Friday on Nellis Blvd

tabs · 11-17-2003, 02:12 PM

I was drivin down Nellis Blvd on Friday afternoon. When at 500 ft over me an F-14 flies at about 500 knots. He was followed by 3 other F-14's right on the deck. They banked left over Nellis AF Base and joined up in formation about 10 miles due east at about 8000 ft. It was the Thunderbirds practicing for last weekends airshow. Quiet amazing...imagine the rush those guys have. It's awesome to see those guys fly.

BlueSkyJaunte · 11-17-2003, 02:20 PM

My wife works right by the Williams (formerly) AFB. They do the airshow there every year. She could just sit in her office parking lot and watch the show.

She says it's a real trip when an F-16 flies directly overhead on final approach.

wckrause · wckrause's Garage

I don't think you saw any Thunderbirds flying F-14s.

Schrup · Schrup's Garage

I spent 4 years in the Air Force & don't miss those noisy F-16s, especially when they taxi. The shrill scream is maddening. What I could never get my fill of was C-5s. Watching them take off & land seems like a contradiction of physics. Especially to witness one landing in a heavy sidewind, & watching the landing gear make compensations for the proper approach. Although it is not pleasant to get caught in the hurricane force of their jet wash, I marvel that such a monster can leave the ground.

BlueSkyJaunte · 11-17-2003, 03:21 PM

Do they still do the tank-dropping thing with those during airshows?

Harlan Chinn · Harlan Chinn's Garage

Nothing like having a formation of F-18 (Blue Angels) fly a couple hundred feet above the boat that I was standing on, that they were using as their target boat with afterburners blazing! The jet wake and smell of the kerosene was something. I've also been to a demonstration by an A-10 and have seen how quickly and quietly they can sneak up behind you and its "Guns guns guns" and it's all over!
I'd hate to be on the receiving end of any of that!

Schrup · Schrup's Garage

Warthogs are filthy evil. No sir would not want to be on the business end of that gatling gun. Those things turn on a dime & carry plenty of armor.

BlueSkyJaunte · 06:42 AM

Warthogs kick ass! Haven't they been retired, then un-retired, then retired again???

My dad did radar and avionics on the F-105D. The "Thud". Back during Vietnam (he was in the States, though).

Drago · Drago's Garage

A-10 Warthogs are nothing more than a big a$$ gun with wings.

Harlan Chinn · Harlan Chinn's Garage

The depleted uranium wads that come out of the warthog's snout rip open a civilian car like a can opener

Adam · Adam's Garage

They rip open most tanks like that, too!

We had a large USAF, USN & Marine contingent arrive for our Avalon Air Show here in Aust last year. Watching the F-15s, F-16s, F/A-18 Super Hornets (We've only got regular Hornets here in Aus) and Harriers was awesome. I was less than 100ft from the runway, deck chair and all!

I've gotta say, I was blown away. Something pretty cool about even a regular old 707 (or 737, I don't remember) blitzing past at approx 150 ft at around 450 knots!

bell · bell's Garage

tabs · 11-18-2003, 01:28 AM

Paper said F-14's but what do I know. I have seen what looks like A-10's coming back from training missions as well. And everyday about 10 Am or so I can hear a F-16 go overhead...I guess on a Combat Air Patrol. I just think it's neat to see some of those planes, and what they can do. Living here I get to see some of it, even if it does rattle my trailer to bits, thats all!

MFAFF · 11-18-2003, 02:41 AM

If its the Blues they only fly F18, F18C models I tihnk as opposed to the A model.

F-14 would only be at Nellis for Training Exercise,as its a SAF Base rather than a USN Base. I think the PAC FLett F-14s call Fallon 'Home isne Mirmar (AKA Fighter TOWN USA) was turned over to the USMC.

Cool whatever.

Its only when you see the birds flying at 0.95 Mach below you that you realise how fast they are going.

Oh its possible over in the Scottish and Welsh Valleys, either Tornado GR MK1 over here or the Harrier GR9

Riding in one doing tha's 'bit' of a rush too......

Nader · 11-18-2003, 05:56 AM

I knew a Warthog pilot who said that operating the big gun while flying at slower attack speeds would decelerate the plane into a near stall.

Overpaid Slacker · 11-18-2003, 06:30 AM

A-10s are the ugliest, coolest thing in the air. I grew up near Hancock AFB -- 174th TFS "Boys from Syracuse" -- and as part of an Aviation Explorers group, I was "Huey"ed up to Fort Drum to watch the 174th and some A-10s from CT perform missile, bomb (lob-toss is awesome) and gun practice.

Suffice to say, the cannon is unbelievable; when they turn downrange for the approach, they engage (what sounds like) the engine starters -
(perhaps to prevent the stall Nader referred to, perhaps to keep the gun exhaust from choking an engine if the pilot executes a high-g turn) so the normal turbofan scream becomes a shriek right before the gun fires. At the other end of the range there are some spectacular shows as the rounds hit the earth -- they used acoustic targets as most hard targets didn't last very long under the withering rain of depleted uranium. Then the A-10 would just dance into a knife-edge and get the hell out of Dodge, w/ the condensation sheeting off the wings. Truly awesome.

It was a sad day when the 174th went to F-16A2s; though when they did 105% scramble take-offs it seemed as though the sound from those bastards would shred the atmosphere itself (pschrup is right, you can't overstate how loud these things are, but it's the sound of freedom, baby) -- and they absolutely leapt off the ground in about 100'.

For other reasons, I got to play in the A-10 simulator, which wasn't so cool -- it wasn't on hydraulics, so to stimulate movement, air bladders under the seat cushions inflated/deflated. So, in any significant turn, your body is tilted and the simulator is still vertical. Very odd. The B-52 simulator at Griffiss AFB was hellacool.

JP

cowtown · 11-18-2003, 09:45 AM

I used to work for BofA at their headquarters building on California in San Fran. It is (was) a 52 story highrise with a restaurant on top.

Once a year, the Blue Angels would practice their maneuvers over the city and we'd scramble up the building as high as we could get, and go to the windows. I could swear that sometimes we were looking down on the planes as they blasted by. The whole building would shake as they shot by.

Those planes, and those pilots, are just incredible. One of the best things about San Francisco - Fleet Week.

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

I was always more of an F-104 fan...

BlueSkyJaunte · 10:29 AM

I corrected my earlier post...my father worked on the F-105D. I understand the F-104 was sometimes referred to as a "missile with a man in it". The leading edge of the wings on that plane can slice deli meat!

Indeed:

http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent1/?file=cw_f9_1

BGCarrera32 · 11-18-2003, 10:29 AM

I had the treat of a personal after hours tour of the assembly floor at Lockheed Martin in Ft.Worth where the F16 is built. My cousin is a big wig there, and took me around with nobody else present a few years ago (pre 9/11). What a trip...there is soooo much stuff packed into those planes it would blow your mind, and the tooling on the assembly floor is unbelievable...

The next craziest thing I have ever seen is the JSF/F-35...400' takeoff, go Supersonic, hover 100' in the air and land vertically...

Motionless at 25'