Blue Angels @ Pensacola Beach

TangoJuliet

One of the best locations for one of the best Airshow Teams :thumb .

Photog4Christ

TangoJuliet wrote:

One of the best locations for one of the best Airshow Teams .

Have any more? I'd like to see some supersonic over the water!

And yes, I agree. The Blues ARE the best!

rookieshooter

my favorite Blue Angels shot -- not mine btw!!

rhondavid

We used to camp at Fort Pickens which was just across the bay from Pensacola NAS. The Blue Angels would fly over it at tree top level while practicing. What a sight. You can get some really nice shots of them at the NAS Mueseum of Flight when they practice. Bleachers right on the side of the runway make for some really nice up close shots. I will have to see if have any pictures and throw one or two up.

TangoJuliet

Photog4Christ wrote:

Have any more? I'd like to see some supersonic over the water!

And yes, I agree. The Blues ARE the best!

You won't see any "supersonic" shots. It's not allowed. They do get right up to the edge of sonic though. All of my shots are in a gallery on my site: www.tangojulietphotography.smugmug.com

Unfortunately, I don't have anything as good as RookieShooter though. Partially due to inferior equipment.

Photog4Christ

TangoJuliet wrote:

You won't see any "supersonic" shots. It's not allowed. They do get right up to the edge of sonic though. All of my shots are in a gallery on my site: www.tangojulietphotography.smugmug.com

What's this? (not being snotty... I'm just seriously asking what that is if it isn't "super"). There's also this one.


BTW... Great shots of The Blues and Fat Albert. I don't get to see them that much any more. I used to go to the Andrew's AFB JSOH Air Show but the crowds have grown every year and the crowds are just too large to handle. It takes hours just to leave after the event is over.

MLangton

Photog4Christ wrote:

What's this? (not being snotty... I'm just seriously asking what that is if it isn't "super"). There's also this one.

The OP is correct. The "super" that you refer to means faster than the speed of sound. All of the planes in those videos are at the high end of the trans-sonic range, traveling around mach .99 . Translated to 98-99% the speed of sound. Some might even push it up to barely scrape an even 1.0 (rare), but at 1.01 (forbidden near populated areas), you get the potentially damaging sonic boom. Also, once you go "super" the pressure wave that you see on the plane is no longer visible, or completely (all of it)) behind, as the plane has pushes out in front of it.

If these planes mentioned were traveling faster than the speed of sound, the first sound you would hear would be the boom, then the sound of the plane. There is no sonic boom in any of those videos.

Photog4Christ

MLangton wrote:

The OP is correct. The "super" that you refer to means faster than the speed of sound. All of the planes in those videos are at the high end of the trans-sonic range, traveling around mach .99 . Translated to 98-99% the speed of sound. Some might even push it up to barely scrape an even 1.0 (rare), but at 1.01 (forbidden near populated areas), you get the potentially damaging sonic boom. Also, once you go "super" the pressure wave that you see on the plane is no longer visible, or completely (all of it)) behind, as the plane has pushes out in front of it.

If these planes mentioned were traveling faster than the speed of sound, the first sound you would hear would be the boom, then the sound of the plane. There is no sonic boom in any of those videos.

Thank you very much. Also, if they were "super" wouldn't the water be spraying up behind them?

And I wasn't doubting him, after all, with a name like "TangoJuliet" I'm sure he knows more than I do.

silversx80

MLangton wrote:

The OP is correct. The "super" that you refer to means faster than the speed of sound. All of the planes in those videos are at the high end of the trans-sonic range, traveling around mach .99 . Translated to 98-99% the speed of sound. Some might even push it up to barely scrape an even 1.0 (rare), but at 1.01 (forbidden near populated areas), you get the potentially damaging sonic boom. Also, once you go "super" the pressure wave that you see on the plane is no longer visible, or completely (all of it)) behind, as the plane has pushes out in front of it.

If these planes mentioned were traveling faster than the speed of sound, the first sound you would hear would be the boom, then the sound of the plane. There is no sonic boom in any of those videos.

I'm not entirely sure that's 100% correct. Given, it's been some time since I've done anything with supersonic flow, but the pressure waves (not the visible condensations) are formed at every surface change that is traveling faster than sound in that medium (read, causing the fluid to flow faster than sound can travel in it). You can actually have several visible waves, which are actually just condensation (clouds) formed from the rapid density change in the atmosphere. The waves are usually only visible on humid days as well. If I'm not mistaken, those waves should not appear until the sound barrier has been broken because they cannot form until something is making the air travel faster than sound. They exist in the transonic range, becuase some parts of the airflow over the plane are supersonic. The transonic range is generally between Mach 0.8-1.2.

MLangton

Deleted: I need to ask one of our engineers about this before I try to dig myself in any deeper.

I just drive jets, not build them.

Cygnus Studios

Great capture. The Blue Angels are a sight to behold. I was stationed at Corry Station 20 years ago and was privileged to watch them practice many days.

moose135

Photog4Christ wrote:

What's this? (not being snotty... I'm just seriously asking what that is if it isn't "super"). There's also this one.

That is what is known as a Prandtl Glauert Singularity It is caused by the rapid change in air pressure, which causes water vapor in the air to condense. It usually occurs at very high subsonic speeds, and is often confused with the aircraft traveling at supersonic speed.

Here are some shots of an F/A-18F at Jones Beach earlier this year - he was hauling, but definitely subsonic:

GSPeP

great pictures.

I hope to see the Blue Angels in action at Miramar Airshow this year. Tickets are ordered for the "flight Deck Chalet" on saturday (10/3/09).

JESTER

I used to be stationed at both MCAS El Toro, Calif and MCAS Beaufort, S. C. and the Angels would come to the air shows every year. It was the highlight of the year. I have seen them at least a dozen times! These guys are fantastic. I have seen the Air Force Thunderbirds a few times and those guys aren't too shabby either.

jason.moseley

Blue Angels Practice
I got to see these guys while on vacation in the area. Here's a couple from my kit lens.

Think I got a bird or bug in the frame here..

TangoJuliet

I'm an Air Force veteran, and I'm not dissing the Thunderbirds, but I do think the "Blues" put on a better show. I'm not sure why though, as the routine appears almost identical. Maybe it's the location.

Another great act was the Aeroshell T-6's. The growl and purr of those big radial engines combined with the slow aerobatics makes me feel like a giddy kid every time .