Blue Angel low pass over SF Bay at almost(?) mach 1

Vaughn Simon wrote:
"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message
...
Great pass. Quite frankly I'm surprised they got authorization to do it.

I did not catch it this year, but the Blue Angels SF show is an amazing
thing. It will awe and thrill any aviation buff, and is well worth the trip to
experience. And quite frankly, I am surprised (and cautiously delighted) that
it still happens. It is the only place that I have seen an airshow happen right
over the heads of thousands of people. The crowd thins only a bit when you get
past the water's edge. There are so many boats on the bay, one could almost
walk from boat to boat.

There is a sort of mutual love affair between SF and the Navy. ...and yes,
like lovers everywhere, they have the occasional spat.

Vaughn


Some of the best shows with the teams were during the early days when
out of restrictive airspace.
The Thunderbirds did one at Okinawa in the F100's that had Herman Salmon
flying the solo out over the ocean where he was "forgotten" by the
crowd; (all air force and AF civilian base personnel)
The Diamond sequenced with the Diamond Roll and exited the show line.
Fish timed the entry exactly right. He came in low from the ocean 90
degrees in back and behind the crowd. He timed it to go supersonic just
as he crossed over their heads at about 500 feet. It was like a cannon
went off. Nearly everybody hit the ground flat as he passed over them.
They were taken completely by surprise. Nobody knew he was coming!
To this day, they talk about Fish's super pass at Okinawa.
Can't do this stuff any more. I have to admit it's a lot safer not to do
it, but I'll tell you as well; there just ain't NOBODY ALIVE today who
was there that day who will tell you they would have rather not been
there as Fish "opened the show"
DH

--
Dudley Henriques

Dudley Henriques wrote:
Vaughn Simon wrote:
"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message
...
Great pass. Quite frankly I'm surprised they got authorization to do it.

I did not catch it this year, but the Blue Angels SF show is an
amazing thing. It will awe and thrill any aviation buff, and is well
worth the trip to experience. And quite frankly, I am surprised (and
cautiously delighted) that it still happens. It is the only place
that I have seen an airshow happen right over the heads of thousands
of people. The crowd thins only a bit when you get past the water's
edge. There are so many boats on the bay, one could almost walk from
boat to boat.

There is a sort of mutual love affair between SF and the Navy.
...and yes, like lovers everywhere, they have the occasional spat.

Vaughn

Some of the best shows with the teams were during the early days when
out of restrictive airspace.
The Thunderbirds did one at Okinawa in the F100's that had Herman Salmon
flying the solo out over the ocean where he was "forgotten" by the
crowd; (all air force and AF civilian base personnel)
The Diamond sequenced with the Diamond Roll and exited the show line.
Fish timed the entry exactly right. He came in low from the ocean 90
degrees in back and behind the crowd. He timed it to go supersonic just
as he crossed over their heads at about 500 feet. It was like a cannon
went off. Nearly everybody hit the ground flat as he passed over them.
They were taken completely by surprise. Nobody knew he was coming!
To this day, they talk about Fish's super pass at Okinawa.
Can't do this stuff any more. I have to admit it's a lot safer not to do
it, but I'll tell you as well; there just ain't NOBODY ALIVE today who
was there that day who will tell you they would have rather not been
there as Fish "opened the show"
DH


The T-birds did something similar at SYR many moons ago. My dad was in
the 174th and the T-birds did a show up there for the ANG unit and
invited families of the Guardsmen to attend on the base side of the
airport. We sat on the tarmac in front of one of the large hangars.
The solo pilot snuck away and then came across the crowd from behind and
right over the hangar so you couldn't see him until he was over your
head. Of course he couldn't go supersonic, but even subsonic in full
burner the noise was sudden and deafening as was the vibration that made
your lungs reverberate. Very cool!

Matt

Matt Whiting wrote:
Dudley Henriques wrote:
Vaughn Simon wrote:
"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message
...
Great pass. Quite frankly I'm surprised they got authorization to do
it.

I did not catch it this year, but the Blue Angels SF show is an
amazing thing. It will awe and thrill any aviation buff, and is well
worth the trip to experience. And quite frankly, I am surprised (and
cautiously delighted) that it still happens. It is the only place
that I have seen an airshow happen right over the heads of thousands
of people. The crowd thins only a bit when you get past the water's
edge. There are so many boats on the bay, one could almost walk from
boat to boat.

