Blue Angels cockpit video • Boeing Seafair air show 2019.

Looks like they are so good, they make it look easy.

Great video! Interesting that the central instrument in the panel (not HUD)appears to be a stopwatch.

Outstanding video - I'm looking forward to seeing them in St Louis in September - my wife found out they are performing at the air show and got us tickets

Spirit Air Show

While than Angels won't be there, I think we're planning on attending Wings Over Houston in the fall.

Thunderbirds & Snowbirds will be performing.

Always love those videos.

I heard something interesting on one of the Blue Angel documentaries. They rest their stick arm on their thigh to give them more precise control over small movements of the stick. As a result they can't wear G-Suits because the inflation and deflation would move their arm and possibly cause unintended stick movements.

Maybe everyone already knew that, but I didn't and thought it was an interesting tidbit.

I've watched the Blues twice, once here in Georgia and the first time at Seafair a good number of years ago. Watching the hydroplane races there was always neat, too. Those babies have some power!

I've seen the Thunderbirds many times at McCord AFB, ( and twice next to McGuire AFB ) so I think I'm a bit partial toward them.

I’ve seen the Blue Angles and the Thunderbirds at air shows in Kalispell. We see the BAs in Pensacola each spring where they practice. We can’t get enough of them.



In Pensacola .

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mcrimm,

quote:

Originally posted by ChicagoSigMan:
Always love those videos.

I heard something interesting on one of the Blue Angel documentaries. They rest their stick arm on their thigh to give them more precise control over small movements of the stick. As a result they can't wear G-Suits because the inflation and deflation would move their arm and possibly cause unintended stick movements.

Maybe everyone already knew that, but I didn't and thought it was an interesting tidbit.

What's even MORE interesting the stick weight on each control stick.

Each stick has a 40lb spring attached to it, which allows for the precision control needed for their formation flying. (Imagine just to keep the plane straight and level, you're pulling back on a 40lb weight. Then do that for a 45 minute show. WOW!)


And IIRC, the stopwatch is really only used when the land. Their breaks are 15 seconds apart and if they do it right, they land exactly 15 seconds apart.

That sort of precision flying has got to be absolutely exhausting not only physically but mentally.

quote:

Originally posted by texassierra:
That sort of precision flying has got to be absolutely exhausting not only physically but mentally.

I wasn't a Blue Angel, but I have flown the Hornet in thick clouds and nights where close formation was required just to stay in visual contact. I was mentally drained when those flights were over. No doubt Motojojo and RHINOWSO have had similar experiences.

I think most Hornet guys used the right-arm-on-the-thigh technique when precision flying was required. (It has to be the right arm because the left is used for the throttles.) And in the landing pattern I was taught to trim to on-speed then choke down on the stick to fly with 2 fingers and the thumb. This technique allows for very precise control of the airplane. Once in the pattern and trimmed on-speed there's not any HOTAS controls you need to use on the stick.

I'm not sure what the timing clock is for, but I speculate it's used for timing the rendezvous after the formation exploding grape at the end of the routine. It is NOT used to time 15 second break intervals then land 15 seconds apart. The physics of a 15 second break interval makes it impossible to land at 15 second intervals. For simplicity, 300 knots is equal to just over 500 feet per second. If breaking at only 300 knots, that puts the next break interval a minimum of 7500 feet (or 1.25nm) away from the previous aircraft. There's no way to make up that much distance while slowing to landing speed to make a 15 second interval landing happen.

Thanks for the video, Jelly. That brought back some good memories (and a few scary ones too, ha ha!).

quote:

Originally posted by Tailhook 84:

I think most Hornet guys used the right-arm-on-the-thigh technique when precision flying was required.

I did that sometimes flying a Piper Left arm though since I'm not nearly as cool.

quote:

Originally posted by Snake207:
What's even MORE interesting the stick weight on each control stick.

Each stick has a 40lb spring attached to it, which allows for the precision control needed for their formation flying. (Imagine just to keep the plane straight and level, you're pulling back on a 40lb weight. Then do that for a 45 minute show. WOW!)


