T45Heinous

I fought the urge to reply to this post.....and I lost...

Packrat....I don't know your background but I don't believe you are taking the time to think about what you are posting...and how incredibly ignorant and disrespectful it is on many different levels.
First, while I love my T-45C, it comes nowhere close to bringing the same reaction from crowds that almost any fleet aircraft would....and the fleet demo guys are outstanding at what they do...but their demo is completely different than what the TB/BAs do. Each is pretty spectacular in their own way. I have spent many months in El Centro where the BAs practice during the winter, and we always take time to look up and watch their show (twice everyday)....even after seeing it dozens of times! I love aviation and I respect and admire what they do...its cool! (knowing several BAs, I know its not easy or fun to practice the same routine a dozen times a week, breaking down each second of the show and shelving EGO to make the show the best they can for the crowds they perform for.) To sum it up, I've been flying for 25 years and I look up in the sky almost everytime I hear a plane flying overhead (whether its a Cirrus, a 737 or a F-22) because it is what I love....do you?

Second you should be ashamed for flippantly writing about aviators losing their lives.....think before you post sir.

Lastly, wasting taxpayer dollars, as you say, is all a matter of opinion. In my opinion, the airshow is as American as apple pie, and entertaining and educating the people in aviation and our military is a priceless undertaking that has enthralled generations for as long as we have been flying airplanes.

badflaps

A lot of people don't know, but if you look up at a transiting aircraft, you are required to shepherd it out of sight.

Packrat

Guess I just never was a Blue Angel wannabe.

Grumble

Second what t45 posted.

I have several friends on the Blues and they are too notch people, not just pilots.

If you don't believe the public support for them, look at what happened to airshow participation last year when all the military teams (BA/TB/Golden knights/etc) were shut down.

ExAF

TOTD nominee. T45, Grumble and Huggy covered it already.

RhinoPherret

My my…looks like, in earlier times, Packrat got stiffed one too many times in the autograph line for the Blue’s and T-Birds at those detestable air shows. I guess that could cause one to carry a grudge and big old chip on their shoulder. What else could explain such bitterness?

Albief15

Yeah…me too. Kaneohe NAS, early 70s, Blues flying F-4s. Later in an ops squadron we always called the Thunderbirds the "T-clones", smirked a bit about them, but whenever they were taking applications there were always dudes eager to sign up. A good friend later commanded the squadron, and I had a Blue Angel classmate in indoc at FedEx. All superior individuals….

Purple Drank

TIB needs a wingman day.

Chalk me up as a guy whose AF aspirations started at a Tbirds show. Thank goodness it wasn't a Blue Angels show.

blastoff

The first time I ever set foot on an Air Force Base was to watch the Thunderbirds at 8 years old with my Cub Scout Pack. Made an impression.