Saturday turned out to be a very nice day. Hot and Dry, but a great day for some flying. This year seemed very light on static displays and I heard a number of people commenting on that as we entered through security. Other items of note, there was a tremendous amount of down time between most acts. Early on, SOCOM jumpers, Paratroopers and refueling planes flew, then a lull. A couple more acts, then another lull.

The flying, however, was great. 2 jet teams and a number of unique planes in the air. Photography was not so great, as the direction of the show is not conducive to a favorable sun angle, so make the best of it.

Here are a couple of shots from Saturday's events:

Adam, love the C-17 shot!

Thanks! I was surprised when the paratroopers started jumping. The jump master (?) pulled me aside to enquire about pics from the jump. The jumpers never see images of themselves jumping so I may be sending a few copies off to the Army jumpers.





And here's the I.D.E.A.S. crew interviewing the Starfighters for Disney



Snowbirds parade: Can you feel the heat?

Great photos Adam! From what I see, the lighting isn't bad at all, haha!! Love the colours in that second shot. 3 104's...you guys are lucky to be entertain the first FULL 3-ship Starfighters show

Can't wait to see more pics!

Starfighters topside:








Here's their single ship demo!!!!

It was my first time at MacDill and I had a great time. Friday night went to Sea Scapes SP? and met the Snowbirds and watched a small demo with the T-33 and F-18. The F-18 flew at dusk and was kicking in the burners on every round. Spent Saturday in the VIP tent. The Snowbirds were great. I have never seen them before. My camera stinks but this is a few of what I have. Also the F-15 Demo Pilot or WSO, not sure which one, graduted from the local High School and the crowd was extatic to see him.

It was also my first time there and did notice the downtime between acts, other than that had a great time. Here are some shots from Sat. What do Buddist monks do on a Sat.? They go to an airshow of course.

I would have to say my first love......muscle cars/hot rods....I guess they are more in my price range!!!
That is a great looking 69!

Darren

Great pictures everyone!

I just got back from MacDill (I was there on Saturday) and I had a lot of fun at the show. It’s the first time I’ve seen the Snowbirds, and I enjoyed them a lot. The military demos were great, and it was fun to see the static line jump demo and then the actual jump. That being said as others have mentioned I was a bit disappointed with the flow of the show (the biggest problem was at the beginning.) It just seemed there were too many times when nothing was going on, or we were waiting for a plane to taxi out to the runway or back from the runway.

I did like that they had everyone taxi in front of the show line. Very fun.

The sun was in the way for some of the pictures (especially later in the afternoon) and the actual show box was a bit further away from the crowd line than I would have liked, but I enjoyed myself a lot. Here are a couple of pictures I took at the show.

Beginning of the show:
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T-6 Texan taxis after the demo:
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Super Hornet Demo Team member heads toward the Rhinos:
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Snowbirds taxi after their part of the show:
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Snowbirds Friday night watching the show. Sorry about the quality.

FOD Walk and at attention before take off.

I would like to thank RockyController for posting earlier that the F-4 was going to be there.That was the clincher for me going to MacDill. I haven't seen a Phantom fly in probably 20 plus years. It was truly great seeing it take to the air and perform. Wayne

Home Town Favorite

I attended the MacDill Airfest on Sunday, 4 May 08. Overall, I rated this event as "Average" due to the limited static displays as well as the extented "down time" in between aerial events.

Likes:
1. Snowbirds - Great flying, with multiple formation changes. Very good display for first show in 2008. Formation was mostly tight with a few minor breakdowns such as wingman out of position during diamond loop as well as extented down time in between passes at show center.

2. F-18F Super Hornet Demo - When clean, the Super Hornet can really put on a fantastic show in the hands of a skilled pilot. The one maneuver that impressed me the most was the "piroutte to the tail slide". The only other time I have seen this maneuver accomplished was by the Mig-29. Can't wait for the Blue Angels to get a hold of this aircraft down the road.

