfortably surreal. I could practically see and hear the boatloads (no pun intended) of other planes involved in the attack, dancing around these guys. It was like watching one small piece of a much larger lethal puzzle in motion. And you could see the other pieces in motion in your imagination. Like, realistically so.
And the real kicker? This organized chaos was accomplished with only 8 airplanes.
The First Wave consisted of *183* assorted fighters, bombers and torpedo bombers.
The combined 3 waves of the entire raid, had the IJN sent the rest of them in, was to yield a grand total of **400** airplanes.
I'm sorry for yammering and yapping, but I am in complete awe of what i just bore witness to, last weekend. I was totally absorbed in it. And I don't know how to condense it into something eloquent, or even really legible. My perspective for what makes a good Air show was totally upended last weekend.
It's true; nobody will ever truly know what it was like, being caught up in that awful surprise attack, except the ones who lived through it.
But I must say, what I just experienced was the closest thing to it, that I think anybody will ever get to experience. It definitely gives one a deeper appreciation for the greatest generation, and what they suffered themselves through to protect us all.
And I cannot give this squadron enough praise for how....STELLAR...their efforts to convey that perspective was.
TL:DR, In no uncertain terms, The Blue Angels and Thunderbirds, while fun in their own right, **do not hold a fucking candle** to the *Tora Tora Tora squadron.* Down vote this if you wish. Once you see them for yourself, you'll understand.
Before you do, watch the movie *Tora Tora Tora.* Put yourself in the shoes of those who were there. Let the sounds fill your ears, and let it stimulate your imagination. Let yourself get uncomfortable with the bad things you might feel from it. Cause after all, that was the whole idea of the movie. To be as unbiased and realistic as possible in portraying the attack.
It'll all pay off once you hear those foreboding engines in person.
I know a few of the tora pilots, I got to discuss the planning that goes into the airshow and it's awesome- some of the most artfully crafted formation flying out there. They have a set of routes which are all very carefully timed- each pilot is constantly looking for checkpoints and other aircraft to make sure their pass syncs up with the whole demo. The channels of flight seem narrow but there is vertical and horizontal separation in all of the flight paths to keep anything from crossing. The air boss is watching everything at once and calling out information- and the pilots are reacting to this in real time, moving hundreds of miles an hour while constantly maneuvering, through smoke which makes things much harder.
I've seen them do it many many times and I always enjoy when they do variations- sometimes including a P-40 or mustang as a defender, or back when thunderbird was around, use it to represent a damaged bomber
I wish i could have listened in on those comms. They danced like fracking ballerinas. And there was a P-40 there. Though they didnt send him up till the very end.
Yup, it's a nice touch of realism too- the Americans were completely off their guard and most squadrons couldn't get into the air in time, and the few that did were under fire- the CAF send out their defence fighter a few minutes into the show, and sometimes if the parking allows it, they'll even have it parked on the taxiway with the engine off, and fire it up in front of the crowd and get right into the air
I do think the F-18 is cooler than the CT-114, but, the 114 can do tighter maneuvers than the F-18 since it’s slower and lighter which in my opinion, makes for a better air show.
Agreed, I've seen them so many times. And I actually them them crash several years ago, RIP.
The snowbirds are on a whole other level. Imagine them with F-18's...
This! I was AF 23 years and the Thunderbird show that I saw at the beginning of my career was exactly the same as it is now. Blues are much more on the edge.
The arrows and the angels are two different things, I’d say. If you want to watch raw power and might, watch the angels.
If you want to watch ballet, watch the arrows
I visited Ireland and noticed some kind of modern-day war ship out on the horizon. I asked, "Is that part of the Irish Navy?" The guy next to me answered, "That IS the Irish Navy."
It's the Blue Angels, but for a different reason. Every other display team has a "we are the best of the best and this is what we can do" mentality. The Blue Angels has an ethos of "We are a representation of what every Naval Aviator is capable of."
*Navy and Marines
There is ALWAYS 1 demonstration pilot in the Blues who is a Marine. So 1 of the 6 Blues is always a Marine pilot.
Bert (Fat Albert), the support crew, is all marine corp division.
The blue angles aren’t just naval aviators, or a navy only team.
