Posted on 04/14/2020 12:27:07 PM PDT by rktman
The U.S. Air Force flight demonstration team, the Thunderbirds, performed an inspiring flyover of the greater Las Vegas area on Saturday, April 11, 2020 in honor of healthcare workers and first responders working during the international COVID-19 crisis.
The flight, which included all six of the Thunderbird F-16s in wedge formation along with at least two camera aircraft accompanying the aircraft, took place at 2:30 PM local Las Vegas time and was watched by hundreds of thousands of spectators who were separated all over Las Vegas by social distancing guidelines.
Local media, aviation photographers around Las Vegas, and the Thunderbirds produced some sensational visuals of the event. Interestingly, the team carried out the flyover in 5 instead of 6 jets because, according to local spotters, one of the F-16s experienced a birdstrike shortly after taking off from Nellis Air Force Base.
One fascinating photo featured on the local Las Vegas Review Journal social media pages showed the Thunderbird formation flying over the famous Luxor pyramid-shaped hotel with five “Janet Airlines” Boeing 737s parked at McCarran International Airport. The aircraft, perhaps the “worst kept secret in the world”, fly personnel to several classified test facilities around the western U.S.
(Excerpt) Read more at theaviationist.com ...
Ping!
Swweeeeet!
I love any airshow, Thunderbirds or Blue Angels.
The flight plan at the site linked was not the one they did. After flying over Spring Valley, they were supposed to go back south over Enterprise but for whatever reason, they did not.
I was at the corner of Windmill and Las Vegas Blvd and only caught them in the distance but was able to see them from the time they flew over the northwest valley, across the Red Rock area west of the strip and then as they came around to go along the strip from south to north.
Got a short video. As we waited we were singing God Bless America. Lots of people excited but most disappointed they didn’t come closer to us.
They practice near Vegas all the time. We watched them for an entire afternoon from the tank gunnery range. Great stuff !
Go see Canada’s Snowbirds. They are crazy as a coot and are flying closer together than anyone out there.
rwood
Saw them both at Jones Beach,NY-—awesome.
Notice the 737’s in the picture either didn’t have tail numbers or they were smeared out for the picture.
Might have been Janet Airlines.
rwood
A51 Express? :-)
Last year at the Reno Air Races they flew. On Sunday they did their final show and I was watching them north of us and told Mrs. rktman they were headed our way. Sure enough, right down our street headed south about 500 ft. Neither one of us could get our cameras going in time. It was awesome.
She was able to snap a couple of blurry pictures, and they were gone.
I didn't know this at the time, but apparently there's an unspoken competition between the teams, to drop smoke on one another, and that's what the Thunderbirds were doing.
Later
“Janet Airlines”
You all know what that is hey?
Too bad nobody is allowed outside to witness it.
They are stationed at Nellis AFB
Yep
My little brother flew it twice a week.
Saw the Thunderbirds once.
It was on August 1, 1986 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in northern Santa Barbara County, Calif.
I’ve seen the Blue Angels perform more times than I can count. Mostly in Southern California; once, in May 2000, in Bangor, Maine.
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