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Waddington departures; Good day out in the sun..
Topic Started: Jul 4 2011, 07:51 PM (414 Views)
General Melchett
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Come on Darling........we're leaving !!
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Hi all, just some pics I took today of the departures from the Waddington airshow...always nice to see the stuff moving that's usually parked up at the back over the weekend!,

Hope you like em, no particular order just as they went off...

Cheers,

Melchie...


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Had forgotten just how damn noisy these things are!!!

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General Melchett
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Come on Darling........we're leaving !!
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Finally a shot few thought would ever happen in 2011........two Vulcans at rest...

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peebeep
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Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious
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Lots of jet thingums but the interesting props make up for it! Didn't realise the T-Birds were in the UK.

Nice images Melchie, thanks for posting.

peebeep
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Phreak
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Nice stuff Herr General! :thumbsup:
I love the shot of the two Delta ladies...swoon! :wub:
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Mike W
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Hook down, wheels down... call the ball
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Nice selection Melchie , brilliant pics, gives a real sense of what it was like to actually be there.

Hey, someone should kick the decal guy's ass, he put the "5" on upside down
:rofl:
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General Melchett
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Come on Darling........we're leaving !!
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Thanks fellas, Peeb, had to put a few spinny, fan driven, yawny proppy things in as the interesting, noisy, fast jet thingies were a bit thin on the ground this time round.. :D , mind you must admit to liking the Morane Saulnier MS.733 and peculiar DA42.............., yep Rich had to do a bit of gymnatics to get this shot ...not a pretty sight I fear...!!
Mike as I'm sure you know number 5 is the mirror solo so spends a fair bit of time inverted though why not go the whole hog and turn the US Air Force and stars and bars round as well!!...actually they were thoroughly average to be honest...loads of hype and not a lot of action, took em about 20 minutes just to get in their bloody cockpits and remove the ladders amid lots of silly synchronized 'robotic' movements and saluting of each other, not to mention the 15 tracks of music used for each manoevour blasted at a painful, overdriven volume for all to endure..(mind you, couldn't resist going into head slamming mode for Metallica's 'seek and destroy', much to my mates horror!!)!!!..then there was the highly irritating female commentator who insisted on rolling the end of each sentence like some demented game show host(ess) and telling us how many million hours each pilot had on the 'fighting Falcon'..............not like the 'arrars'..just strap in and get on with it!.Luckily the Belgian F16 came to the rescue a bit later and showed them how one should really be flown.. :wicked:
Mind you I noticed every one of them stopped what they were doing, signing autographs, preening themselves, grinning, etc and watched in awe as '558 did her bit for Queen and country, sans music and over the top commentary, (not that you would have heard a lot of that! :D )..On the Saturday Kev Rummens launched into what amounted to a QRA takeoff straight from the parking area next to the runway and performed one of the most spectacular Vulcan displays I've ever seen..awesome.
Edited by General Melchett, Jul 5 2011, 08:07 AM.
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Mike R
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ne sad thing about what has happened to the Thunderbirds goes back to when the team followed the leader into the ground in the Nevada desert many years back (I think 1982) when they were flying T-38's. The USAF really tapered down the display for them and it is bordering on boring and mundane. One also must consider that the F-16 is not a very good tight formation airplane as it does not like to go slow at high AOA's unlike the Blue Angels Hornets who have a much more stable airplane in close formation (compare diamonds between the two teams and you will see what I mean) and the Hornet also LIVES slow and at high AOA. Couple that witht he Navy continuing to polish their display and add new manuevers every few years. I think the only "manuever' that the T Birds have added since 1983, when they first got the F-16 is the Sneak Pass. Being former USAF myself, I do enjoy the T Birds but sadly I don't see them in the top 5-6 teams in the world anymore even though they fly arguebly the best, tightest turning and fastest rolling airplane of any other team. Also remember that they are a recruiting tool for 10-15 year old men and women here and all of the pomp and circumstance is to show precision on the ground as well as in the air, regardless of how boring it is. I am not defending them as, like I said, they have slipped down the ranks overall but that is 100% due to the neutering the USAF have put on them since they lost four at once. Notice, no line abreast loops? There is a reason for that.