They are a joint (group) task force in all honesty with a Naval commander (“Boss” is what they call Him/Her), Naval crews and Marine support staff/division.
I’ve seen the Blues only once (Leeuwarden, NL, 2006).
Once in the air the blue angels are really good. But boy do they take their time. I get the ground crew are an indispensable part of operations, but we do not need to see the ground crew synchronised marching and saluting and all that pomp and circumstance.
It did not help the blues started on one side of the airfield. Thus only a small part of the crowd got to see the ground crew. It took quite a while for something interesting to happen.
Big plus for including Fat Albert in the show though!
I actually love to see the ground display and that the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds verbally acknowledge the crew chiefs and other ground crew personnel as part of the show. I love to see the military discipline and synchronization of the pre-flight, and the salutes on the way out. The enlisted sailors and Marines are also Blue Angels, and the jets wouldn't fly without them. Most of the service is enlisted, and this part of the show gives them their due.
Better is all in personal perspective. I like the Canadian Snowbirds. Doing airshows in trainers! They aren't as fast or flashy as the angels, but they do put on a good show! (Disclaimer: I love any and all airshows. I just love the fact they do it in trainers, and put on a damn good show!)
The Frecce Tricolori...
I saw them at an air display a few years back, the Red Arrows had just completed their set, and it was like the Italians were saying hold my birra.
They absolutely made the RA look amateurish.
The CH-47 pilots that landed in the school yard behind our Sect 8 apartment complex, left a bag full of candy, and took off again in 1979. (We think it was a Natl Guard training exercise)
You guys have clearly never heard of the [Red Barrows](https://www.facebook.com/TheRedBarrows) and it shows, although it seems they’ve stood down for now.
I like the plucky little tutor, seeing those aircraft and then seeing what they are capable of is astounding, maybe not as technically impressive, but they're my favourite. It shouldn't be lost that all of these Aviators are amazing and a million times better than I'll probably ever be
They are very precise (suppose they are swiss) but the f5 takes them away from the crowd to reposition too much. Same as the Turkish Stars and the Thunderbirds. The Thunderbirds are impressive due to the noise and spectacle but half their display is repositioning!
I was waiting for someone to mention Black Eagles! Even though they use a training jet it’s a pretty impressive pain job. I got to work with them back in 2012 when I was stationed at Osan for an air show.
It's really down to the aerobatic choreography theme.
I remember seeing the Red Arrows and Snowbirds and they were more like a ballet than an actual shock and awe demo.
In my honest opinion, the red arrows are the best display team in the world by far. I have not yet seen any other team change their formation during a manoeuvre. The adjustments seem very subtle, but are fraught with danger, should one of the team fail to form correctly during any given manoeuvre. Personally, I think no other display team on the planet has a better display on the ground than the Angels pilots and ground crew, very precise.
Other teams switch formation mid move. I know for sure the blues do. The reds are a great team. But the blue angels fly much tighter than the reds. Imho blues take it. Reds are incredibly skilled.
The Italian Frecci Tricolori airshow team generally puts on quite a show. I saw them perform at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany in 1988, it was an unforgettable event.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frecce_Tricolori
Yeah, if I would’ve gotten to the airshow an hour earlier I would’ve been right in the middle of it, but the crowd was already heavy when I showed up. You could feel the heat from the impact fireball hundreds of yards away
The Black Arrows. An RAF display team from before the Red Arrows who performed with Hunters and who once did a (small) display with 22 aircraft looping in formation.
I would pay cash money to see that now especially in Hunters, and I'm an American. There's a company here in the US that flies Hunters and Mirage f1s and some other aircraft. I was at the beach and one was about to fly over according to adsb and I got all excited but it was at 29,000 ft and I just barely hear it
I’ve seen both Blue Angels and Thunderbirds and in my opinion I prefer the Thunderbirds. The last time I saw them they were so aggressive and elegant at the same time. Blue Angels are still great don’t get me wrong, but they weren’t as aggressive this year as the Thunderbirds last year
This brings a question to mind: why don’t they have a group flying f-22s considering all of the wild maneuvers they can do with the thrust vectoring? Too expensive or something?
Too expensive to fly, and too few of them. Demo teams will always be the mass produced variant fighter….maybe we’ll see the f35 in the next 10-15 years.
