onebadvet
US Veteran
BLUE ANGELS - Insane Footage Takes You Inside the Cockpit
BLUE ANGELS - Insane Footage Takes You Inside the Cockpit - YouTube
BLUE ANGELS - Insane Footage Takes You Inside the Cockpit - YouTube
In the parts of the video where the pilot is gritting his teeth, is that where he is pulling a lot of "G's"?
In the parts of the video where the pilot is gritting his teeth, is that where he is pulling a lot of "G's"?
I've seen several T-bird & B-Angel shows but I was invited to see an airshow at Offutt by my friends husband and his rank got us into the VIP area on the flightline. The choreography of the groundcrews was beautiful, and added to the excitement.I was fortunate enough to work the flight line for two Thunderbirds shows. Watching the precision, choreographed movements of the ground crews was impressive. Every member looked and dressed like a recruiting poster.
Yes, neither the Blue Angels nor the Thunderbird aviators/pilots wear G-suits while flying their shows. This is primarily done as a safety precaution to prevent a suit inflating and causing a control issue. By the way, what you see the aviator (that's what the US Navy and Marines call their pilots) is doing when he's gritting his teeth is what is known as a "valsalva maneuver" to help keep blood in his head and chest, rather than in his extremities, to prevent his blacking out due to the high "G" maneuvers.
Regards,
Dave
Actually that's called the anti G straining maneuver, bearing down on your core to minimize blood loss to the brain. The valsalva is used to help clear the ears primarily during descent. I've used both many times as a naval aviator.
I'm fortunate to live around Pensacola, home of the Blue Angels and see a practice show often. They practice twice a week here. First time I saw the Blues they were flying F-4s, I was face down in the sand and stickers doing pushups going through AOCS at NAS Pensacola, the DI had us stand up to watch and told us we'd never make it. He was wrong.
BLUE ANGELS - Insane Footage Takes You Inside the Cockpit
BLUE ANGELS - Insane Footage Takes You Inside the Cockpit - YouTube
When I saw the T-Birds they were flying T-38's and later F-4's.
That should narrow down the time frame.