Foiled!

[440_Magnum]

Re: Foiled!

Actually, I really preferred the A-4 show to the F-18s. I guess that's serious sacrelege, eh?

Neal

<looking both ways....>

Psst..... I like EVERYTHING about the A-4 better than the F-18.



Its just a hell of a cool little airplane. The bantam rooster of the fighter world.

[rpzo]

Re: Foiled!

Psst..... I like EVERYTHING about the A-4 better than the F-18.

Me too!

[Unregistered]

Re: Foiled!

Lets see if we can talk "Maximum" Bob Lutz into bringing his A-4 to Reno.
#21

[Bill@Interstell]

Re: Foiled!

I agree A4s over F18s, but I'll go one better and reach into the wayback machine for F4s. Phantoms were dirty, noisy gashogs, but man did the blues fly some shows back in those days.

[rpzo]

Re: Foiled!

Bill,

Greetings from just up 680 in San Ramon. Small world ain't it?

I only had the opportunity to see the Blues once in the F-4's and the only reason I know that is that my parents let me keep the Abbotsford '70 program, which I still have. Also at that show were Art Scholl and Skip Volk in their Chipmunks, Bob Hoover in the Mustang and the Shrike, and Bill and Corky Fornoff in their Bearcats. I wish I could remember the show but I was only 7 at the time.

I do have a video that chronicles the Blue Angels 1970 season lying about here somewhere and it gives you an idea what it was like but it's difficult to get a true feel from a third generation copy of a video.

Cheers,

Rick

[Bill@Interstell]

Millitary Demonstration Teams at reno 19??

I can't remember exactly what year but in the very late 60s or early seventies thes was year in which the Snowbirds, the thunderbirds and the Blue Angels all performed at Reno. If memory serves me (and it doesn't as crisply as it used to) the Snowbirds performed Friday Saturday and Sunday, the Thunderbirds perfomed Friday and Saturday, and the Blue Angels performed on Saturday and Sunday.

As a result all three teams flew on Saturday.

The Blue Amgels were still flying phantoms and had their aircraft on the ramp at Stead that day.


The Snowbirds flew first in the morning. The Blue pilots stood at ease in front of their aircraft watching. The Snowbirds of course fly larger formations and I was pretty impressed although you could see some movement within formations as ther performed manuvers.

The Thunderbirds went up later and topped the Snowbird's show, flying tighter more presice formations. Again the Blue pilots stood at ease in front of their aircraft as if watching to see what they had to top. I didn't see how that would be posssible as the Tbirds turned in a flawless show.

The Blue Angles flew last in the afternoon treating us to the full show starting with marching out to the aircraft, starting, taxiing and taking off in perfect sync before the flying part of the performance.

I have not seen a more inpressive performance by any military team before or since.

The spacing between aircraft was practically non-existant and the planes flew as one as if there were somehow physically attached. I never saw the spacing change even a little. The formations were flawless as well. The opposing manuevers were perfectly timed to cross at show center and the proximity at crossing was astonishingly close. Even the six plane cross was perfect.

Another this that stands out in my memory of that show was the maximum deflection roll rate of the F4. Much faster than the A4 or the F18. 720 degrees per second again if memnory serves.

No offense intended, but I think the teams we've seen the Blues and the Tbirds field in the last decade pale by comparison. Perhaps it's because the Vietnam era pilots had all flown to the edge of the envelop so many times under combat conditions, perhaps it's limitations imposed by the aircraft themeselves as they are clearly not designed for entertainment purposes.

Now I've got myself going. I'll have to dredge through the old super8 footage and my slide collection to figure out what date that Saturday was.

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Foiled!

Randy, did you ever hear anything further on the extension of the runway out at Reno Stead??

Wayne

[Randy Haskin]

Re: Foiled!

Yes...the Airport Manager said that they intended to have it done by the races.

So, that helped my case a bit, but it by no means sealed the deal. I'm still working on it...

[Ron101502]

Re: Foiled!

Some things never change. I remember when I was in UPT in 1972 that the minimum field length we could choose for our long T-38 cross country flight was 8000 feet.

Ron Henning