Camus272

[disregard]

Interesting, it looks like they just took the sprue out of an F-16 kit - it seems that the 501 pylons are in the F-16 block 20 kit, so that may have all the parts.

I believe the 501 pylons are only in the Revell kit. I think the easiest way is to use a Hasegawa F-16A and add the Revell parts (that's how I went did it). I would save the Tamiya kit for a later airframe build. Just to add an answer to your question: the accurate tail is definitely only in the Revell or Kinetic kits.

Yeah, as an aviation photographer, I can say that tracking and focusing on something like an F4U (or the Blue Angels) is much, much easier than a tactically painted F-16 or F-18 demo. Thunderbirds white is kind of an odd case, as it can blend with the clouds, or can be easily visible, but reflecting so much light that no details are easily detected.

I don't recall that they ever had free shipping. They've had some cheaper surface options, but that's as good as it gets.

Mixing has been the case in a number of aggressor schemes, where the resulting color has no FS number, or 5% darker, etc (and sometimes the result was not intended). I don't believe that paint has to legally match a pre-determined color.

Between 4 and 10 F-22s are damaged. That's going to hurt.

This is true of all airshows. Since 2011 things have been declining (although not as bad as 2013 when there were no teams and 2014 when no static displays were allowed at civilian shows). Things have been getting better, but they aren't the same - the F-18 demo was only at 3 or 4 shows this year. Just last weekend, the F-22 demo cancelled because of "operational requirements." Even at shows like Nellis, which as a kind of Air Force "home" show has been immense, it's not quite the same. They don't usually get the F-18 demo anymore, and they don't have the single AF demos that used to compliment the Thunderbirds (the show has also gone to alternate years). At many civilian shows there are very few statics- maybe two -,there aren't as many fly-overs these days, and if the Thunderbirds are flying there won't be any other AF appearances. As for why: budget. After the Budget Control Act of 2011 the Air Force started making cuts (followed by the full sequester disaster), now it seems that the services are just concentrating on getting higher percentages of aircraft mission-ready and airshow appearances can't be a priority

The Russians have tried that. The first time I found about that was flying Fighters Anthology and as I was closing in on the rear of a Sukhoi fighter I was blown out of the sky. An interesting idea, and if the Russians had a pressing need to make it work, could be useful.

Because there wasn't the need (or budget) for it. The Cold War was over, and large forces of carrier-attacking aircraft have not been anticipated. The F-14 was largely designed around the AIM-54 long range missile, a weapon whose role has not been filled with a replacement either, but eventually outlived its mission anyway. The SH was conceived as a stop gap to keep the carrier decks capable until the Navy could get a fifth-generation fighter. From what I hear from Hornet pilots (And engineers from PAX River), the prominent deficiency in the Super Hornet is the under-powered engine which they would like to see upgraded. The legacy Hornets have better performance, and it seems weird that the Navy has not addressed this in all these years. But, the SH is not a bad fighter and a decent attack plane, (jack of all trades but master of none) and it's done its job for nearly 20 years now (and we haven't lost any carriers).

Well, NFWS is gone, but doesn't Topgun remain as a course within NAWDC?

The difference with the F-16 is that the newer model had better performance in the same airframe. Now, the Blues will have somewhat reduced performance with a significantly different size in the airframe. I'm sure (as I've seen stated) that they would very much prefer to keep the legacy model. But, you're right that maintenance issues will soon necessitate a change. At least we have a few more years. After this summer's show, I was wondering if that was the last time I would see a legacy F-18.

The plan now is to transition at the end of the 2021 season.

No, I don't know of one, and I assume from my own research that there isn't one. I've been thinking about it though. I have some schedules from the late 80s/ early 90s, and years from this century should be on the internet. I'd be happy to put a page together, if anyone has any Thunderbirds / Blue Angels schedules (most likely in print), I could work on adding them together.

B-2 flyovers are a bit different- its very quiet, It just kind of appears and then its gone. With the B-1 flyovers Ive seen they come by fast and loud and then quickly disappear.