I just returned from the Wednesday evening air show in Anderson, S.C. This show was supposed to have both the Green Beret Parachute Team and the Canadian Snowbirds.

The Green Beret Parachute Team didn't have a good day. They had problems with the plane they use to jump, in addition their pilot was not feeling well. As a result, they didn't perform. This meant the only performer was the Canadian Snowbirds team.

This was the first time that I have seen the Snowbirds perform, so I wasn't sure exactly what to expect. I found it a little odd that they took off and then flew around, out of view, for a good 10-15 minutes before they started the show. Also as a nine plane team, I sort of expected to see more formations (as shown on their website) than I saw during the show and definitely expected to see more multi-plane breaks than they did.

The other thing I noticed is that they didn't really pay attention to where the trailer was parked to mark show center. A lot of their routines were done to the left of the center mark.

Given all of that, it was still a good show and definitely worth what we paid to see it. (In my case a tank of $3.47/gal. gasoline for my SUV to drive from Atlanta to Anderson and back).

I had the pleasure of standing next to Bigtnbob during the show and we also talked with Vance1 both before and after the show. Sorry I didn't run into any of the other forum members while there.

I was able to take 1,092 photos today, so it will take a little while to go through them, but I will post some later.

Here are a couple of quick photos, more to follow:

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A great show in so many respects, and the only bad thing about it was that there wasn't more to see. The snowbirds were great, both in the air and in person, Hugh did a great job of entertaining the crowd. (Nice to chat with you after the show, sir!) I liked this show because it seemed somewhat more "relaxing" than other shows I've been to. It also seemed that 99% of the crowd had never been to an air show before .. the opposing crosses drew loud gasps from most of the spectators.

There was plenty to photograph -- my couple hundred are slowly making their way off my flash card. I remember getting a good shot of one of the knife edge passes. I'll see if I could post that one.

The Snowbirds, slower and quieter than the TBs or BAs, were a great show -- nine planes instead of six made for some interesting and beautiful formations, and many of their passes were change in formations. I was wondering if they'd do a sneak pass, and I guess we got one from the two solo pilots as they came in from behind the crowd at one point. I asked #8 about it and I said, "That was somewhat of a surprise!" He said, "That's the idea!" They were not close to the speed of sound, like the BA sneak pass, so it wasn't as much of a shock, but still surprised many of the people there who weren't looking behind them. I also don't remember the BAs or TBs using their headlights as part of the show, which the Snowbirds did. I liked it.

My GPS was on crack when I first got there and was trying to get me to enter the airport from some back entrance that was obviously blocked off for the show. I'm not sure what I did but after I pushed a bunch of buttons it sobered up and put me on the right track, and I parked at about 3:00. I stayed after and got all of the Snowbirds' autographs, so I was one of the last people out, and from turn of the key to driving out of the airport was only 25 minutes. This was a show that was only 2.5 hours away for me, which is closer than any other show I've gone to recently.

Very pleasant drive and show. Well done, folks.

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I have to ask -- who was the lucky party that got to park their camper right up front near show center? Was that the mayor or something?

Also... I caught this guy shooting photos from atop the camper -- was this guy one of us?
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I was going to yell to Hugh that I would gladly fly the jump plane -- as long as they let me jump out of it too.

And couple of more photos:

Nice to see this one. The formation is great not only because of the number of planes, but also because it is possible because there are an odd number of planes. I missed this one because I was totally not ready -- their previous pass was announced as being their last one.

Okay. Time for bed.

LOL by the looks of it, he caught you shooting him too!

Great photos, guys. Can't wait to see the Snowbirds in June.

yes, the Snowbirds did a really good show as always. glad to see the Bigreddog and Vance
there.

bob mcpherson

They fly around for 10 - 15 minutes before show time to make sure that their jets are warmed up and that all their systems are functioning appropriately. You have to remember, these planes are a tad on the aged side, and even though they may not show any issues on the ground being in the air is a different beast on its own right. While up in the air, they also ensure that the weather conditions haven't effected the horizon as that is their most important point of recognition during the show.

As for where the trailer was parked and performing around show centre, I couldn't tell ya because I wasn't there!

Great photos everyone, looks like they're all set for another great season filled with smiles and cheers from both sides of the border!

Bandit

Thanks for the infor Bandit 1. Very informative. a few more from yesterday.

bob mcpherson

Here are a few shots of the WWII veteran Hugh interviewed, whose name I don't remember. I do remember he said he lied about his age when he was 16 so he could join the military. Our country survives in part because of courageous young men like him who stood up to defend our interests. No amount of thanks could ever be enough.

It's always nice to hear from these folks at airshows.