There is a sort of mutual love affair between SF and the Navy.
...and yes, like lovers everywhere, they have the occasional spat.

Vaughn

Some of the best shows with the teams were during the early days when
out of restrictive airspace.
The Thunderbirds did one at Okinawa in the F100's that had Herman
Salmon flying the solo out over the ocean where he was "forgotten" by
the crowd; (all air force and AF civilian base personnel)
The Diamond sequenced with the Diamond Roll and exited the show line.
Fish timed the entry exactly right. He came in low from the ocean 90
degrees in back and behind the crowd. He timed it to go supersonic
just as he crossed over their heads at about 500 feet. It was like a
cannon went off. Nearly everybody hit the ground flat as he passed
over them. They were taken completely by surprise. Nobody knew he was
coming!
To this day, they talk about Fish's super pass at Okinawa.
Can't do this stuff any more. I have to admit it's a lot safer not to
do it, but I'll tell you as well; there just ain't NOBODY ALIVE today
who was there that day who will tell you they would have rather not
been there as Fish "opened the show"
DH


The T-birds did something similar at SYR many moons ago. My dad was in
the 174th and the T-birds did a show up there for the ANG unit and
invited families of the Guardsmen to attend on the base side of the
airport. We sat on the tarmac in front of one of the large hangars. The
solo pilot snuck away and then came across the crowd from behind and
right over the hangar so you couldn't see him until he was over your
head. Of course he couldn't go supersonic, but even subsonic in full
burner the noise was sudden and deafening as was the vibration that made
your lungs reverberate. Very cool!

Matt

Today things are tightened up a bit safety wise. The Thunderbirds
operate under a Category I show line which qualifies for them as having
a cruise speed parameter of 245 kts or better. A Cat I line is 1500 feet
from all crowd lines.
You wouldn't BELIEVE the size of the regulation the Thunderbirds operate
under in today's world. #7 is the front man for the team and correlates
between the team and the FAA for all demonstrations. Between the Air
Force requirements that have to be met for a TB show site and the FAA,
ole #7 could use a few extra arms and legs to get it all done ahead of
the show being performed.
7 is one busy camper!!!

--
Dudley Henriques

"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message
...
Vaughn Simon wrote:
"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message
...
Great pass. Quite frankly I'm surprised they got authorization to do it.

I did not catch it this year, but the Blue Angels SF show is an
amazing thing. It will awe and thrill any aviation buff, and is well
worth the trip to experience. And quite frankly, I am surprised (and
cautiously delighted) that it still happens. It is the only place that I
have seen an airshow happen right over the heads of thousands of people.
The crowd thins only a bit when you get past the water's edge. There are
so many boats on the bay, one could almost walk from boat to boat.

There is a sort of mutual love affair between SF and the Navy.
...and yes, like lovers everywhere, they have the occasional spat.

Vaughn
Some of the best shows with the teams were during the early days when out
of restrictive airspace.
The Thunderbirds did one at Okinawa in the F100's that had Herman Salmon
flying the solo out over the ocean where he was "forgotten" by the crowd;
(all air force and AF civilian base personnel)
The Diamond sequenced with the Diamond Roll and exited the show line. Fish
timed the entry exactly right. He came in low from the ocean 90 degrees in
back and behind the crowd. He timed it to go supersonic just as he crossed
over their heads at about 500 feet. It was like a cannon went off. Nearly
everybody hit the ground flat as he passed over them. They were taken
completely by surprise. Nobody knew he was coming!
To this day, they talk about Fish's super pass at Okinawa.
Can't do this stuff any more. I have to admit it's a lot safer not to do
it, but I'll tell you as well; there just ain't NOBODY ALIVE today who was
there that day who will tell you they would have rather not been there as
Fish "opened the show"
DH

--
Dudley Henriques


I was at this show in 1956 at Bartow Air Base, Florida. Not quite 6 years
old but I remember it very well.
I think this was F-100C. Also a very low surprise pass that no one expected
and quite a shock to all who were there.

http://home1.gte.net/res0f19c/pics/Mach1F100.jpg

BS, TP

muff528 wrote:
"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message
...
Vaughn Simon wrote:
"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message
...
Great pass. Quite frankly I'm surprised they got authorization to do it.
I did not catch it this year, but the Blue Angels SF show is an
amazing thing. It will awe and thrill any aviation buff, and is well
worth the trip to experience. And quite frankly, I am surprised (and
cautiously delighted) that it still happens. It is the only place that I
have seen an airshow happen right over the heads of thousands of people.
The crowd thins only a bit when you get past the water's edge. There are
so many boats on the bay, one could almost walk from boat to boat.

