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Packing up the cooler and heading over to the park (taking the day off) today to watch the Angels do their Friday practice show for the hydro races this weekend -- main show is on Sat-Sunday, but the crowds are insane. I'll try to get good pics ... they blew straight over our company's warehouse after takeoff from Boeing Field yesterday, here's a pic of them over the Seattle downtown waterfront:

Are those the American version of the Red Arrows, like we have over here?

Dartzap wrote:Are those the American version of the Red Arrows, like we have over here?

Military air-show demo team, yes ... of those I've seen, nobody compares to the Angels.

But I'm biased, I've been watching them do this since they flew F-4 Phantoms ... nothing like feeling your whole body vibrate from the rumbling roar of Phantoms doing a formation takeoff with afterburners engaged. I like the Hornets, they're the best combo of agility & power the Angels have had (thank god the Skyhawk era is over), but I'll always have a soft spot for the F-4's.

Lucked into a great parking spot, rode my bike up the beach (closed road) to a nice spot, and got some pics & quicktime movies with the camera ....

Mama bird checks the course

Enter the Angels

Split up

Coming back

Meet the Neighbors

Inversion

We get up

We get down

Corkscrew

Power hover

Buh-bye

Blue Angels visited Montana last week. My parents got some digital camera shots and e-mailed me some pictures. Pitty I missed the show.

Truck & bike at the parking spot

Looking downhill from the parking spot to the lake

Seward Park, Lake Washington, my vantage point, looking south on Lake Washington Blvd.

Ok, movies are up, around 4 megs in size so I'll ask that you transfer them by FTP only ... FTP to ftp.tallguyz.com, login with the account 'sdnet' and the password 'galactica' and download bangels1.mov, bangels2.mov, bangels3.mov, or bangels4.mov

The Blue Angels have come to Evansville the last few years.
Unfortunately due to knee problems, I wasn't able to get pics of this year's show with my new 12x zoom digicam.

But I do have some I took a couple of years ago with my old Olympus camera.

Angels in flight

Blue Angels lined up on tarmac

Canadian 20 year CF-18 anniversary paint scheme

Cockpit side view of plain jane CF-18

Blue Angels C-130 in flight

C-130 on tarmac

'Fat Albert Airlines'

Old Biplane
As a historical note, the big building in the background of this picture is now the Evansville Whirlpool refrigerator plant.
During WW2, Republic Aviation built P-47 Thunderbolts in that same building.
In fact, the taxiway from the plant to the airport runway still exists, but is now fenced off and a public road now runs alongside the plant.

I am saddened at the lack of angel porn in this thread. Planes are cool, though. I think their name is a bit derivative though. Red Devils...Blue Angels....oy.

Nice pictures you got there.

Hm, turns out you *can* see them from my front porch, at least at the top of their big vertical maneuvers ...

I thought for a minute this thread was about scottish bikers...

mmmm... Blue Angels.... I look forward to when the Chicago Air and Water Show manages to book them (they usually alternate with the Air Force Thunderbirds). I don't go to the CA&WS, mind you, but since I work in the Loop skyscrapers we get to see them roaring by during pre-show practice.

My employer says it's OK for me to gawp out the windows at them if I remember to wipe up the drool afterward.

Also, since Chicago skyscrapers are so tall, I have, once or twice, seen them fly by below the level of the window.

Way cool stuff.