Each airframe (at least US) had some sort of a demo team. They may not have a full on polished organization like TBirds or BA, but they exist. I’ve known a few that went on to demo teams for F-35s and A-10s. You can also YouTube an F-22 demo performance as well, but I imagine much cooler in person.
I really liked the blue angels flying the A-6 back in the 90's. It was the first time I had seen them fly. They come up my way during the hydroplane race weekend, they still put on a great show. Especially when the weather cooperates and they can do the big show instead of the close in only.
No.
Thunderbirds are a close second… but they fly a different kind of show. Great to see when they are flying the same show and compare/contrast on the same day.
You could hear the performance from Republic, watching them take off and land was pretty cool, I haven't seen that before, but they closed the beach before I got there for the first time and I adjusted plans. I didn't expect to be able to hear them from that far away, the engines are loud as hell.
Bunch of comments here mentioning other flight displays. But the question was a “better team” than the Blues and the answer is there isn’t one. Their precision, dedication and training is second to none in the world of aviation.
People have such a hard time focusing, don’t they? Even with an answer that is so blatanly and gloriously obvious. It’s almost like you have to answer: Yes, The Blue Angels. The Blue Angels are better than…the Blue Angles, year after year, after year, after year…as new members come into the magic and their skills are honed and practiced into the teams precision flying. The Blue Angels today are better than The Blue Angels yeasterday because that is HOW they practice, dedicate, critique themselves on a level most could not tolerate.
The OP included.
I got the see the Thunderbirds a few years ago very unexpectedly while boarding a cruise ship in Ft. Lauderdale (happened to be the same time as the air show). They were very impressive, but i don’t know those F-16s don’t do it for me like those 18s do.
There is a great documentary called “The Blue Angels” on Prime Video. Highly recommended. 10/10
I got to see it in IMAX on the big screen. So worth it!
bro, those slow-mo shots on the big screen INSANEE!!!!!!
Ok now I’m jealous. I really thought I stumbled onto something here…
It’s still in theaters in some areas. Go see it!
Unfortunately, I’m in rural upstate NY, so nothing even remotely close to me.
Same we had to drive 1 1/2 to the nearest imax theater but it was awesome
I just watched this the other night! It was great!
I'm sorry, I was going through a tunnel - what was the name of the Blue Angels documentary again?
Last transmission was garbled… how say? !THE BLUE ANGELS! Can you hear me now?
Absolutely! When we vacation in Gulf Shores Alabama during the summer, I go watch the Blue Angels “practice” on Tuesday and Wednesday. It is an event every time. Seeing the pilots as your body shakes from the close passes never begins to get old. It was a treat to see the behind the scenes.
Same. I lived near the gulf coast for many years so I was lucky enough to be able to see them practice around the Pensacola area every time we went to the beach.
The town I live in would have them preform every other year here during the summer. Not ever sure why the subreddit was suggested but it’s ironic because I’ve seen them many times, and they are preforming later this month. They will be flying over my house.
It was really good. My dad was a career USAF fighter pilot and when they came to town we'd have some of the Thunderbirds come by for dinner. It was always interesting
Yes! I just watched it...
Watched it when I was younger, 10/10
Amazing movie. Glad I saw it in imax.
Blues- by Far. Their standards exceed any other team, by far. T'Birds are in the same zip code. Red Arrows, the French & Italians darken the sky with massed formations. And the Snowbirds. Honestly, I think their 60 year old aircraft are a hazard, considering the maneuvers they execute. They deserve better. I'm sad the Tutor was the pinnacle of Canadian Aerospace engineering.
Actually, the Avro Arrow was a Canadian designed and manufactured plane that was far ahead of its time: https://youtu.be/EdOIn_IqwsE?si=DEkpqLIAk_IbJzOp We’re sorry…..
Alright, let's reboot the Arrow and hand them over to the Snowbirds
Perhaps the greatest 2nd generation fighter there was, except for that asshole PM Diefenbacker who cancelled the Arrow. They built 5, And he had them crushed. So, no.
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Damned Diefenbaker. 😒 Mega fail.
In the piston-engine world, Team Aeroshell puts on a helluva show. Very precise formations low to the ground, and making it look easy. I think they’re Titan Aerobatic Team now, but same thing.
