Browsing: Thunderbirds

Between the Navy’s Blue Angels, the Air Force’s Thunderbirds, and other various aircraft, flyovers for the Super Bowl have wowed audiences for decades. This year, the Blue Angels will open Super Bowl 50, at Levi’s Stadium, California, with their “signature six-jet Delta formation.” But during the game itself, there will be other aerial backup. Air Force F-15 Eagles from the California Air National Guard have been training for weeks leading up to the big game, the Air Force said. The fighter jets will be patrolling the skies for wandering aircraft who have flown into restricted airspaces (on Sunday, the skies…

The Thunderbirds returned to the Major League Baseball All Star Game in Minneapolis last night, after missing last year’s midsummer classic. Twin Cities station KFAN posted this time lapse video, which included the national anthem and the flyover demonstration before the game. Last year, the demonstration team did not perform in New York City because of limits on flight hours due to sequestration.

Videographer Jaron Schneider posted this video telling the story of Staff Sgt. Larry Reid, Jr. Reid is the official photographer for the Thunderbirds. Reid is one of two photographers for the team, responsible for taking some of the crazy photographs that depict the official demonstration team in action. In the video, he describes how he uses his gear in the back of an F-16D to get the photos. The Thunderbirds are in the middle of their demonstration season. Here’s the schedule.

By Markeshia Ricks Despite having their wings clipped this fiscal year by sequestration, the commander of Air Combat Command has selected the officers who will be part of the Thunderbirds 2014 demonstration season, according to release. The officer members of the 2014 team are: — Lt. Col. Matthew Bradley, 83rd Fighter Weapons Squadron director of operations from Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., will be the squadron commander and lead pilot, which is known as Thunderbird No. 1. He will be responsible for commanding a force of more than 100 enlisted service members and 11 commissioned officers assigned to the Thunderbirds,…

Lt. Col. Greg Moseley, the commander and lead pilot of the Thunderbirds, hit reddit yesterday for the site’s popular “Ask Me Anything” section. Moseley answered questions on his experience, favorite jet to fly (F-22), favorite historical plane (P-40) and other topics. On the grounding, Mosely said “Our challenge is to keep executing our mission while not travelling. We’ve got a local community relations effort going, sending Thunderbirds Airmen to local schools and outreach opportunities. I always like to remind people: Flying is a big part of what we do, but it’s not everything.” Unfortunately, he didn’t say whether the team…

The Ambassadors in Blue are looking for a few good airmen to join their team, according to Air Force Personnel Center officials. The 138-member unit is looking for some new blood among officers and enlisted members willing to make multi-year commitments to the team that performs up to 75 demonstrations a year in the U.S. and abroad, according to AFPC. Officers selected to the team serve a two-year assignment and enlisted members serve three or four. The team is looking for a demonstration pilot, operations officer, executive officer, maintenance officer and public affairs officer, according to AFPC. Known officially as…

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