Every year the Blue Angels (and Air Force teams and others) do two shows over Lake Washington in Seattle, which is a mile away from me. I’ve been in my back yard, splitting oak and BL by hand, watching these things scream overhead. They are VERY close and VERY loud. The pictures don’t do the whole scene from my back yard justice but I thought you might appreciate them anyway. I kept having to tear my gloves off when I heard them coming again. First are the F35 Lightnings (they didn’t like my neighborhood so I didn’t get any great shots. Next are the EA 18G Growlers (two of them flying with a smaller white plane), and then the Blue Angels.
There is no way on Earth that I could not like this!! That is so bad azz!! They fly over me in the mountains pretty frequently - out of the Air Force base in CO Springs. But not nearly that close! Most of the time, I hear them and don't even see them.
It’s not the best viewing experience sometimes…the sound bounces off the houses and so you don’t know where they’re coming from. Sometimes I’ll see a bird and freak out for a second. But every couple of years they fly right over our house, in tight formation, turned sideways so you can even see the pilots’ helmets! All said it’s a fun and weird distraction when you’re trying to process the last of your rounds.
.... Got to see them for a couple of years when they had the Air Show in the Downtown airport... It was always fun watching the different planes rumble over the house...
Sounds like a great show. Probably the best we've seen was the Thunderbirds when they performed at the base near Marquette, MI. Another favorite was the air show at the Marine air base in Yuma, AZ which is held every spring.
Man, I love that stuff! I have a friend that was an F-16 squadron commander and he took me up in an F-16 2 seater trainer. It was a hell of a ride. I managed to keep everything down as we flew straight up, straight down loops, rolls and simulated dog fighting. It was a once on a lifetime trip. Later he took command of an F-117 Stealth squadron and took part in the bombing of the former Yugoslavia. His squadron had the bad luck of being the first and only F-117 squadron to loose a stealth bird in combat. I started to ask him for a ride but he laughed and told me not to even think about it!