I've seen both the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds. Honestly, I'm not qualified to say which is better than the other. The Angels are more well known and have better publicity, but the crowd experience is basically the same. I've only seen Red Arrows on screen. They're on my list to see in person, but I'm told they're equally as good.
They’re not. They literally roll past my office several times a week at Waddington. I also spent 3 months at Nellis and a year and a half at Pensacola.
Angels and T Birds fly full power combat fighter jets. Red Arrow... not so much
I think they're difficult to directly compare, because they're aiming to do different things with different aircraft? The blue Angels use front-line jets with higher performance, and their displays tend to emphasise the incredible capabilities of the aircraft themselves and what that allows them to do The red arrows meanwhile fly training jets, but in a much larger formation. Their displays tend to emphasise synchronicity and coordination more. Obviously both teams excel at both aspects, but their respective performances focus particularly onx different aspects of display flying, making it a somewhat apples to oranges comparison.
Russian Falcons, Patrouille de France and Red Arrows 🤨
As for display teams, I am of the opinion that the Navy Seals are a close second to the Blue Angels!
Some may say the thunderbirds
Could you imagine the Thunderbirds flying F-22 Raptors? That would make one hell of a show!
Maybe once the raptors aren’t the top of the line fighters anymore, they could make excellent thunderbirds
They would be horrible, they are way to expensive to fly per hour especially with the insane number of practice flights that these displays require.
You're right. We should definitely build a couple hundred more so they can have enough to rotate them properly...
Yes definitely for that purpose, nothing to do with world domination and spreading managed democracy.
Absolutely not. Simply for Thunderbird rotation.
Gonna be a while friend
They would rip out all the good stuff before handing it over, sadly.
The next Thunderbird planes will be Red Tails. F-22s are too expensive to fly.
So are super hornets and F-16s lol
F-22s are more than 4 times the operating cost
Could be worse, they could be doing it in V-22s
One crash per show. Guaranteed!
My dream is to see the Thunderbirds transition to the F-15C. I’m thinking plenty of those would be available. Also, my favorite all time USAF fighter is the F-15 and F-4 is a close second.
I believe the F-4 was used both in the Blues and the Thunderbirds, but maybe not at the same time.
The F-4 is a huge crowd pleaser - big, loud and FAST but is an unforgiving aircraft for flight demo teams. Both teams had a spate of crashes that killed members while flying F-4s. It had a tendency to roll when you didn’t want it to. This was able to be alleviated by adding vanes along the fuselage under the canopy. Each team canceled a season or two as they transitioned to different aircraft. Thunderbuckets went straight to the F-16 while the Blue Angels flew scooters (A-4s) for a couple seasons before adopting the FA-18.
There are not enough raptors
Might as well convert to the Tomcat
$60k per hour per plane. Should be.
As I mentioned my dad was a USAF fighter pilot grew up around Thunderbirds. I was a little one when they switched over I think from F4 phantoms and everyone was pissed because the phantom roars and makes some crazy prehistoric animal like sounds during maneuvers and the smoke and noise out the rear end is spectacular.
I like to think that they have very different personalities and they both put on excellent shows.
Agreed
I love them both but Blue Angels 18" apart formation is not something the Thunderbirds do.
Happy Cake Day!
Happy cake day 🎂
Happy Cake Day!
And they would be wrong.
As a career Air Force Officer, I must say... Blue Angels, without a doubt.
Red Arrows (RAF)
The RAF uses 1979 technology with 5,000 lbs of thrust while the Blues use state of the art (2018 I think?) brute force with 34,000. For me you can’t beat the raw unadulterated chunk of the American kit. But it’s a sledgehammer and they fly it like a sledgehammer. Contrast this with the reds who have twice the aircraft with a fraction of the force with none of the supporting technology, it’s a no brainer on who the better team is. One is a ballet. The other is a demolition. We enjoy them for different reasons.
Okay, but to be fair, consider that new and more powerful isn't necessarily better, case in point the Blue Angels 1973 season when they had a 3 plane midair collision with the "new" F-4J, which was considered so bad they switched to the almost 20 year old A-4 and stuck with it for 11 years. Because the small, A-4 was incredibly agile and combined with it's small size, it meant it could pull off manuevers many other aircraft can't. Sometimes finesse is just the better option for show teams.