3. The F-4E Phantom - One of the last opportunity to acutally see one flying with a man in it. Too bad the final destination for the Phantom is as an aerial drone. Still lots of noise as well as being graceful. I remember the days when both the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds flew the F-4. This was the last time the Thunderbirds acutally flew close formation and low to the ground.

4. Tim Webber - He never ceases to amaze me. The first time I saw Tim perform was at Dover AFB in 1999. His routine are heart stopping as well as professionally executed. The Extra 300 is simply amazing aircraft.

5. The small crowds - In the past, MacDill Airfest usually averages 250,000 to 300,000 spectators per day. Limiting the number of spectators to enter the base allowed room to roam as well as no lines at the porta-potties. Also, the food lines were acceptable.

Dislikes:

1. Dearth of Static Displays - Very disappointed in the quality and quantity. No F-15C, F-15E, F-22, F-18A, F-18C, F-18E, EA-6, E-2C, S-3B, MC-130, AC-130, C-130H, FedEX Airbus, T-45 as well as a variety of civilain aircraft. Probably the signs to come due to ops tempo and budget cuts.

2. Down time between aerial acts - Nuff said

3. High cost of food - $4.00 for soft drinks, hot dogs, hamburger, frozen lemonade, ice cream. Did not look if a lot of food was sold. Maybe that is why the lines were so short.

4. VIP Chalet Tents at Show Center - Blocked view of ground show. Not a factor for aerial display.

There have been better Airfests at MacDill. Given the financial constraints and getting the Snowbirds late, it was not that bad.

WOW! I would like to know what airshows you go to which have all those statics? Especially the F-22. I have seen it on the flight line before Max takes it out, but never on static. BTW $4:00 for food and beverage is mainstay for airshows. In addition I was in the VIP tent and had to go outside of it to get decent pictures because of the security always being in the way.

Nice job shooting Adam. Love the Super Hornet...

Thanks everyone!

This was the first time I had seen a B-25 intentionally shut down one of it's engines to simulate it's survivability in a hot zone



Herb doing what he does best:



Strike Eagle getting on it:



Snowbirds in formation:



Solo flying act... didn't gather as many ooohs and ahhhhhs as the other performers: (I hadn't set up my camera to catch the Pink Flamingo flying before the opening jump... bummer)

BTW great seeing the Starfighters. They were awesome!!

Now THAT'S something I'd love to see! Great shot!

Many thanks go out to Bloke, Rick and the entire Starfighter Team for a great weekend and to Denise for keeping everyone cool, and for the cookies! Delicious!

The 2008 team photo after the first 3 ship demo on Saturday. Lots of smiles.


General Ritchie in Starfighter 2 watching his crew chief, Andrew B.


More images from the show:

Without saying too much, it is safe to say that there was some work being done on Starfighter 2 on Friday that lasted long into the night. The 3 Ship Demo was made possible by these guys, the Crew Dawgs. From left to right, Andrew, Dave and Sean. Thanks guys!

Jumpers!

Awesome!!! These pics are badass... and that 69, wow!!! Congrats to the entire team on the 3-ship. Looking good Bloke...

still working my saturday shots in between work and other things...

snowbirds line abreast:

Some more images from Saturday

I took these as the Starfighters were taxiing out. Note how the photo's degrade from 1 to 3 as the amount of heat from the J79's increase to the #3 jet.

Here are a few more from the Snowbirds. I found it very challenging conditions to shoot these guys. The sun was directly overhead, so most everything was washed out.

This is the NEW snowbird "Biplane" ... Anyone care to wingwalk?

Great shots everyone! This was one of only two airshows I could attend this year. My first time at MacDill and my first time seeing the Snowbirds. Wow, what a show but I agree 120% about the horrible amount of deadtime between the performers. I went to the Sunday show and was really blown away at how empty the field was.

Here are a few shots that I took. The sun was really bright and my camera wasn't liking it. I hope that these aren't too embarrassing!!!


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Almost all of my pictures are waayy too bright from MacDill too. The sun was not helping with the photography at all.

But, yours look good!

Thanks!