Brat
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Must have just taken off from Boeing Field, took a turn around downtown Seattle, and waived to the seamen/women Bremerton... heading south. What a sight!!
The Angels in Blue roar..
- Thread starter Brat
- Start date
They're awesome alright.
My family was at the airshow where this happened:
http://www.alexisparkinn.com/photogallery/Videos/tbird.wmv
Fortunately the pilot ejected right before impact. The wreckage and flames came pretty close to hitting the control tower.
We didn't know until about five minutes later that the pilot was OK -- that was weird thinking we might have seen someone just die in a plane wreck.
malakito
My family was at the airshow where this happened:
http://www.alexisparkinn.com/photogallery/Videos/tbird.wmv
Fortunately the pilot ejected right before impact. The wreckage and flames came pretty close to hitting the control tower.
We didn't know until about five minutes later that the pilot was OK -- that was weird thinking we might have seen someone just die in a plane wreck.
malakito
T
TromboneAl
Guest
The part of their show that I always enjoyed most was the part where one of the planes would just fly by really fast. So fast that you wouldn't even hear it coming. The acrobatics were fine, but I would have liked it fine if that's all they did.
REWahoo
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give
Absolutely. Back in the stone ages when I was a young AF Lieutenant still wet behind the ears, I got my very first up-close and personal view of the USAF T-Birds at a base air show. The shows were always held on Saturday so the public could attend, but the demonstration team always flew in the day before to get set up.TromboneAl said:
In those days (Vietnam era) they flew the old F-4, a fighter with a lot more muscle than maneuverability, and it had two huge and very loud engines. In anticipation of their arrival on Friday afternoon (and the little "arrival show" they put on for the military personnel watching), a group of us were gathered on the flight line in front of the base operations building & tower. We had a military radio tuned to the T-Birds frequency and could hear them calling signals to each other as they neared the base. What we (or at least I) didn't know was they were not approaching as you would expect them to, as if they were going to land on the runway. They were approaching at a right angle to the runway, from behind the base operations building...from our back.
We sat in anticipation, listening to their radio calls, looking for them in the distance but hearing an seeing nothing. Finally we heard the call "Burners, NOW", but still saw or heard nothing. Then, from behind us at an altitude of 150 feet, all 5 of them came roaring (and I do mean bone shaking roaring) over us at more than 400 mph! The entire audience ducked!
Everything in the rest of their arrival show and the next day's perfomance was anticlimactic after that.
End of war story.
REW
Ed_The_Gypsy
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
We saw the Blue Angels many times, from the lake, from the hills (and from my office which they flew over when practicing in the days before the show), when we lived in the Seattle area. They put on a rockin' show! I love the Chinese Immelman. All that horsepower is seet music to an old hotrodder. Awesome.
I hear that Seattle is their favorite venue.
Cheers,
Gypsy
I hear that Seattle is their favorite venue.
Cheers,
Gypsy
Ed_The_Gypsy
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
That is "sweet" music.
Fatfingers.
Fatfingers.
Re: Blue Angels founder dies.
Original Blue Angel Dies
Navy News | August 12, 2005
PENSACOLA, Fla. - Retired Capt. Roy M. "Butch" Voris, the original flight leader of the famed U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, died at his home in Monterey, Calif., Aug. 10. He was 86.
Voris, a World War II flying ace in the Pacific theater, was hand-picked by Adm. Chester Nimitz in 1946 to organize a flight demonstration team to showcase naval aviation. June 15, Voris led the newly-named Blue Angels and their Grumman F-6F Hellcats in the team's first public performance at Craig Field in Jacksonville, Fla.
Voris' Navy career spanned 33 years, flying biplanes to jets, many of them in combat. His status as an ace was earned in the early years of World War II, when he shot down eight Japanese fighter planes. Flying from the carriers USS Enterprise (CV 6) and USS Hornet (CV 8), he had taken part in the battles of Santa Cruz, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Central Pacific Islands, Philippine Sea, the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" and "The Mission into Darkness," in which air wing pilots had taken off near dusk to pursue the Japanese fleet, knowing many probably wouldn't have enough gas to return.
Voris had survived numerous accidents and emergency situations in the air, including a mid-air collision during a Blue Angel demonstration at Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1952, in which one Blue Angel was killed and he miraculously brought his plane in, despite lack of control and a severed tail.
In 1952, Voris was brought back to reform the Blue Angels following their stint as a fighter squadron in the Korean War, when they were known as "Satan's Kittens." Voris was a two-time Blue Angel flight leader, the skipper of Fighter Squadrons 113 and 191, and commanding officer of Carrier Air Group 5.
