I told this story before, but it's worth repeating.

The Thunderbirds were at Hansom Airforce base (BED, in MA) , in ythe
late 60's or early 70's. I had a handheld av band receiver with me, we
watched them do the walk, mount their airplanes, start up, and pull
out, all very impressive of course. Then I heard "Uh, Hanscom Ground,
Thunderbird One."

"This is Hanscom Ground, go ahead, Thunderbird One."

"Uh, Hanscom Ground, how do I get to Runway two three?"

"Left turn, Thunderbird One, then . . ." and he guided them to the
runway.

Of course, the best part was when they took position on the runway, and
we heard "Hanscom Ground, Thunderbirds are going to Tach 1 frequency
now."

"Frequency change approved," the tower said.

And then we learned again what precision flying was all about.

BTW, they did not need directions back to the tiedowns, either.


That was one of my two best airshow experiences.