Message posted by Gary Sellani on October 15, 2000 at 21:21:19 EST:
The Blue Angels are based in Pensicola Florida, but I don't recall the base. There are always interesting discussions between the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds regarding who is better. [Not between themeselves, but aviation enthusiasts.] Of course, since I try to stay out of controversy, I stay clear of such conversations. ;-) There are some differences between the crews. The Tbirds wear a G-suit and the Blue Angles don't. The Tbirds do a rolling diamond, and the Blue Angles don't do this formation. Both crews rotate yearly, so the pool of ace pilots is probably larger than most people think, but still they are the best of the best. Nobody will argue that landing on a carrier deck is quite a skill. Not only is the landing area small, but there are sea winds and the boat is rocking and moving. I can't recall ever hearing an accident reported on a Navy carrier landing in the mainstream press. I wonder what the statistic are regarding such events? Somewhere in my stash of photos is a Blue Angel hanging out with the Tbird crew at last years Edwards, presumably getting tips? Or maybe giving tips? I still have a stack of Salinas Airshow photos to go through. Just to tantalize the readers, I have photos of the E Team. Yes, the best group of parachuting Elvis Impersonators you've ever seen. Wait, they are the only parachuting Elvis Impersonators I've seen. ;-)
In Reply to: Re: Fleet Week Photos (no Area 51 content, but lots of planes) posted by Magoo on October 15, 2000 at 20:50:57 EST:
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