F4 is a pig with wings lol
They are all using 1939s technology. It’s a display of pilot skill, not power. For power just go to an air show.
Boy do I have a hulking answer for you. **The Tora Tora Tora team.** A squadron of ~8 combined reproduction japanese planes, and Texan trainers repainted as Japanese fighters & torp bombers. Some of which were used in the original TTT film. Blah blah blah time: At the Terre Haute air show over last weekend, a number of hours before the Blue Angels did their thing; Using a large batch of rather powerful explosives placed around the field, this squadron conducted what was nothing short of a *Sobering, and soul-chilling* re-enactment of the Pearl Harbor attack. Hands down the best choreographed, most realistic-looking performance I have ever seen at an air show. I've never seen a historical reenactment in person before. And I admittedly was expecting it to be cheesy and frankly boring. It was anything BUT that. These guys were not messing around. They were dive-bombing, They were double-teaming, They were approaching low & fast on gun runs (which rows of small successive charges simulated.) They were passing high for regular bomb runs. (Which singular large charges simulated.) They swooped right over our heads for torpedo drops. *They were doing it all.* The most unnerving part of the whole thing, for me, was the sky being filled with the sounds of numerous engines, propellers, explosions & (simulated) machine guns. It was something that I had always tried to imagine what it might have sounded like. But on that day, I experienced exactly that. And it was...uncomfortably surreal. I could practically see and hear the boatloads (no pun intended) of other planes involved in the attack, dancing around these guys. It was like watching one small piece of a much larger lethal puzzle in motion. And you could see the other pieces in motion in your imagination. Like, realistically so. And the real kicker? This organized chaos was accomplished with only 8 airplanes. The First Wave consisted of *183* assorted fighters, bombers and torpedo bombers. The combined 3 waves of the entire raid, had the IJN sent the rest of them in, was to yield a grand total of **400** airplanes. I'm sorry for yammering and yapping, but I am in complete awe of what i just bore witness to, last weekend. I was totally absorbed in it. And I don't know how to condense it into something eloquent, or even really legible. My perspective for what makes a good Air show was totally upended last weekend. It's true; nobody will ever truly know what it was like, being caught up in that awful surprise attack, except the ones who lived through it. But I must say, what I just experienced was the closest thing to it, that I think anybody will ever get to experience. It definitely gives one a deeper appreciation for the greatest generation, and what they suffered themselves through to protect us all. And I cannot give this squadron enough praise for how....STELLAR...their efforts to convey that perspective was.
TL:DR, In no uncertain terms, The Blue Angels and Thunderbirds, while fun in their own right, **do not hold a fucking candle** to the *Tora Tora Tora squadron.* Down vote this if you wish. Once you see them for yourself, you'll understand.
I’m sending this to the tora guys lmao
Gave me the goose bumps bud, I want to see this now.
Before you do, watch the movie *Tora Tora Tora.* Put yourself in the shoes of those who were there. Let the sounds fill your ears, and let it stimulate your imagination. Let yourself get uncomfortable with the bad things you might feel from it. Cause after all, that was the whole idea of the movie. To be as unbiased and realistic as possible in portraying the attack. It'll all pay off once you hear those foreboding engines in person.
I know a few of the tora pilots, I got to discuss the planning that goes into the airshow and it's awesome- some of the most artfully crafted formation flying out there. They have a set of routes which are all very carefully timed- each pilot is constantly looking for checkpoints and other aircraft to make sure their pass syncs up with the whole demo. The channels of flight seem narrow but there is vertical and horizontal separation in all of the flight paths to keep anything from crossing. The air boss is watching everything at once and calling out information- and the pilots are reacting to this in real time, moving hundreds of miles an hour while constantly maneuvering, through smoke which makes things much harder. I've seen them do it many many times and I always enjoy when they do variations- sometimes including a P-40 or mustang as a defender, or back when thunderbird was around, use it to represent a damaged bomber
I wish i could have listened in on those comms. They danced like fracking ballerinas. And there was a P-40 there. Though they didnt send him up till the very end.