And IIRC, the stopwatch is really only used when the land. Their breaks are 15 seconds apart and if they do it right, they land exactly 15 seconds apart.

There is actually one in every fixed wing aircraft I worked on in my 20 years as a Naval Aviation maintainer. I do not think the Blues get a specific version although they may be able to tweak the standard one. The ones on F-14s and F/A-18A-D were rebuildable, but the ones on the EA-6B were not.

quote:

The eddy current damper links mechanically to a bell crank in the flaperon control linkage. See figure 9-11. It dampens any rapid left or right control stick movement by producing an opposing force proportional to the speed at which the stick is moved.The damper contains permanent magnets, a rotatin gcopper disc, a gear train, and a clutch assembly.Control stick motion rotates the clutch and gear train,which, in turn, rotates the copper disc. The copper disc is sandwiched in the air gap between the six permanent magnets and a flux plate. As the copper disc revolves, the magnetic field between the magnetsand the flux plate is disturbed, causing an opposing force (eddy currents) that tries to stop the disc. The opposing force is proportional to the speed of the rotating disc and to the speed of stick movement.

quote:

Originally posted by Tailhook 84:
I wasn't a Blue Angel, but I have flown the Hornet in thick clouds and nights where close formation was required just to stay in visual contact. I was mentally drained when those flights were over. No doubt Motojojo and RHINOWSO have had similar experiences.

Oh yes, I’ve had many of those experiences flying Harriers. Clouds, rain, thunderstorm (once) where visibility was so poor all you could see was a ghostly outline of the leads aircraft and a wingtip light. High pucker factor and all you can do is get as close as possible, hang on and sweat it out. And you’re right, it’s mentally exhausting.

I wasn’t a Blue Angle either. I’ve seen them perform dozens of times and have hung out with them at air shows a few times. Not to take anything away from them (they’re VERY good pilots who practice to to hone their skills to do what they do), but the general public finds it hard to believe that they are demonstrating skills that all tactical jet pilots are taught and do in the real world all the time. We couldn’t operate and perform our missions if we didn’t.

But I agree, great video! Thank you for sharing. I never get tired of watching precision flying.

quote:

It is NOT used to time 15 second break intervals then land 15 seconds apart.

100% correct LOL - If I'd re-read my own sentence I'd have caught the 15 second break bit was wrong just from a common sense standpoint.

quote:

I do not think the Blues get a specific version although they may be able to tweak the standard one.

Is this the same thing?


https://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik....lue-angel-1689568343
"The Blues attach a 40 lb spring to the stick in the jet. This spring applies 40lb of nose down stick pressure, so to fly straight and level each pilot is essentially doing a 40lb curl. The purpose of this is it takes out the slop in the stick (imagine driving down the street in your 1965 Ford F-100 and the wheel moves +/- a couple inches left or right without the truck actually moving, same thing happens in a jet, and you can't have that flying a few feet apart)."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdqpNt5RXyM
At about the 9:40 mark - although the narrator says throttle instead of control stick.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Snake207,

That was awesome. What were the straps on his knees for?

quote:

Originally posted by Phantom229:
That was awesome. What were the straps on his knees for?

Those are parts of the lower harness that pulls your legs in during ejection. There's that strap and another that goes above the ankle for each leg, and all Hornets have them.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Tailhook 84,

I got very lucky last year at Oshkosh and caught them as they did their fly over. Right place and right time. I missed them this year.

Hey Tailhook 84, quick question for you regarding the stick.

You had talked about choking down to two fingers and your thumb. So what would be the reasoning for the pilot in the video holding the stick in what looks to be an upside down J with his wrist almost pointing forward? I'm assuming it has something to do with control, but it looks uncomfortable as hell.

Keep in mind this is coming from a guy (me) who "flies" flight sims, and has some time on a Citabria with a single control stick where the forces required for movement are nowhere near what an F/A-18 are.

^^^^^^^^^

np149:

What was up with the use of 2 seat jets for #2 and #4?

I've been at air shows where they subbed in their 2-seat (#7?) in the case of a mechanical problem, but I've never seen it with a passenger/second pilot on board

^^^^

Don't they bring reporters, VIP's, etc... now and again ?

MDS