US Blue Angels
Discussion
Just wandering really - has anyone here seen the Blue Angels? How do they compare say to our own Reds?
I saw the Patoullie De Swiss last year and felt their display was very tame compared to our own (though that may be a lot to do now with our new display rules) and was wandering how the Blues faired.
Also, do they ever tour Europe or UK? I know the Reds have done the US on a few occasions.
I saw the Patoullie De Swiss last year and felt their display was very tame compared to our own (though that may be a lot to do now with our new display rules) and was wandering how the Blues faired.
Also, do they ever tour Europe or UK? I know the Reds have done the US on a few occasions.
Yarp, I've seen them several times. The display is impressive but, they spent a lot of time away from the crowd. so there was a lot of woahs and then a lot of silence as they took ages to come back with different maneuvers. To be fair their onboard footage is very impressive as well. Their old C130 K at low level is cracking as well but not sure if that is part of a normal display.
The Blue Angels are using fairly heavy, front line (well, former front line to be honest) fighter aircraft which are not as manoeuverable as a two seat jet trainer such as the Hawk. Therefore, they can't really do the tight and agile moves that Hawks or similar can do.
As a result, their displays are more about speed, power and closeness and not so much about fancy aerobatics.
As a result, their displays are more about speed, power and closeness and not so much about fancy aerobatics.
Penguinracer said:
The Angels have always impressed me with the tightness of their formation flying. They put on a highly professional show with everything from the synchronised parade ground manoeuvres of the plane captains / crew chiefs onwards.
It seems to me that the Arrows' formation flying is not that hot; there often seems to be one out of place. But then, they have nine ships so it's a different juggling act.Zippee said:
Just wandering really - has anyone here seen the Blue Angels? How do they compare say to our own Reds?
I saw the Patoullie De Swiss last year and felt their display was very tame compared to our own (though that may be a lot to do now with our new display rules) and was wandering how the Blues faired.
Also, do they ever tour Europe or UK? I know the Reds have done the US on a few occasions.
I've seen the Blue Angels a couple of times, here in UK many years ago, and over in the USA.I saw the Patoullie De Swiss last year and felt their display was very tame compared to our own (though that may be a lot to do now with our new display rules) and was wandering how the Blues faired.
Also, do they ever tour Europe or UK? I know the Reds have done the US on a few occasions.
Its a very different display to European teams like the Reds and the French and Italians, just as the Thunderbirds is also very different to the European display teams.
These days, I don't think any of them are much different to each other.....just a good excuse to go to the loo or eat some food while they're on
I’ve seen the blue angels and the red arrows, both many times. Red Arrows definitely do fancier aerobatics, smoke show patterns, and a much “snapper” display. Always a great show.
The blue angels are very different, mainly by virtue of the much bigger and powerful, yet less maneuverable F-18’s that they use. They do very close formations, but don’t do complex transitions into other formations on the fly like the red arrows. Where they really impress is the high speed passes, and big formation loops. It’s hard not be impressed being downstream of six fully-lit F18’s in a vertical formation climb out. Definitely much more of a “shock and awe” display, rather than the Red Arrows “class and finesse”, as one might expect given the national identities.
In short, both impressive, just in different ways.
The blue angels are very different, mainly by virtue of the much bigger and powerful, yet less maneuverable F-18’s that they use. They do very close formations, but don’t do complex transitions into other formations on the fly like the red arrows. Where they really impress is the high speed passes, and big formation loops. It’s hard not be impressed being downstream of six fully-lit F18’s in a vertical formation climb out. Definitely much more of a “shock and awe” display, rather than the Red Arrows “class and finesse”, as one might expect given the national identities.
In short, both impressive, just in different ways.
At the relatively low speeds and low altitudes they perform at, yes I do. Just like a non FBW extra 300 is even more maneuverable than either. So I’m not sure FBW comes into it when comparing completely different aircraft designed for completely different tasks. Happy to be shown otherwise though.
The F-18A/B/C models were not designed as agile fighters so, even if they have a FBW system, it doesn't make them highly manoeuverable - compared to (say) the F-16, which was designed from the outset as an agile fighter.
The next generation F-18E is much more modern and capable but is not the version used by the Blue Angels.
The next generation F-18E is much more modern and capable but is not the version used by the Blue Angels.
Gassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff