I'm not crazy about daredevil jet air shows in neighborhoods.

[Philosoraptor]

I'm just an old crank, but I don't like the idea of jets blasting about neighborhoods and crashing. The Blue Angels were in Kansas City a few months back, buzzing all around in formation and singly, and they were so close to my house that I could see the pilot's face.

I think they should have these things outside city limits if they are going to continue having them. And what a waste of fuel, while our petroleum prices keep blasting into the stratosphere.

I guess I'm just an old crank looking for something to whine about but, aren't these precision stunt flying jet shows inherently dangerous?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Yes, they are dangerous

If someone wants to go to an airshow, they know that they risk being part of an accident--a very small risk, but it has happened that the stunt planes crash and spectators are injured. But if you just happen to live near where they are performing--hey, that's a different matter.

[Philosoraptor]

2. And they are so loud.

For two whole days they blasted by with a deafening roar.

[smirkymonkey]

3. I absolutely hate them.

I really don't see the point. They shouldn't be over highly populated areas and they are a huge waste of fuel

[MethuenProgressive]

4. You old crank, you...

Trouble is the bases are often surrounded by housing, as was the situation in Beaufort. Part of the "show" is the on-the-ground show, bands, ground crews, landings, takeoffs, other planes, recruiting booths...

[Philosoraptor]

6. They DON'T give me a patriotic thrill.

[bahrbearian]

7. They have them in Seattle for the Hydroplane races.

[bahrbearian]

5. I use to like to watch them , till I figured out what a waste of resourses

they are and they always have them with other wasteful events.

[Island Blue]

8. I agree.

Besides, I'd rather the cost that it takes to put on one of these shows be used for things like vehicle and body armor for our troops in the field. (Actually, I'd rather use money to bring our troops home.)

[havocmom]

9. And after the crack flying teams leave the area, local military pilots try to emulate them

which used to make me crazy fearful when I lived close to Pt Mugu. Now, I firmly believe Navy pilots are the best, but they aren't all Blue Angels and I watched the weekend warriors (reservists) pilots do WAY too much drinking on the weekends they came to the base to fulfill their reserve obligations.

The air shows are just recruitment ploys. They are wasteful & dangerous.

[SoCalDem]

10. When there's an air show at March, our roof is a primo viewing platform

When my boys were young, they would all climb on the roof to watch.. Sometimes they flew so low, you could see the pilots..and of course the whole house shook when they flew over :scared:

[TomInTib]

14. I love it. During Fleet Week (SF Bay) we party on the parking deck

They always fly over our house.

I, by the way, am an honorary member of the Blue Angels pilots association. And I am wearing my official B A shirt today in memorium. I am the only non-pilot who is in the Association. And I am damned proud of it.

[El Supremo]

11. The military needs all the recruiting help they can get.

:sarcasm:

The money wasted in fuel and maintenance more than pays for itself in recruits and ROTC cadets/midshipman.

So what if there is a little collateral damage?

[depakid]

12. They have one every year about 6 miles from me- and they do fly low

and pop the after burners on from time to time-

They're typically around for a couple of days ahead of time to pique people's interest....

Here's what happened at last year's show.





HILLSBORO, Ore. -- A vintage British fighter jet crashed into a densely populated neighborhood near an airport during an air show Sunday afternoon, exploding, destroying a home and killing the pilot.

Ed Kerbs, a neighborhood resident, was hosting an air show party on his lawn when the plane went down.

"As it came in, it pitched up its nose and it looked like he was trying to stay afloat," Kerbs said. "I was talking to a buddy of mine and I said 'Hey, he's flying way too low; he's not going to make it.' And then there was a plume of smoke and a bang."

Diana Halvorsen, who lives diagonally across from the house that was destroyed by the crash, said she did not see the plane before her back yard burst into flames. "It was a noise, a huge, huge, noise," she said. The flames "shot up like a bolt of lightning."

She said it was miraculous that she, her husband Jan, and their two daughters, Kristine, 8, and Natalie, 3, escaped unharmed.

http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_071606_news_hillsboro_plane_crash.1c697be1.html

[Aviation Pro]

13. I beg to differ....

...the Blue Angels and the Air Force's Thunderbirds are two of the most professional organizations the U.S. military has to offer (I'm leaving the Army's Golden Knights out of the mix right now because I'm in aviation mode). Yes, it is inherently dangerous work (wingtip formations are only 18 inches apart) and yes they are used as recruiting tools, but as far as safety is concerned, you will not find more conscientious aviators anywhere. For comparison, a couple of years ago an SU-27, a Russian fighter equivalent to the F-18, was demonstrating high speed passes near the crowd at a Ukrainian airshow (and violating the first rule of airshows, never direct your energy toward the spectators). The result was this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTI5etjTniU

From the footage that was just released from the Beaufort airshow, LCDR Davis broke formation in an effort to get his aircraft away from his teamates and the crowd and sacrificed himself when he could have punched out at anytime. This sacrifice was a direct result of the hours of practice and briefings (the post-ops are brutal and the only time in the military that a junior member of a unit can ream out his or her commander) and is testimony to the Blue's professionalism and humility.

The Blue Angels are a desperately needed element now and inject a much needed morale booster for the country in these dangerous times.

[alarimer]

18. "Morale booster" Try propaganda instead

Or more glorified killing. Oh, at our air show, they simulated bombing runs. My guess is they did NOT simulate all the dead kids resulting from those bombing runs.

It glorifies war and killing. No thanks.

[Aviation Pro]

20. The simulated bombing runs are not done by the Blues....

...it's usually a demonstration from a AFNG unit that is specifically designated to support the show. Yes, the pyrotechnics carry a certain macabeness to them and no I'm not defending them, but face it, we're a violent group of folks who are attracted to such baubles.

[TomInTib]

19. I fully agree.

I am an honorary member of the Blue Angels Pilots Assoc. and damned proud to be. I am wearing my B A shirt in memorium right now as a matter of fact.

I know a lot of the guys. We usually have a party for them at my house during Fleet Week on SF Bay. I live 130 feet over the Bay on the North side and we have parties on my parking deck every day they are here. They do some amazing stunts directly overhead for us.

I am a fool for a fine machine and talent at the helm.

[Garbo 2004]

25. "Desperately needed" by whom? "Morale booster for the country?"

I suggest you may be overstating their impact and significance in terms of the nation as a whole.

Imagine such a "morale booster for the country" as having the US being the world leader in in education, health care, care for the elderly and infirm, jobs for the common person, and not engaging in unprovoked wars of aggression. Too substantive, too idealistic?

Well, on a more mundane level, I'd suggest the election of a Dem Congress was a desperately needed morale booster for countless millions at home and abroad. An attempt to take back the reigns of gov't, even if through a flawed and often corrupt system, that has given millions hope for change and hope that our Constitution still has relevance against the forces that would destroy it. And those forces in these "dangerous times" aren't overseas but in Washington, DC and the boardrooms of corporations whose interests they serve.

I don't question the abilities or dedication of the folks in the BA or Thunderbirds. No doubt they take pride in their service and I can understand and respect that. But meanwhile back to the mundane, they also are primarily a recruiting/PR tool for the military. A military currently led by an Administration that uses and treats our military folks as disposable "hired help." An Administration that has succeeded in exacerbating these "dangerous times" that will not be ameliorated by airshows or other military PR displays, however impressive or thrilling.

[Philosoraptor]

29. a much needed morale booster for the country in these dangerous times?

I guess I must be from mars or something cause that statement just made my head explode.

[alarimer]

15. During the air show they simulated bombing runs with pyrotechnics?

I wonder if they simulated all the dead children or wedding parties or what have you as well? My guess is no they did not.

I don't like air shows because of all the flag-waving, rah-rah bullshit you hear at them.

[scarletwoman]

16. Everything you said -- and more. I'm sick of the glorification of militarism, period. (nt)

[ThoughtCriminal]

17. Airshows 1952-2002 - 364 killed

This does not count fatalities during practice. I do not have a list for 2002-2007.

http://www.emergency-management.net/avi_show.htm

[Twillig]

22. I think that is worse than auto-racing

even given Le Mans '55 and the '57 Mille Miglia, '61 Monza....

[Neecy]

21. I tend to agree

Fleet Week in San Francisco was always stressful. They'd practice for a couple of days and then two days or whatever of the actual show.

