Blows My Mind

This video is freaking amazing. *



Lex posted it for the very low altitude barrel roll at 24 minutes that resulted in a knock it off and the team cancelling the rest of their schedule to return to Pensacola for further training. (See I almost sound like I know what I'm talking about!)

But to a ground hugger like me, the whole video was amazing, albeit a little too long.

* I would highly recommend you watch it full screen with a cup/mug/glass/bottle of your favourite beverage in front of you. And get comfy.

'All Some of These Things That I've Done'

Sitting at Lex's late last night, grinning like a fool, watching this, reminded me that I hadn't posted anything much on our trip to Osh Kosh last summer.

The cool thing is ... now I don't have to. Just. Watch. This.

Cuz the video really says it all. It was just like that.

And to the music of The Killers - All These Things That I've Done makes for a sublime experience.

How I love that song - I totally associate it with Lt. G's blog, Kaboom. So after watching the Osh Kosh vid, if you're in the mood and have the time, might I recommend you sit down with a pot of coffee, a six-pack of beer or whatever else your poison might be and read through the Kaboom archives.

Excellent time home, that.

Flying With The Angels

In my (very) short air show career, I've been fortunate enough to watch Sean Tucker perform twice. That would be two out of three air shows I've been to.

The man is good. Very, very good. An absolute pleasure to watch perform.

So would you care to?

It's the first time I've actually heard Tucker speak and I must say it's really impressive how his love for flying and his excitement comes through in the video. Just listening to him puts a smile on my face.

Which is all the more impressive when you consider how often he's flown with the Angels. And just about everybody else who's anybody. You would have almost sworn this must have been his first time.

And just for the record, did you happen to notice that reference to Tucker's aviation lawyer/pilot father? Again, what's up with that?

H/T to FbL for the video link

B'Gosh

I do believe I'm in love.

That's all.

Mini Me

Finally. I finally got to witness an actual airshow, albeit a mini one. But still, you know, the kind where planes actually fly. In formation. And inverted on occasion.

Yeah, I really like inverted.

This past Wednesday, CFB Greenwood offered a free mini air show as part of their celebration of Canada's Centennial of Flight. Where we were treated to the Snowbirds (our version of the Blue Angels, for those not in the know) and one incredible CF 18 Hornet.

And I loved it!

I had only briefly seen the Snowbirds fly a few formations this past September. So it was great to watch all their tricks.


And after reading so much about the Hornet at Lex's but having seen only picture and video (and, of course, that great docudrama which was Jetstream), it was amazing to finally watch one fly for real.


Gawd, that sucker is loud. And amazing.

All in all it was a great afternoon. A beautiful blue sky, not a cloud in sight, picture-perfect day. And the Snowbirds ... well, to tell you the truth, I think they were a little sweet on us.

A good time was had by all. Most particularly me. Because that's important you know.

And although most all of the above pictures were taken by my camera-happy photographically-inclined friend, I did get a few shots. Which were of a little better calibre than the last time I tried.

Including [barely] one of that elusive CF-18.


And this last one, by the way, is a replica of the original Silver Dart first flown by John McCurdy on February 23, 1909.


Which was pretty cool, in and of itself, I thought.

The Air Show That ... Wasn't

I tried to go to the Nova Scotia International Airshow this year, I really did. My brother, a true airshow fanatic aficionado even timed his latest visit so he could attend with me.

Alas, it was not meant to be.

Oh, we were there all right, ready and waiting. Unfortunately, the airshow was not quite meant to be. The show, originally scheduled to be held over two days, was knocked back to Saturday only due to the expected arrival of Tropical Storm Hanna. It was scheduled to start at 10:00 and end at 3:00 (only flying, no static displays this year due to ongoing work on one of the runways at the Halifax Int'l Airport). But the skies were still empty at 12:30 due to a persistently low ceiling.

We finally got to see a Sea King Helicopter shortly afterwards (minus the planned skydiving), followed eventually by American stunt pilot Pete McLeod and the SnowBirds (but only a partial low-level show due to the continued cloud coverage). Three Harvard Heritage aircraft were literally on the apron ready for take off when the game was called by the tower -back to IFR which meant no more flying for the airshow set. So, yeah, that really sucked. Go. Home.

It was good to see the SnowBirds, even though it was just a partial show, not much more than formation flying. Unfortunately, I missed most of Pete MacLeod's short performance by fiddling around with my camera. However, my brother did buy me a very cool CF 18 Hornet T-shirt. Which was as close as I got to any F 18s yesterday, they didn't make it up in the air at all.

So, yeah, kind of depressing. But the good news is that I did finally figure out my camera (now realizing that I could have gotten much, much better shots had I actually used the zoom lens that I didn't even realize I had until late last night ~ DUH!) and the Yarmouth International Airshow is on for next weekend.

Tempting, very tempting, I must say. To think I might actually make it to a real airshow someday ...



Although I have many, many gorgeous shots of plane pr0n available on my computer (borrowed from others), I give you these small, simple offerings, taken by my own camera, on the first occasion of my actually having witnessed such sights. Click on the first snap of the SnowBirds for higher resolution.