Would you duck?

I'd say they got their money's worth on this flyover.

Just saw this clip on the news. Apparently Waddington (Britain) has very different airshow regs than the US. We're not allowed to have people anywhere NEAR this close to the runway, nor are the aircraft allowed to overfly them like this.

No, we have a "scatter pattern" of debris all mapped out to miss the gawkers and avoid stampedes.

Even a UK glider has different rules. A few years ago a trailerable glider was assembled for some UK races and a brilliant young student with her career ahead of her flew it. Unfortunately, the wing bolts had no indicator of the difference between 99 percent in place and 100 in place. Her fiancee watched the plane climb to 800 feet and then the wings fell off.

I love the thumbnail. I mean, really? Someone had to take the time to put a giant red circle over the jet? =p

Of course I would have ducked. Nothing like taking a spray of 100mpg gravel to the torso.

Odd how many countries have our F-16. It's like the Ford of the fighter jets. They're everywhere.

Quote: beachbumbabs

Just saw this clip on the news. Apparently Waddington (Britain) has very different airshow regs than the US. We're not allowed to have people anywhere NEAR this close to the runway, nor are the aircraft allowed to overfly them like this.

I thought UK air show regs also didn't allow the planes to fly over the audience as well (see air show disasters all over the world as object lessons).

Quote: Face

Odd how many countries have our F-16. It's like the Ford of the fighter jets. They're everywhere.

It's a nifty multi-role little fighter jet, rather economical as such things go, too.

One reason it's everywhere is that General Dynamics licenced Turkey to make the jet, I think in the 80s. About 2,000 or so were produced overall.

I bet some of them suffered ear damage.


Years ago, I was in AC for a DJ convention. Without realizing it, it was the same week as the annual air show. We had a suite on an upper floor of the ShowBoat, on the end facing the ocean. Although much of the show was centered around Boardwalk Hall over a mile away, our balcony provided a great view.

At one point, a group of jets flew between ShowBoat and Taj, where the Chairman tower now stands. They flew below us. Very cool. And loud! They turned down beach, then when they got to Boardwalk Hall they turned straight up. They flew up a mile or so and started to lose momentum (or so it seemed) when they kicked in their afterburners. Now, a couple mines away, they were even louder than when they were right next to us!

It was VERY cool!

The Blue Angels attacked Navy Pier a couple of years ago.

Quote: Nareed

Quote: Face

Odd how many countries have our F-16. It's like the Ford of the fighter jets. They're everywhere.

It's a nifty multi-role little fighter jet, rather economical as such things go, too.

One reason it's everywhere is that General Dynamics licenced Turkey to make the jet, I think in the 80s. About 2,000 or so were produced overall.

Wiki says some 4,000 of them were delivered to 25 different countries, as of 2010. Crazy.

The F16C Block 40 is one of the many I've spent a good deal of time in flight sim with. I'd have to say it is my least favorite. Don't get me wrong, it's very capable. But it has "every man" syndrome. It does so many things so well, it can't do any one thing very good.

I find it hard to even call it a "fighter". "Strike"? Very much so. The payload and the radar is ample to knock out anything I've been tasked with. Moving armor battalions, ships and dock, power plants, underground factories, radar emplacements, all of them are toast. But it is too underpowered for the payload it carries. I'd even say it's underpowered just carrying air-to-air armaments. Once at speed, I got one evasion in my inventory. One missile launch, be it SAM or air-to-air, I can likely evade. The RWR and countermeasures are good, and a little bit of flight knowledge gets the job done. But after getting away from that one threat, you lose all your airspeed and it's a dog getting back up to power. You can use afterburner, of course, but it absolutely drinks fuel. You're a sitting duck.

The "fighter" aspect is all BVR with AIM-120's. That it's good at. But it's a fire and run type of fight. It's deadly at long range. But once those Su-27 and Su-33 Flankers get into their range, I'm toast. I hate it. And the gun? Pfft. Totally useless =p

The F-18 Hornet is far better at everything. Now that is a hotrod =) Hell, I rather do battle in a Su-25 Frogfoot than a Falcon. And of course, give me the A-10 Thunderbolt and ALL of the rest can go to hell. A-10 > everything on the planet =D

Quote: Face

Wiki says some 4,000 of them were delivered to 25 different countries, as of 2010. Crazy.

I guess my remembered stats were woefully out of date.

It's also a very pretty plane.

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But it has "every man" syndrome. It does so many things so well, it can't do any one thing very good.

That's the nature of a multi-role fighter.

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I find it hard to even call it a "fighter".

As I understand it, the Air Force calls all fighting planes "fighters" and gives them the "F-" designation. The Navy divides planes into Fighters "F-" and Attack "A-" I've no idea how the A-10 got its "A-"

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The F-18 Hornet is far better at everything.

I think that's F/A-18 by the Navy's own reckoning ;)

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And of course, give me the A-10 Thunderbolt and ALL of the rest can go to hell. A-10 > everything on the planet =D

More than an airplane, I'd call the Warthog a flying tank. Not only is it well-armored, as opposed to every other plane in existence (combat or not), the plane is built around the main Gatling on the front.

I have one of the oversized photo books on it, and way back when I had an A-10 game on my PC.