I lived on a hill and they'd buzz my apartment building, causing my dog to bark nonstop and giving me a multi-day headache. Doing this over highly populated urban areas is just ridiculous. Christ, it's not as though the city isn't noisy enough as it is.

[Hardrada]

23. The Luftwaffe had some crack pilots too.

I wonder if you'd get an honorary iron cross if you threw enough parties for them!

[Warpy]

24. Bastards were buzzing my neighborhood late last summer

on 2 consecutive days. They agree to take the risks. We don't. No matter whether or not the pilot stays with the aircraft and tries to crash on a street instead of into a block of houses, it's still a huge risk for everybody in the vicinity. Wreckage travels, causing fires and injuries.

However, suburban sprawl is the reason for air shows over a lot of neighborhoods. The original bases were out in the middle of nowhere until the land was developed into miles and miles of tract houses, usually lower end and inhabited by working class folks who don't deserve any better than jet noise.

Eventually, one of these accidents will involve either the air show crowd or a densely populated neighborhood and cause massive loss of life. I think only then will people realize they were a bad idea all along.

[snacker]

26. I agree...

last summer our family was in Chicago for the day and the Blue Angels were flying over the city all afternoon. We were at the observation deck on the John Hancock building and I kept saying that this was an accident waiting to happen. That's not to mention the noise and the air pollution they caused. It really spoiled the day for me.

[proud2BlibKansan]

27. We used to live just east of Richards Gebaur in Grandview

and a week before the air show every year, they would start practicing. Above our house every day for hours. One year it would be the Blue Angels the next year it would be the Thunderbirds. It was kind of neat the first couple years but the noise got old. And I was just sure I was going to watch one or more of those planes crash into our neighborhood.

They also used to have that hot air balloon race at Richards Gebaur every year in May. That was much worse than the air show. The balloons were beautiful but the people on the ground that followed them were insane. They literally drove with their heads sticking out the window, looking up in the sky at the balloons. One year a balloon landed in our yard and people drove up over the curb and onto our lawn to park their cars and get pictures of the balloon. They were nutz. LOL

[Philosoraptor]

28. That'd be just my luck to have a balloon hit my house.

[JNelson6563]

30. They come here every other year

for the Cherry Festival (it's a pretty big event). They fly over the bay and all, scare the crap out of the dogs and babies and occassionally the thundering jets break a plate glass window or two on the local businesses.

Fortunately this isn't a year they are to come here.

Julie

[Philosoraptor]

31. ..........

[HeeBGBz]

32. I watched them practice from a distance in Arizona

Scared the crap outa me they were so low. Watching this from about 3 miles away convinced me I didn't want to get any closer.

[Philosoraptor]

33. ..............

[tjwash]

34. I wonder how many classroom supplies for first graders across the nation...

...could be bought for the cost of the fuel that gets wasted during a typical air shows week long run. Don't forget, the air shows are not just the Blue Angels, but also all the other transports, jets and choppers, that the Navy uses. The Blue Angels are just the conclusion of the show.

Don't get me going about what a complete waste of time, energy, and resources that a typical air show is. At best it's nothing more than a thinly veiled recruitment and dick waving / muscle flexing / strutting-preening-alpha male/ chest thumping session for the military industrial complex. At worst it's a demonstration by big brother that they can get at you any time you get out of line, so you better mind your manners.

If your an old crank, I'm right there with you as an old AND crusty crank...

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

35. They're not dangerous.

As their safety record shows.

They just look dangerous, that's the point. It's showmanship.

[devilgrrl]

36. I saw the Blue Angels when I was a kid in the early 70's and at Fleet Week in SF in 2001...

Neither show was near neighborhoods and if anything bad happened the planes would have landed in the water or open field.

When I was living in Bucks County PA in the early 90's, a Air Force or Navy jet went down in a neighborhood (Willow Grove). Thankfully no one was seriously injured but a few houses were ruined. :-(

[InvisibleTouch]

37. I used to love the air shows...

...the stunt flying (Thunderbirds!), wandering around the booths gathering free airplane posters, etc. I have some good memories of that, but I was 12 or so. In retrospect it does seem like an unnecessary risk and waste of resources.