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Here are a few from my vantage point at crowd left...

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Although I didn't know it at the time, I happened to capture BigRedDogATL and bigtnbob in one of my crowd photos.

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Yep that is me in the most un-flattering photograph I have seen yet. That photo vest I was wearing makes me look 50 lbs bigger than I am and I am pretty big to begin with.

Bob is in his blue hat with Blue Angels buttons on it and wearing the tan suspenders and standing right next to me. Boy do the kids really love it when he hands them a button. He handed out some buttons with the Snowbirds on them.

So Mike, why didn't you come by and say hello?

That, and there is usually an act that fills time before the Snowbirds do their run in to start their show, but yeah, Bandit pretty much nailed the reason for the 10-15 minute wait for the team to start their show. In addition to making sure all of their systems are working properly, the team will do a series of warm up manouvers and then a verbal debrief in the air. Once everyone is happy, it's show time! That, and the 9 twinkling lights coming at you out of nowhere in front of you and then seeing the formation pull up into a loop.....just something about that that send chills up your spine every time I see a show.

As for the multi-plane breaks, not sure why they don't do more. Only thing I can think of is it takes a lot of time to get everyone back in the same spot after a formation break and this adds more dead time between manouvers and I think they want to cut down on that as much as they can. That, and graceful loops and rolls with a large formation of aircraft is pretty much what the Snowbirds and their "aerial ballet" style of flying is all about.

The layout for the Snowbirds show has pretty much stayed the same for a while.....9-plane opening sequence followed by an intergrated portion working the solos in with various 3,5 and 7 plane formations, then a 9-plane closer.

As for the trailer, I don't think the team uses that as its show center. Usually, there is a Tech on the field whose secondary duty is to video tape each and every performance, and he is directly on show center......so look for a blue suited tech next time you are at a Snowbirds performance......he or she will be at show center for the performance with video camera in hand.

Nice photos all around though. Cannot wait to see the team at home in Moose Jaw in August!

The essence of the Snowbirds performance is that they function together as a group. Unlike the high octane performances of the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels, there really isn't a maneuvre that you can do in a Tutor that has the same type of punch as a -16 or and -18 can bring to the table. As a result you get moves like the "Code 360" where the solos cross 3 times while doing a minimum radius turn which would otherwise be a little boring if it were just a single Tutor. The Snowbirds like to stay in front of the crowd, and that is another reason they still fly the Tutor - smaller air show box than any other jet team out there, including the Red Arrows, which permits more viewing time for the spectators.

With regards to show centre, it will often be marked by the Snowbirds PAFFO (Capt. Jennifer Jones this year - joining up with the team in Pittsburgh) and a tech who will videotape the show. You'll see the PAFFO holding a small mirror which reflects sunlight to the team advising them where show centre is and the spots that they should mark relative to the flash.

Oh, and if anyone didn't know - on small airfields the planes will land and take off in single file one after the other, on larger airfields you'll see them land and take off in groups of 3, with the final trio having the 2 outside planes break away and then rejoin the formation - known as a "shakedown".

Hope this all helps.

Bandit

Oh yeah....forgot about the PAFFO with the mirror.....thanks Bandit!

Yes another thing about the 15mins of time flying around, the Tbirds and Blues do it too. They just do it on the ground. The Thunderbirds perform numerous and numerous checks on the ground and the blues do as well as I'm sure you know. The tbirds have a very very extensive checklist they do both while starting up and while at the end of the runway. The blues also have a very extensive list. They do seem to have a much shorter wait though from the time they start up to wheels up. I've always guessed that is due to the fact that the Air Force seems to have more restrictions than the Navy. But it is for good reason. It is just something that is necessary to flying a safe show.

I had no idea where you and Bob were at. I didn't see you in the photo until today.

You mean this guy? He was filming in front of the airboss tent.

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Tis true, they perform various checks on their aircraft - so many switches on there can't say I blame them! The Snowbirds will also do a ground check which includes a smoke check and then a final look at the plane while it's taxiing out to get a thumbs up from a Tech before the show. Requires a lot less time as the plane is a lot simpler than a Viper or Hornet.



Yep that would be he.

Bandit

There were a couple of interesting things I noticed before the show when I was photographing the planes on the ground.

One was the graphic that was located on the side, just behind the canopy. When you zoom in on it there appears to be a man walking a tightrope. See the photo below:



The other thing I noticed was two metal tubes extending from under the jet exhaust and bending up to the middle of what would be the exhaust stream. (See the photo below) I am not sure what they are for but the only thing I can think of is that they are part of the smoke generating system and could send smoke oil into the hot jet exhaust stream to generate the smoke. If I a wrong, then someone who knows the true use please let me know. Also in the photo, please note the 50th Anniversary logo for Norad on the tail.