There is a sort of mutual love affair between SF and the Navy.
...and yes, like lovers everywhere, they have the occasional spat.

Vaughn
Some of the best shows with the teams were during the early days when out
of restrictive airspace.
The Thunderbirds did one at Okinawa in the F100's that had Herman Salmon
flying the solo out over the ocean where he was "forgotten" by the crowd;
(all air force and AF civilian base personnel)
The Diamond sequenced with the Diamond Roll and exited the show line. Fish
timed the entry exactly right. He came in low from the ocean 90 degrees in
back and behind the crowd. He timed it to go supersonic just as he crossed
over their heads at about 500 feet. It was like a cannon went off. Nearly
everybody hit the ground flat as he passed over them. They were taken
completely by surprise. Nobody knew he was coming!
To this day, they talk about Fish's super pass at Okinawa.
Can't do this stuff any more. I have to admit it's a lot safer not to do
it, but I'll tell you as well; there just ain't NOBODY ALIVE today who was
there that day who will tell you they would have rather not been there as
Fish "opened the show"
DH

--
Dudley Henriques


I was at this show in 1956 at Bartow Air Base, Florida. Not quite 6 years
old but I remember it very well.
I think this was F-100C. Also a very low surprise pass that no one expected
and quite a shock to all who were there.

http://home1.gte.net/res0f19c/pics/Mach1F100.jpg

BS, TP


That would be Bill Pogue's airplane. Bill flew the slot and solo in the
100 from 55 through 57.
Bill flew on Jax Broughton's (Thud Ridge) F100 team. Jax is still alive
and well the last I heard. He recovered from a heart attack last year
and is out in California recovering. We shared a few emails as of early
this year.

--
Dudley Henriques

"muff528" wrote in message
news:ISwUi.72$oy4.55@trnddc08...

"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message
...
Vaughn Simon wrote:
"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message
...
Great pass. Quite frankly I'm surprised they got authorization to do
it.

I did not catch it this year, but the Blue Angels SF show is an
amazing thing. It will awe and thrill any aviation buff, and is well
worth the trip to experience. And quite frankly, I am surprised (and
cautiously delighted) that it still happens. It is the only place that
I have seen an airshow happen right over the heads of thousands of
people. The crowd thins only a bit when you get past the water's edge.
There are so many boats on the bay, one could almost walk from boat to
boat.

There is a sort of mutual love affair between SF and the Navy.
...and yes, like lovers everywhere, they have the occasional spat.

Vaughn
Some of the best shows with the teams were during the early days when out
of restrictive airspace.
The Thunderbirds did one at Okinawa in the F100's that had Herman Salmon
flying the solo out over the ocean where he was "forgotten" by the crowd;
(all air force and AF civilian base personnel)
The Diamond sequenced with the Diamond Roll and exited the show line.
Fish timed the entry exactly right. He came in low from the ocean 90
degrees in back and behind the crowd. He timed it to go supersonic just
as he crossed over their heads at about 500 feet. It was like a cannon
went off. Nearly everybody hit the ground flat as he passed over them.
They were taken completely by surprise. Nobody knew he was coming!
To this day, they talk about Fish's super pass at Okinawa.
Can't do this stuff any more. I have to admit it's a lot safer not to do
it, but I'll tell you as well; there just ain't NOBODY ALIVE today who
was there that day who will tell you they would have rather not been
there as Fish "opened the show"
DH

--
Dudley Henriques


I was at this show in 1956 at Bartow Air Base, Florida. Not quite 6 years
old but I remember it very well.
I think this was F-100C. Also a very low surprise pass that no one
expected and quite a shock to all who were there.

http://home1.gte.net/res0f19c/pics/Mach1F100.jpg

BS, TP


Before this thread grows cold, I wonder if anyone here can confirm whether
or not this actually was the first time a shockwave from a supersonic a/c
had been photographed as the writer of the article believed. I'm sure that
research aircraft in supersonic flight were probably very closely observed
and I would have thought that this phenom would have been seen and photo'd
many times by 1956.

