# Blue Angels or the Thunderbirds? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 4, 2010, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-angels-or-the-thunderbirds/549100 "2010-08-04T04:14:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-angels-or-the-thunderbirds/549100/21 "2010-08-04T18:16:02Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Well, it would be different if the Blue Angels (or whoever) were flying F-22s, but AFAIK you can’t do much in an F-16 that you can’t also do in a Hawk. Well, except go supersonic. The Blue Angels now fly the FA-18 Hornet. They would really be something in the F-22, for sure. ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-angels-or-the-thunderbirds/549100/22 "2010-08-04T18:23:05Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Luckily, I got to see one of the last JATO-assisted launches last autumn. Why the last? What’s changing? ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-angels-or-the-thunderbirds/549100/23 "2010-08-04T19:25:58Z")
I’ve never even heard of the Thunderbirds. I saw the Blue Angels plenty of times, though, when I was a kid growing up in San Francisco. That shit was pretty spectacular. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-angels-or-the-thunderbirds/549100/24 "2010-08-04T19:41:46Z")
> [@ducati](#): > > > [@El\_Kabong](#): > > > > Luckily, I got to see one of the last JATO-assisted launches last autumn. > > Why the last? What’s changing? Supplies. Fat Albert is pretty much the only plane using JATO anymore, but I think the bottles they use for it aren’t made anymore. I got to see it at an airshow 2 years ago. Spectacular. I think that was the same airshow that had the Warthog doing tactical demos (awesome) and the best heritage flight I’ve ever seen. This year they had a half dozen WWII era Japanese Zero replicas bombing the far runway. It was pretty sweet, but I hated the commentator. I dislike commentators in general, but this guy really took away from the spectacle of these planes swooping in again and again and again while charges went off all over. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-angels-or-the-thunderbirds/549100/25 "2010-08-04T20:16:25Z")
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLFB7q8tyd8](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLFB7q8tyd8) Nice video of Fat Albert using JATO [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65VhEFS\_DQw&feature=browch](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65VhEFS_DQw&feature=browch) A complete performance by the Thunderbirds, for anybody who has an hour to spare. [http://pics.livejournal.com/slvrfire/pic/0002hz53](http://pics.livejournal.com/slvrfire/pic/0002hz53) The best shot of the Blue Angels I got last time I saw them (holy cow, that’s CLOSE!). I don’t have a “best shot” of the Thunderbirds, probably because they’re so hard to photograph because they are faster and cooler than the Angels. 😉 Kidding, I just haven’t bothered uploading the memory card from the last show we went to. I should have some decent video of the Harrier on there though, so I should probably get on that. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-angels-or-the-thunderbirds/549100/26 "2010-08-04T20:23:56Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > The Red Arrows, of course! 🙂 > [@Small\_Clanger](#): > > Beaten to it. Since I have no opinion on the OP I’ll chuck in a random Red Arrows story. Part of my five year plan is to make it out to the RIAT. Heh, this is cute: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DFNa60i3x0](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DFNa60i3x0) The Thunderbirds did something like that at the show I went to last month except the heart came out at the end of their Missing Man formation. It was way cool. Anyway, I hope to see them someday. ---
**Author:** ![JerseyMarine2092](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8491ac/32.png) [@JerseyMarine2092](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerseyMarine2092)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-angels-or-the-thunderbirds/549100/27 "2010-08-04T20:24:42Z")
I voted for the Angels. I am completely unbiased in every way. I swear. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-angels-or-the-thunderbirds/549100/28 "2010-08-04T20:25:00Z")
Uh huh… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-angels-or-the-thunderbirds/549100/29 "2010-08-04T22:49:45Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > I’ve never even heard of the Thunderbirds. > > I saw the Blue Angels plenty of times, though, when I was a kid growing up in San Francisco. That shit was pretty spectacular. I knew about the T-birds long before the Angels. Anchorage has a large AF base nearby and the T-birds often came to perform when I was growing up. Back then they flew F-100 Super Sabers. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-angels-or-the-thunderbirds/549100/30 "2010-08-04T23:24:56Z")
[QUOTE=BlakeTyner] I gotta go with the Blue Angels. In my mind, Naval Aviators have the edge over USAF pilots because the Navy guys have to pull off night carrier landings, which to my mind makes them the best in the world. [/QUOTE] Someone once pointed out to me that Navy aviators never have to land in a crosswind either, and that their predeliction for landing planes on boats shows a lack of sense more than a surplus of skill. 🆒 Personally, I like the Thunderbirds more. So what if the Blue Angels have a cargo plane that now doesn’t do anything particularly noteworthy other than carry the spare parts and the mechanics? The Thunderbirds have the cooler paintjobs and the cooler planes. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Call_Me_Shirley)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-angels-or-the-thunderbirds/549100/31 "2010-08-05T17:19:51Z")
At my first airshow I saw the Blue Angels in one of their last A-4 shows. The A-4 was such a cool plane for a demo team- it was like a hot rod. The F-18s are cool but they lack a certain je ne sais quoi that the A-4 had. Anyway, several times when the Angels have come to town, I swear they have chosen my house as one of their ground markers. They meet up at the start of my street, get their formation set as they fly down the street, and immediately after flying over my house they turn back towards the airport. I sit on my roof and they fly right over my head. The Thunderbirds have dissed my house every time they have come, so screw them, I’m voting for the Angels. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-angels-or-the-thunderbirds/549100.md?page=1)