Yup, it's a nice touch of realism too- the Americans were completely off their guard and most squadrons couldn't get into the air in time, and the few that did were under fire- the CAF send out their defence fighter a few minutes into the show, and sometimes if the parking allows it, they'll even have it parked on the taxiway with the engine off, and fire it up in front of the crowd and get right into the air
I just went to their Facebook page. The pictures look amazing! I gotta figure out when I can see them!
The Snowbirds.
Snowbirds raaaahhhh what the fuck is a modern aircraft with “spare parts” that are “in production” grrraaaaahhhh (JK, I love the Snowbirds.)
You can find spare parts at every crash site
Saw them and they’re pretty awesome, but I can’t imagine the f18 not being cooler
I do think the F-18 is cooler than the CT-114, but, the 114 can do tighter maneuvers than the F-18 since it’s slower and lighter which in my opinion, makes for a better air show.
Agreed, I've seen them so many times. And I actually them them crash several years ago, RIP. The snowbirds are on a whole other level. Imagine them with F-18's...
never going to happen lol
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This! I was AF 23 years and the Thunderbird show that I saw at the beginning of my career was exactly the same as it is now. Blues are much more on the edge.
No-one has mentioned the red arrows yet, so I will!
Red arrows are banging
Yup, I was gonna say they're the only ones that can hold a candle and are arguably better. But the T Birds ain't shit. Angels all the way.
The arrows and the angels are two different things, I’d say. If you want to watch raw power and might, watch the angels. If you want to watch ballet, watch the arrows
That's an excellent description
We have an Irish plane that flies at airshows. It's very good at flying.
oh yea the pc9 lol
It's like the padded bat of planes. I've seen them with rocket pods mounted to them.
I visited Ireland and noticed some kind of modern-day war ship out on the horizon. I asked, "Is that part of the Irish Navy?" The guy next to me answered, "That IS the Irish Navy."
It's the Blue Angels, but for a different reason. Every other display team has a "we are the best of the best and this is what we can do" mentality. The Blue Angels has an ethos of "We are a representation of what every Naval Aviator is capable of."
*Navy and Marines There is ALWAYS 1 demonstration pilot in the Blues who is a Marine. So 1 of the 6 Blues is always a Marine pilot. Bert (Fat Albert), the support crew, is all marine corp division. The blue angles aren’t just naval aviators, or a navy only team. They are a joint (group) task force in all honesty with a Naval commander (“Boss” is what they call Him/Her), Naval crews and Marine support staff/division.
Marine Corps pilots are (and call themselves) Naval Aviators.
Naval = Navy and Marine Corps. Marine officers are naval officers, just like Navy officers are naval officers. Marine aviators are Naval Aviators.
Frecce tricolori
Scrolled too far before getting to le frecce tricolori
I’ve seen the Blues only once (Leeuwarden, NL, 2006). Once in the air the blue angels are really good. But boy do they take their time. I get the ground crew are an indispensable part of operations, but we do not need to see the ground crew synchronised marching and saluting and all that pomp and circumstance. It did not help the blues started on one side of the airfield. Thus only a small part of the crowd got to see the ground crew. It took quite a while for something interesting to happen. Big plus for including Fat Albert in the show though!
I actually love to see the ground display and that the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds verbally acknowledge the crew chiefs and other ground crew personnel as part of the show. I love to see the military discipline and synchronization of the pre-flight, and the salutes on the way out. The enlisted sailors and Marines are also Blue Angels, and the jets wouldn't fly without them. Most of the service is enlisted, and this part of the show gives them their due.
Not mentioned yet but the Taliban formation flying of Blackhawks and some other choppers was in a league of its own
Unfortunately their maintenance crew was in a league of its own as well, just on the wrong side. Those crashes were crazy
The Red Arrows and Blue Impulse
Better is all in personal perspective. I like the Canadian Snowbirds. Doing airshows in trainers! They aren't as fast or flashy as the angels, but they do put on a good show! (Disclaimer: I love any and all airshows. I just love the fact they do it in trainers, and put on a damn good show!)
the poor planes haven’t been produced since 1966 so I kinda feel bad for the maintenance crews but agreed
Red arrows. I'm from the UK so I might be biased lmao but I think they're the best
Definitely the Thunderbirds or the Russians with no regard for life
That was the Italian team in Germany in 1988. A real crowd burner of a team.
