USAF Drops a Bomb on the Air Show World
- Thread starter KE5TLF
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mirangerman
Member
Well - that sux! But then again - with the Air Force reducing their over-all demand for recruits; is it really all that surprising? I don't think so.
eagleswings01
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- 211
Wow, that is very disappointing. We have been going to air shows ever since I was a kid. I always viewed them as fun, clean, and FAMILY entertainment.
Sounds like someone is sending a message to Mr. O.
Confuzzled
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They should have cut all of this a long time ago, including the Thunderbirds and the Navy's Blue Angels.
It's just pure waste of funds.
It's just pure waste of funds.
CalebATC
Member
Confuzzled,
It seems as if your ignorance of DOD budget has gotten in the way. The Blue Angels have a budget of around 33 Million dollars a year. If your not aware, that's around HALF the price of a single F/A-18 Super Hornet at fly-away cost. While this amount may sound like a lot, and it is, this is only a very SMALL, almost un-noticeable fraction of the DOD budget.
The Blue Angels, and Thunderbirds job is to not only as a very large, and EFFECTIVE recruiting tool, it also showcases the precision of pilots, showcases the performance of the aircraft, and generally serve as a way for the average Joe to get up close, and see a F/A-18 Hornet or F-16 Falcon perform, and meet their pilots. In a different way, they also serve as a deterrence, and a show of what's in the United States Military arsenal.
You SHOULD take PRIDE in these teams. They have (probably) been around longer than you have! These teams are here to STAY. Yous should be happy to see these perform. They represent what YOUR tax dollar goes to. At mostly, they represent OUR COUNTRY!
So, I highly encourage you to STOP complaining, and get over it. It's a small price to pay. It's an AMERICAN tradition, and one of many countries. The Officers and enlisted personnel that run these teams risk their LIFE, TIME, and HARD WORK to protect YOU, and You should respect that, and enjoy that they take pride to showcase their skills. These teams are a small representations of our military personnel, regardless of rank or rate. Until you dedicate YOUR time, your life, and your work to be a officer or enlisted personnel in one of our services, I would suggest you stop recommending to take away a highly respected representation of these forces.
The airshow industry is a VERY large industry, which most people underestimate. Being involved in it, anyone can tell you that it brings quite a good amount of money in, sometimes over 100 thousand dollars for non-military shows to the local economy, and airport. It does stimulate the local economy, and usually draws more attention to the airport.
That is my two cents: if you have any more questions, feel free to PM me.
Respectfully,
Caleb
TXFirefighter112
Member
And giving Social Security to illegal immigrants isnt? Or what about government healthcare to a nation of morbidly obese people who are loathed to follow any of their doctor's orders? Both of those will easily total ten times the amount of annual spending of the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds combined. Hell, the entire armed forces budget would look like a tiny pimple on the rear end of said obese people in comparison....
Well said, Caleb. And might I add the military budget DOES NOT need shrinking it needs to be sustained or more put into it. There's a lot of other useless programs in this country that could be cut and wouldn't be noticed by anyone except the LAZY people of the United States! It is true we are not fighting the Iron Curtain as we were prepared to in the 50's to the early 90's but there are other rogue countries out there who could and might try our resolve. And they have an Air Force. Cowardly towel heads aren't the only threat still out there.
The Blue Angels, Thunderbirds and what used to be the single ship demo teams are very effective recruiting tools and like you said bring fighter aviation down low so this countries citizens can see what these brave aviators and sailors do each and every day to protect US. And to a lot of air shows the single ship demos were the headliners and now with them gone there goes the smaller shows and money into those respective economies. The US has the safest record for spectators than any other country. What happened in Reno was a fluke and might I remind you that was not an air show. Air Races are totally different. It would be a travesty if the Blues and T-birds were grounded but I think it's safe to say they will not be. Those that want them to be are in the minority.
Last thing. If the govt wants to save money they need to stop wasting it on useless encryption!!!
The Blue Angels, Thunderbirds and what used to be the single ship demo teams are very effective recruiting tools and like you said bring fighter aviation down low so this countries citizens can see what these brave aviators and sailors do each and every day to protect US. And to a lot of air shows the single ship demos were the headliners and now with them gone there goes the smaller shows and money into those respective economies. The US has the safest record for spectators than any other country. What happened in Reno was a fluke and might I remind you that was not an air show. Air Races are totally different. It would be a travesty if the Blues and T-birds were grounded but I think it's safe to say they will not be. Those that want them to be are in the minority.
Last thing. If the govt wants to save money they need to stop wasting it on useless encryption!!!
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And giving Social Security to illegal immigrants isnt? Or what about government healthcare to a nation of morbidly obese people who are loathed to follow any of their doctor's orders? Both of those will easily total ten times the amount of annual spending of the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds combined. Hell, the entire armed forces budget would look like a tiny pimple on the rear end of said obese people in comparison....
Well said TXfirefighter! I am in total aggreance. Lots of other useless programs out there to cut funds to.
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2009
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These aircraft can be combat ready and if they are needed they can be put back into regular service.
KE5TLF
Member
33 million is a bargain. They should put together a half dozen more teams at that price.
Figured I'd drop this in here too. 1080p HD vids with scanner audio dubbed in. Some from Pensacola, some from SoCal, shows and practices, as recent as yesterday. NOT my work.
MKBLUES1's Channel - YouTube
..and of course.
Blue Angels : Official Website
(Inside the Demo is pretty sweet)
Figured I'd drop this in here too. 1080p HD vids with scanner audio dubbed in. Some from Pensacola, some from SoCal, shows and practices, as recent as yesterday. NOT my work.
MKBLUES1's Channel - YouTube
..and of course.
Blue Angels : Official Website
(Inside the Demo is pretty sweet)
Thanks for sharing. Pretty cool.
KE5TLF
Member
In the Jan 5 vid, during the solos first landing "Broke Back" waves and says hi to the couple doing the filming over the radio. Just one more example of what fine folks they are, on both sides of the fence. Also it's been said that they've modified "Broke Back's" callsign to "Broke Dash" then someone else said it's "Bro Stache". LOL
I noticed that too on the call sign. I thought his first one was unique although I wouldn't want to be called that. I guess the Blues have to maintain an image so they have to be politically correct, lol. I've notice the Bro Stache. I don't think I ever heard him use Broke Dash.
CalebATC
Member
Yeah, Mike shoots some GREAT videos! They used "Bro Stache" in the airshow in Texas at the end of the year. I think someone is getting a slight call sign amendment hehe
They sure are fine guys. As you said, the "Sup Mike and Kathy" and the wave were just great! He's a great person to keep up on the winter training. Looking forward to the rest of his winter training videos! Usually he's pretty good at getting quite a bit of them up!
KE5TLF
Member
Him and "Baxter" were a laugh a minute comedy team, almost always cutting up on the radio during transit flights or whenever possible it seemed. The Solo channel was like BA Comedy Central at times. LOL There is no telling where his call came from, but I bet it has something do with some prank he's pulled or things he's said. Hope he and Lt. Tickle can continue to carry on the same in same way.
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