Air Show

Saw the Raptor F-22 practice today at lunch. Rather, I heard it first. That thing is IMPRESSIVE. And loud. Car alarms were being set off.

The moves it was pulling was pretty radical, kind of floating mid-air without stalling and some weird tumbling-like moves that planes shouldn't be possibly be doing.

I am actually thinking of changing my plans this weekend to go back downtown to see it

That's encouraging. Maybe the F-22 will put on a good show after all. And yes, the F-22 can do some crazy things which don't look possible with a jet like that. It all has to do with the Thrust Vectoring. Looking forward to that!
 
No F35s?
 
I would like to see a flyby of an Airbus A380,that would be cool.

I remember seeing years ago the Concorde at the show, flying at very low altitude and it seemed at very slow speed..BIG....it was like a scene out of Star Wars ...like a big battleship. I'll never forget it...
 
I hope there is a bi-plane or two. It's amazing how they time the bullets from the machine gun to pass between the propeller blades.
 
I hope there is a bi-plane or two. It's amazing how they time the bullets from the machine gun to pass between the propeller blades.

Actually got up in a Tiger Moth at an air show in Guelph,...got some great video.

Sadly that show is gone now too,...was great that you could get up real close and personal.
 
Is that you standing on the wing?

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Oh shit,...you got me,...:)

Didn't know there was only room for two when I got on, so I let a lady have the 2nd seat.
 
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I love the airshow, however I would say the biggest problem is the lack of interesting performers. It's pretty much the same thing year after year.

Snowbirds. Cool but same every year.

CF-18 Hornet. Cool but the same. New paint job this year.

F-22 Raptor and P-51 Mustang. Seen them before. The F-22 has Thrust Vectoring which allow it to do some impressive maneuvers. Sadly, all it will do is fly by in formation with the P-51.

Pitts Special flown by Mike Wiskus. Impressive, but the same every year.

There's a few other planes but nothing to up the wow factor. I'd like to see a couple more jets perform some tricky stunts or another flying team like the Thunderbirds or Blue Angels.


Last time I went to the air show downtown Toronto, it was when the SR-71 Blackbird rocket spy plane made an appearance. It disappeared in a minute when it thrusted back home and out of view.

I also saw the F-15 Eagle which was pretty amazing. It went almost 90 degrees to demonstrate it's power to soar straight up. Then it demonstrated it's air brakes. Awesome plane.

I got a free viewing of several Blue Angels fighter-jets circling in tight formation near home in Etobicoke just above Lambton Golf Course. Awesome.
 
I remember an airshow in UK. Early 60s. Excellent static displays, spectacular flypasts, and so on.

They left the most memorable excitement for the finale.

It was announced on the Tannoy that the airfield was being invaded by (Dr Who) Daleks. (Actually some chaps whizzing around the runways on go-carts done up as Daleks.) They were busy exterminating the defenders with their ray-guns.

The announcer said a squadron of fighters had been scrambled, and were on their way to deal with the invaders. These turned out to be a collection WW2 prop planes, which strafed the Daleks. Guns actually firing (presumably blanks). They knocked over a couple of Daleks, and then biffed off.

Next we heard that a squadron of ground-attack E-E Lightnings were on their way. They too knocked over a few Daleks, to great cheers from the crowd. The Lightning was the first aircraft in the world that could fly vertically upwards, and the whole squadron left the airfield by standing on their tails, in unison, in formation, and climbing straight up into the sky.

Now the stage was set for the piece de resistance. A squadron of Avro Vulcans. The heavy brigade. The announcer rallied the crowd with patriotic cries of Go get 'em, chaps, and we could hear the Dam Busters March playing over the loudspeakers.

We could see them coming in from a long way off. The Vulcans were Big planes - you couldn't believe how they grew in size as they approached. There was hardly any sound until they were almost over the runway. And then there was Noise. The Vulcans opened their bomb doors and dropped (flour) bombs on the Daleks, wiping them all out.

Once again, the RAF had saved Britain from the attackers. The crowd (all 200,000 of us) went home excited and happy, following the entertainment experience of a lifetime. (You can see I've remembered it.)

They don't do them like that anymore.
 
Bi-plane crashed in an air show in Moscow. Two people aboard the plane died.

No innocent civilians on the ground were hurt.
 
An airshow is a demonstration of aircraft and piloting skill. Yes, sometimes there are crashes, but that's not what I go for. I have flown, can't any longer due to a medical reason, but for those who know something about aircraft, and know what it means to fly, it is a day of joy. The only people who complain are those who don't get it. And I pity them.
 
An airshow is a demonstration of aircraft and piloting skill. Yes, sometimes there are crashes, but that's not what I go for. I have flown, can't any longer due to a medical reason, but for those who know something about aircraft, and know what it means to fly, it is a day of joy. The only people who complain are those who don't get it. And I pity them.

how hard is it to fly? pilot enthusiasts here
 
Pilotless planes coming to an airport near you.

I think the most skilled pilots are the ones who flew in WW II. Those planes took real piloting skills.

im not looking to enter dogfights ha ha. how long would it take to learn how to fly a plane? took me like a year to learn how to drive a car