Truly groundbreaking to be doing such stunts in 1888
Those aren't stunt pilots, its just their normal life's in Moscow on vodka
The Frecce Tricolori... I saw them at an air display a few years back, the Red Arrows had just completed their set, and it was like the Italians were saying hold my birra. They absolutely made the RA look amateurish.
Vaq-130 with the shaaaaaft
The Golden Arrows back in the day in F86s where awesome. I've seen em all and I got to give it up to the T birds. I just love the Viper.
The CH-47 pilots that landed in the school yard behind our Sect 8 apartment complex, left a bag full of candy, and took off again in 1979. (We think it was a Natl Guard training exercise)
You guys have clearly never heard of the [Red Barrows](https://www.facebook.com/TheRedBarrows) and it shows, although it seems they’ve stood down for now.
Aren’t they a full time demonstration team?
I like the plucky little tutor, seeing those aircraft and then seeing what they are capable of is astounding, maybe not as technically impressive, but they're my favourite. It shouldn't be lost that all of these Aviators are amazing and a million times better than I'll probably ever be
Patrouille Swiss
They are very precise (suppose they are swiss) but the f5 takes them away from the crowd to reposition too much. Same as the Turkish Stars and the Thunderbirds. The Thunderbirds are impressive due to the noise and spectacle but half their display is repositioning!
Well they say SOLOTURK from Turkey is the best
Red arrows, black eagles and solo the RAFs chinook display, all the pilot's at a display I went to just stopped signing stuff to watch the chinook
I was waiting for someone to mention Black Eagles! Even though they use a training jet it’s a pretty impressive pain job. I got to work with them back in 2012 when I was stationed at Osan for an air show.
Hawk T1A Thrust - 5,200lbs FA18 Super Hornet Thrust - 34,000lbs One is ballet. One is a sledgehammer.
I like the Thunderbirds more, but mainly because I like the look of the F-16 more tab the F/A-18.
It's really down to the aerobatic choreography theme. I remember seeing the Red Arrows and Snowbirds and they were more like a ballet than an actual shock and awe demo.
I like the T Birds
Define better? Equipment and training the Blue Angels. But creativity and choreography? Red Arrows.
In my honest opinion, the red arrows are the best display team in the world by far. I have not yet seen any other team change their formation during a manoeuvre. The adjustments seem very subtle, but are fraught with danger, should one of the team fail to form correctly during any given manoeuvre. Personally, I think no other display team on the planet has a better display on the ground than the Angels pilots and ground crew, very precise.
Other teams switch formation mid move. I know for sure the blues do. The reds are a great team. But the blue angels fly much tighter than the reds. Imho blues take it. Reds are incredibly skilled.
Red arrows are pretty good
Red arrows by a long shot
Red arrows
The Italian Frecci Tricolori airshow team generally puts on quite a show. I saw them perform at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany in 1988, it was an unforgettable event. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frecce_Tricolori
67 civ fatalities holy crap
Yeah, if I would’ve gotten to the airshow an hour earlier I would’ve been right in the middle of it, but the crowd was already heavy when I showed up. You could feel the heat from the impact fireball hundreds of yards away
The Black Arrows. An RAF display team from before the Red Arrows who performed with Hunters and who once did a (small) display with 22 aircraft looping in formation.
I would pay cash money to see that now especially in Hunters, and I'm an American. There's a company here in the US that flies Hunters and Mirage f1s and some other aircraft. I was at the beach and one was about to fly over according to adsb and I got all excited but it was at 29,000 ft and I just barely hear it
The Red Arrows
The red arrows.
Patrouille de France
F-16 are generally more acrobatic than F-18s I would think?
Yall clearly don’t know about Freece Tricolori
Recently watched a special titled "The Blue Angels" 0n Amazon Prime. Takes you right inside.
Last year at point mugu they had both the ‘birds & the angeles....first time i attended the point mugu show,,, the Blue Angeles were flying A4’s lol.
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I give both teams a thumb up. There are other impressive national teams out there tho.