Tony P.

Myself and family experienced the same thing no more than 10 years ago
at Point Mugu, CA (yes, it was the T-Birds performing at a Navy Base).
Scared hell out of my son. I've noticed that the Blue Angels/T-Birds
demonstrations are/were (haven't seen one lately) significantly more
exciting when performed in military airspace.

David Johnson

"Dave" wrote in message
ups.com...
Myself and family experienced the same thing no more than 10 years ago
at Point Mugu, CA (yes, it was the T-Birds performing at a Navy Base).
Scared hell out of my son. I've noticed that the Blue Angels/T-Birds
demonstrations are/were (haven't seen one lately) significantly more
exciting when performed in military airspace.

David Johnson



I've attended several shows at MacDill AFB since the early 90's and I
believe I've seen the Blue Angels perform there more than the Thunderbirds.
One or the other is there every year. BTW - Fat Albert is one of my favorite
performers.

Tony P.

On Fri, 26 Oct 2007 20:27:55 -0400, Dudley Henriques
wrote:


Some of the best shows with the teams were during the early days when
out of restrictive airspace.
The Thunderbirds did one at Okinawa in the F100's that had Herman Salmon
flying the solo out over the ocean where he was "forgotten" by the
crowd; (all air force and AF civilian base personnel)
The Diamond sequenced with the Diamond Roll and exited the show line.
Fish timed the entry exactly right. He came in low from the ocean 90
degrees in back and behind the crowd. He timed it to go supersonic just
as he crossed over their heads at about 500 feet. It was like a cannon
went off. Nearly everybody hit the ground flat as he passed over them.
They were taken completely by surprise. Nobody knew he was coming!
To this day, they talk about Fish's super pass at Okinawa.
Can't do this stuff any more. I have to admit it's a lot safer not to do
it, but I'll tell you as well; there just ain't NOBODY ALIVE today who
was there that day who will tell you they would have rather not been
there as Fish "opened the show"
DH

At the 2006 Jax NAS airshow I went to, Dale Snodgrass did a low pass
in his F-86 over the river headed back towards the airfield. While not
nearly as fast as a one of the Blues solo, it was an amazing sight
nontheless to see him a mere 25 - 30 feet off the water, below the
masts of many of the sailboats and looking like he was having a heck
of a good time. I did not record this, but my boat is in the
background a little closer to the flyby than where this video was
taken. It was definitely one of the highlights for a lot of people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AYSUCWjRrc



Kirk
PPL-ASEL

Kirk Ellis wrote:
On Fri, 26 Oct 2007 20:27:55 -0400, Dudley Henriques
wrote:


Some of the best shows with the teams were during the early days when
out of restrictive airspace.
The Thunderbirds did one at Okinawa in the F100's that had Herman Salmon
flying the solo out over the ocean where he was "forgotten" by the
crowd; (all air force and AF civilian base personnel)
The Diamond sequenced with the Diamond Roll and exited the show line.
Fish timed the entry exactly right. He came in low from the ocean 90
degrees in back and behind the crowd. He timed it to go supersonic just
as he crossed over their heads at about 500 feet. It was like a cannon
went off. Nearly everybody hit the ground flat as he passed over them.
They were taken completely by surprise. Nobody knew he was coming!
To this day, they talk about Fish's super pass at Okinawa.
Can't do this stuff any more. I have to admit it's a lot safer not to do
it, but I'll tell you as well; there just ain't NOBODY ALIVE today who
was there that day who will tell you they would have rather not been
there as Fish "opened the show"
DH

At the 2006 Jax NAS airshow I went to, Dale Snodgrass did a low pass
in his F-86 over the river headed back towards the airfield. While not
nearly as fast as a one of the Blues solo, it was an amazing sight
nontheless to see him a mere 25 - 30 feet off the water, below the
masts of many of the sailboats and looking like he was having a heck
of a good time. I did not record this, but my boat is in the
background a little closer to the flyby than where this video was
taken. It was definitely one of the highlights for a lot of people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AYSUCWjRrc



Kirk
PPL-ASEL
Snodgrass started building a rep for low buzz jobs while he was in the
Navy. He owns one done in the Tomcat that will be remembered for a long
time by the Navy brass :-)
His work on the show circuit with various aircraft is indeed spectacular
and he seems to really enjoy the F86.

--
Dudley Henriques