A
side view of the F-117A, the Stealth fighter.
As far as ground displays go, the show was pretty much average although seeing a Stealth Fighter on the ground was really neat. Other than that they had a B1-B,the requisite large cargo planes such as the C5-A Galaxy and the WW II planes which don't interest me at all.
The acrobatic show, though was amazing. Leading off was the RAF Red Arrows followed by the USAF Thunderbirds and the Canadian AF Snowbirds. If you ever get a chance to see the Thunderbirds, you should probably go, but if you ever get a chance to see the RAF team, drop everything and run. I found them much more enjoyable than the Thunderbirds. Granted the T-birds fly real combat aircraft (F-16s) which are very impressive for sheer speed and power, but the formations, closeness, and acrobatics of the Red Arrows was better in my opinion.
All photographs were taken with an Olympus OM-2N SLR. To get a full size JPEG file of each photo, click on the thumbnail image. Since many of these photos are heavily cropped, click on More Info to see the original print and to get a short blurb on the photo.
For more pictures of military and test aircraft, try the Dryden Research Aircraft Photo Archive.
A
side view of the F-117A, the Stealth fighter.
The F-117A from the back.
The Red Arrows in formation.
The One of the neat things the RAF did was
"draw" various aircraft shapes in the sky. This was their interpretation of a
futuristic, supersonic aircraft.
Two RAF planes in a high speed pass.
The USAF Thunderbirds.
The Thunderbirds in close formation.
This was a particularly difficult shot to get; I almost missed it. These planes
were closing at nearly 2000 kph, directly in front of the crowd. With only one
chance and no autowinder I'm just happy I got the shot, even if it isn't that
great.
The Canadian Snowbirds.
Back to my
homepage