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peebeep
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Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious
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I saw the T-Birds at Mildenhall, quite a few years ago now. What people don't appreciate is that although their displays are not flashy, the formation flying is immaculate in precision and very close, even the inverted/mirror passes. If you've ever flown an aeroplane you will know just how difficult that is and the skill that is required to carry it off. I can't remember seeing tighter formation flying before, or since. The team policy is curious, notwithstanding the accident, because it seems to me there is as much risk in flying so close as there would be flying more flamboyant formation manoeuvres.
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General Melchett
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Come on Darling........we're leaving !!
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Mike, everything you say is true, I recall seeing them as a nipper way back in 1970 at Upper Heyford when they were flying the F4E's...and that really was impressive, particularly the solos who were allowed to perform opposition take offs straight into 360 rolls still with the gear down then climb into the vertica,l burners ablaze!!..amazing stuff for an 11 year old!.. As you say since the accident with the T-38's things were toned down quite a bit, (happens with a lot of teams, look at the Russian knights who will be disbanded following MAKS 2011), having said that I saw them perform at Patrick AFB, Florida in 1996 and they were very impressive then..flying down the crowd line, tight loops and many LOW level high speed passes kicking up clouds of dust at the end of the runways. The show also lasted 20 minutes!!..mind you that was sun baked Florida and not rain soaked GB with the CAA, (Can't Allow Aviation) breathing down their necks.!!. I managed to have a fairly lengthy chat with the team leader, Thunderbird 1, Case Cunningham, (funny always thought it was Scott Tracey), and the number 5 mirror solo Aaron Jelinek and you couldn't have met two nicer, politer people, listening with courtesy to all the inane questions with a fixed smile and chatting away freely with the kids too, I guess that's the PR machine kicking in ...
As you say the formation part of the routine was flown with great precision though it seemed to take them an age to reformate way away from the airfield.Thing is we Brits aren't really all that keen on the razmataz and are used to the teams just getting on with it, no music, no glitz just letting the flying do the talking. Overall though it was certainly better to have seen them than not, I just wish the display had had a bit more substance than hype, you were always waiting for something more exciting to happen.....................mind you on the Saturday it did.........................it was called the Vulcan!! :D .,

Peeb,.
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If you've ever flown an aeroplane you will know just how difficult that is and the skill that is required to carry it off


I've been privileged to have flown in a WACO biplane out in Kissimee part of a two ship formation practicing for a small display back in 1995 and believe me it certainly isn't easy to hold station so I totally respect the skills required, especially at high speed...

Edited by General Melchett, Jul 6 2011, 08:41 AM.
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Eldorado
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peebeep
Jul 5 2011, 10:31 PM
I saw the T-Birds at Mildenhall, quite a few years ago now. What people don't appreciate is that although their displays are not flashy, the formation flying is immaculate in precision and very close, even the inverted/mirror passes. If you've ever flown an aeroplane you will know just how difficult that is and the skill that is required to carry it off. I can't remember seeing tighter formation flying before, or since. The team policy is curious, notwithstanding the accident, because it seems to me there is as much risk in flying so close as there would be flying more flamboyant formation manoeuvres.
Mildenhall ,what ever happened to Mildenhall. Its ten years now since the last Air Day. :old glory:
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peebeep
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Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious
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Eldorado
Jul 6 2011, 10:33 AM
Its ten years now since the last Air Day. :old glory:
:crying:

Even if there were too many jets it was easily the friendliest, most fun day out on the show calender. Lost and much lamented.

peebeep
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Mike R
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Funnily enough I have about 100 hours in the F-16 simulators out here at Luke. They are 360 degree domed sims and they are amazing! Anyone coming out here for a visit will get a treat to it. That being said, the F-16 is a VERY difficult to fly upside down and it does not like to land. I also find flying tight formation is very hard due to aerodynamic issues and you simply cannot overlap wings for any length of time.

Once again, not an excuse for a lackluster display and I am not apologizing for my beloved USAF! :thumbsup:
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General Melchett
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Come on Darling........we're leaving !!
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too many jets
...what!!!...tie that man to the mizzen mast, keel haul him and then take away all his toys ..how in the name of all that's holy can you have too many jets!!...good Lord Peeb, if only they had cleared all the scrap, proppy, spinny, fan driven stuff off round to the back lot and put all the proper aircraft on the static line where they belonged the country would be in a darned sight better state than what it is now!!.I think...yes I'm sure it would...Darling ..fetch my big feathery hat!!! I think just about everybody I spoke to wondered at the organisers state of mind to do otherwise!..the main static looked like the display line from Popham!!

Mike, sounds like a lot of fun..reminds me of when I was in the air cadets in the early 70's and had regular visits to operational stations where we were allowed to play with their simulators instead of running the risk of damaging the real thing...Lightnings at Wattisham, Phantoms at Coningsby and Victors at Marham...it was a dream come true back then...and certainly gave you a very real idea of how tense and claustrophobic it all was.
If the F-16 is hard to fly in formation I dread to think what the SU 27 must be like!!

Yep have to agree, Mildenhall was an annual treat for me, staying over on the Friday with mates to watch the rehearsals and then fed a constant diet of fast jets, heavy bombers, aerobatic teams and triple gutbuster burgers with relish and extra cholesterol for the next two days...ahhh, memories.. :wub:
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