Photo: USAF/Giancarlo Casem
If you look at the main photo of this piece without giving it a second thought, your mind could be tricked into believing it’s seeing some kind of new supersonic aircraft, one that can twist and turn and still somehow remain upright. You know, kind of like those double-ended trams you see moving about in some cities around this world.
But the reality is far simpler, even if putting such a sight into practice is extremely complicated. You’re not looking at one plane, but two of them, flying not one directly under another, but side by side.
The illusion that makes you believe you’re looking at some kind of new double-sided F-16 Fighting Falcon is created by several factors, including the position of the camera snapping the pic, the fact that the plane closer to the viewer is flying inverted, and the fact that the one further out is upright and flying just a little bit higher.
Both aircraft belong to the U.S. Air Force's (USAF) demonstration team. We know them as the Thunderbirds, and ever since their creation back in 1953 they’ve been enchanting viewers across the U.S. and the world with their tricks.
This most spectacular sight was caught on camera back in mid-October, and it’s the perfect one to illustrate what we expect from the team in its outings next year. When the F-16s were immortalized like this, the 16 airmen-strong team (including maintenance and support staff) was on location at Edwards Air Force Base in California for the 2022 Aerospace Valley Open House, Air Show, and STEM Expo.
It was one of some 30 events the crew was part of throughout 2022, meaning they’ve been flying an average of more than two times per month for the public’s delight. Quite a busy schedule, which ended in early November at Aviation Nation Air & Space Expo 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada, and even if we don’t have the details of next year’s calendar, chances are it’ll probably be just as busy.
Born as the 3600th Air Demonstration Unit at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona in 1953, the Thunderbirds have flown a variety of planes over the years, starting with the F-84G Thunderjet and ending with the current Fighting Falcon.
Since times immemorial, the team’s routines contain eight formations (Diamond, Delta, Stinger, Arrowhead, Line-Abreast, Trail, Echelon, and the Five Card) and various maneuvers. Pilots like to alternate formation flying with solos - two pilots, flying aircraft number 5 and 6, are tasked with this.
During each show, which usually lasts for about an hour and fifteen minutes, each pilot performs some 30 maneuvers.
The record year in terms of the number of shows for the team was 2010, when they attended 73 demos in the U.S. and Canada (an average of six per month) and spent 250 days away from their Nellis Air Force Base home in Nevada.
The illusion that makes you believe you’re looking at some kind of new double-sided F-16 Fighting Falcon is created by several factors, including the position of the camera snapping the pic, the fact that the plane closer to the viewer is flying inverted, and the fact that the one further out is upright and flying just a little bit higher.
Both aircraft belong to the U.S. Air Force's (USAF) demonstration team. We know them as the Thunderbirds, and ever since their creation back in 1953 they’ve been enchanting viewers across the U.S. and the world with their tricks.
This most spectacular sight was caught on camera back in mid-October, and it’s the perfect one to illustrate what we expect from the team in its outings next year. When the F-16s were immortalized like this, the 16 airmen-strong team (including maintenance and support staff) was on location at Edwards Air Force Base in California for the 2022 Aerospace Valley Open House, Air Show, and STEM Expo.
It was one of some 30 events the crew was part of throughout 2022, meaning they’ve been flying an average of more than two times per month for the public’s delight. Quite a busy schedule, which ended in early November at Aviation Nation Air & Space Expo 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada, and even if we don’t have the details of next year’s calendar, chances are it’ll probably be just as busy.
Born as the 3600th Air Demonstration Unit at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona in 1953, the Thunderbirds have flown a variety of planes over the years, starting with the F-84G Thunderjet and ending with the current Fighting Falcon.
Since times immemorial, the team’s routines contain eight formations (Diamond, Delta, Stinger, Arrowhead, Line-Abreast, Trail, Echelon, and the Five Card) and various maneuvers. Pilots like to alternate formation flying with solos - two pilots, flying aircraft number 5 and 6, are tasked with this.
During each show, which usually lasts for about an hour and fifteen minutes, each pilot performs some 30 maneuvers.
The record year in terms of the number of shows for the team was 2010, when they attended 73 demos in the U.S. and Canada (an average of six per month) and spent 250 days away from their Nellis Air Force Base home in Nevada.
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