After retiring from the Navy in 1963, he went to work as an executive at Grumman Aircraft Corporation, in Bethpage, N.Y., where he had been instrumental in the early development of the F-14 Tomcat. He ended his aviation career as a spokesman for NASA during the momentous 1970 moon shots.
"Butch Voris' contributions to naval aviation history were epic," said Cmdr. Steve Foley, flight leader and commanding officer of the 2005 Blue Angels. "The legacy Boss Voris bestowed upon the Blue Angels has had a profound impact on our team's 59-year history. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Voris family during this challenging time."
Voris was awarded three Distinguished Flying Crosses, 11 Air Medals, three Presidential Unit Citations and a Purple Heart, from an incident when he almost was killed by a Japanese Zero that shot up his cockpit as he defended Guadalcanal.
Voris is a member of the Naval Aviation Hall of Fame in Pensacola, Fla., and the International Air Show Hall of Fame. An aircraft bearing his name is outside Jacksonville Naval Air Station, and the passenger terminal at the station is named for him. In 1993, he was honored by the Air Force in a "Gathering of Eagles" ceremony as one of 20 pilots worldwide who have made significant contributions to aviation.
Voris is survived by daughters Randie and Jill, sons-in-law Hank and Joe, and grandsons Hank Jr., Ryan and Todd. In addition, he is survived by brothers Robert and Richard. His wife of more than 50 years, Thea, passed away in 2003.
Original Blue Angel Dies
Navy News | August 12, 2005
PENSACOLA, Fla. - Retired Capt. Roy M. "Butch" Voris, the original flight leader of the famed U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, died at his home in Monterey, Calif., Aug. 10. He was 86.
Voris, a World War II flying ace in the Pacific theater, was hand-picked by Adm. Chester Nimitz in 1946 to organize a flight demonstration team to showcase naval aviation. June 15, Voris led the newly-named Blue Angels and their Grumman F-6F Hellcats in the team's first public performance at Craig Field in Jacksonville, Fla.
Voris' Navy career spanned 33 years, flying biplanes to jets, many of them in combat. His status as an ace was earned in the early years of World War II, when he shot down eight Japanese fighter planes. Flying from the carriers USS Enterprise (CV 6) and USS Hornet (CV 8), he had taken part in the battles of Santa Cruz, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Central Pacific Islands, Philippine Sea, the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" and "The Mission into Darkness," in which air wing pilots had taken off near dusk to pursue the Japanese fleet, knowing many probably wouldn't have enough gas to return.
Voris had survived numerous accidents and emergency situations in the air, including a mid-air collision during a Blue Angel demonstration at Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1952, in which one Blue Angel was killed and he miraculously brought his plane in, despite lack of control and a severed tail.
In 1952, Voris was brought back to reform the Blue Angels following their stint as a fighter squadron in the Korean War, when they were known as "Satan's Kittens." Voris was a two-time Blue Angel flight leader, the skipper of Fighter Squadrons 113 and 191, and commanding officer of Carrier Air Group 5.
After retiring from the Navy in 1963, he went to work as an executive at Grumman Aircraft Corporation, in Bethpage, N.Y., where he had been instrumental in the early development of the F-14 Tomcat. He ended his aviation career as a spokesman for NASA during the momentous 1970 moon shots.
"Butch Voris' contributions to naval aviation history were epic," said Cmdr. Steve Foley, flight leader and commanding officer of the 2005 Blue Angels. "The legacy Boss Voris bestowed upon the Blue Angels has had a profound impact on our team's 59-year history. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Voris family during this challenging time."
Voris was awarded three Distinguished Flying Crosses, 11 Air Medals, three Presidential Unit Citations and a Purple Heart, from an incident when he almost was killed by a Japanese Zero that shot up his cockpit as he defended Guadalcanal.
Voris is a member of the Naval Aviation Hall of Fame in Pensacola, Fla., and the International Air Show Hall of Fame. An aircraft bearing his name is outside Jacksonville Naval Air Station, and the passenger terminal at the station is named for him. In 1993, he was honored by the Air Force in a "Gathering of Eagles" ceremony as one of 20 pilots worldwide who have made significant contributions to aviation.
Voris is survived by daughters Randie and Jill, sons-in-law Hank and Joe, and grandsons Hank Jr., Ryan and Todd. In addition, he is survived by brothers Robert and Richard. His wife of more than 50 years, Thea, passed away in 2003.