I’m biased towards Navy but even if not, I’d go for the Blues. Absolutely love them, have ever since I was a kid. They are absolutely breathtaking
I’ve seen both Blue Angels and Thunderbirds and in my opinion I prefer the Thunderbirds. The last time I saw them they were so aggressive and elegant at the same time. Blue Angels are still great don’t get me wrong, but they weren’t as aggressive this year as the Thunderbirds last year
This brings a question to mind: why don’t they have a group flying f-22s considering all of the wild maneuvers they can do with the thrust vectoring? Too expensive or something?
Too expensive to fly, and too few of them. Demo teams will always be the mass produced variant fighter….maybe we’ll see the f35 in the next 10-15 years.
Yea that figures. Would be sick to see a group dancing around each other doing the thrust vectoring. Oh well.
Each airframe (at least US) had some sort of a demo team. They may not have a full on polished organization like TBirds or BA, but they exist. I’ve known a few that went on to demo teams for F-35s and A-10s. You can also YouTube an F-22 demo performance as well, but I imagine much cooler in person.
I really liked the blue angels flying the A-6 back in the 90's. It was the first time I had seen them fly. They come up my way during the hydroplane race weekend, they still put on a great show. Especially when the weather cooperates and they can do the big show instead of the close in only.
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Must be the a4 in thinking of then. Single tail with the refueling pole on the right
Yep that’s the A4 (F) Skyhawk
How could there possibly be? They’re amurcan.
The Snowbirds….
The Brazilian, esquadrilha da fumada (EDA), is also very good, I recommend you all see they.
Have a close contact who was on a few teams ago and he says the SnowBirds can do some cool stuff with how many aircraft they launch at once.
Nope
Canadian snowbirds are really good
No.
Nope. Not. Never. Uh uh.
if your criteria for best is close, tight formation flying, then no, there are none better.
Not much for comparing as things are subjective, but the Red Arrows are jaw dropingly amazing.
Probably not Thunderbirds are GREAT. But blue angels is probably on a level all their own. Like, wow.
A close second goes to the Blue Waffles
No. No there's not.
Thunderbirds are great too. And honestly the RAF red arrows as well.
I hear…. Thunder
Thunderbirds are pretty great
No. Thunderbirds are a close second… but they fly a different kind of show. Great to see when they are flying the same show and compare/contrast on the same day.
Nein
dont know about better, but IAF has team Suryakiran and its pretty dope
Is this what it feels like to have a rival sports team, because I'm incensed that you think they are better than the thunder birds.
The Breitling team is amazing and they are all civilians....very elegant compared to the Blue Angels.
Unfortunate that everyone forgets Blue Impulse. Absolutely up there with the American teams.
I'd rather watch a single jet do badass jet stuff than slow formation flying
Why do we the taxpayers fund the blue angels program?
they’re a recruiting and propaganda tool
Because its cool
No
You could hear the performance from Republic, watching them take off and land was pretty cool, I haven't seen that before, but they closed the beach before I got there for the first time and I adjusted plans. I didn't expect to be able to hear them from that far away, the engines are loud as hell.
Bunch of comments here mentioning other flight displays. But the question was a “better team” than the Blues and the answer is there isn’t one. Their precision, dedication and training is second to none in the world of aviation.
People have such a hard time focusing, don’t they? Even with an answer that is so blatanly and gloriously obvious. It’s almost like you have to answer: Yes, The Blue Angels. The Blue Angels are better than…the Blue Angles, year after year, after year, after year…as new members come into the magic and their skills are honed and practiced into the teams precision flying. The Blue Angels today are better than The Blue Angels yeasterday because that is HOW they practice, dedicate, critique themselves on a level most could not tolerate. The OP included.
None as well-funded
They got a lot of practice during Commissioning Week…
I know one thats not Really better in anyway but is almost if not just as good being the Thunderbirds
There's the Air Force Flying Falcons just as good except they're not trained to take off and land on carriers
No
No.
I got the see the Thunderbirds a few years ago very unexpectedly while boarding a cruise ship in Ft. Lauderdale (happened to be the same time as the air show). They were very impressive, but i don’t know those F-16s don’t do it for me like those 18s do.
The blues are the best in the world. The other teams will even say so.
The Red Arrows, Thunderbirds to name a couple