Here are a few more shots taken before the start of the show.

The first shot is of the crowd, looking down the fence line towards the announcer's stand



The next shot is the announcer's tent with the members of the Snowbirds prepping for the show



The last shot in this group is of the color guard with the flags for both the Canadian and American national anthems.

This group of photos show the planes lined up before the show. There were two lines of planes on the tarmac. The front row had planes 1 -6 and the back row had planes 7-11.

In the first shot, you can clearly see the Norad 50th Anniversary logo above the Canadian flag emblem.

Hey Clifford,

BTW, thanks for the message regarding the serials and tail numbers - very much appreciated. To answer a couple questions... the bent metal tubes are the smoke oil (diesel) tubes which are fed from the under fuselage tanks. The Graphic aft of the canopy is that of a non-profit organization here in Canada which the Snowbirds promote extensively as their ambassadors... this is Smartrisk. http://www.smartrisk.ca/

James

I call this series of photos the "rub-a-dub-dub" series. Before the show, several techs were on the ground, under the planes, using Windex and rags to wipe down the bottoms of the planes and shine them up for the show.

James:

Thank you for confirming what I thought those tubes were used for.

I didn't know what the graphic was supposed to represent. Thanks for the link to that organization. I will visit their site and find out more about them as a result. Being from Atlanta, this was the first time I have seen the Snowbirds and didn't know what all the graphics on their planes were supposed to represent.

Now that I have seen one of their shows, I will be able to better photograph them when I see them again next month at the Quebec City show, which I am attending on my vacation.

Here are each of the Snowbirds signing autographs after the show. What impressed me was how much more laid back these guys were with the crowd than the pilots of the Blue Angels or Thunderbirds are. Don't get me wrong, the U.S. pilots are friendly to the crowd, but the Snowbirds were taking their time with each person and joking around with the crowd. It was also funny to hear the local people with their heavy Southern accents talking with the Canadians and their different heavy accent and use of stereotypical Canadian phrases.












This will be all of the photos I will post tonight. I will post some photos of the various show formations on Friday or over the weekend.

wuddayamean 'stereotypical'??... Eh?!?!

You've gotta visit my neck of the wood... this is the 'deep south' around here (part of three to five counties where we do really have a drawl) - I'll even bet my accent doesn't sound much different from yours... Eh?!?

How long is that vacation Clifford?

James

Big thank you to Hugh Oldham and the Canadian Armed Forces for bringing us the Snowbirds. This was the first time I had seen them, but I hope not the last. These guys and gals put the "P" in precision formations. Really a wonderful performance enjoyed by a very appreciative audience.

James:

I am flying into Quebec City on June 12 and leaving for home on June 16th. I plan on attending at least two of the three days of the Quebec City air show. I will attend all three days if my feet and body hold out and I don't collapse from standing and walking at the show for two days (sorry but I am out of shape and have trouble standing for very long periods of time).

My hope is for Thurday afternoon if I can't sneak in for the practice flights, to do some sightseeing around town. Same thing for Friday morning before the evening show. Then Saturday and hopefully Sunday attend the full day shows. The flight back is late Monday morning, so not much time to do anything except have breakfast and try to recoup a bit from the weekend.

Do you know anyone at that show where you might be able to get me a photographer's pass or something?

Thanks,
Clifford

I'm done sifting through my shots... here's my complete gallery:

http://raptor.davidshere.com/photos/index....%2C%20SC%202008

Great shots everyone!

After hearing one of the pilots with a French accent, I said "Merci beaucoup!" ("Thank you very much") ... but he didn't seem impressed.

I did hear one pilot say "Gee, is the WHOLE TOWN here!?"

I think it probably was SB#4. Same thing at MacDill.

[quote name='davidshere' post='57392' date='May 9 2008, 03:20 PM']After hearing one of the pilots with a French accent, I said "Merci beaucoup!" ("Thank you very much") ... but he didn't seem impressed.

Gotta ditto everything good said so far - well worth the drive up from Columbia. A real big "Thanks!!" to the Snowbirds for stopping by SC on their way north, and another big "Thanks!!" to Hugh for all the hard work getting this performance lined up. Also a thumbs up to the Sheriff's Dept and all the volunteers for getting everyone in and out smoothly. Has anyone heard a reasonable guesstimate of attendance size? I was right surprised by the crowd, didn't expect that big a showing what with the time of a weekday and such.

Some of the pics I've gone thru so far:

And a few more:

Thank you for sharing your pictures !!

I am still working on processing the photos but here are a few formation shots from early in the show:




Did anyone else notice that in several of the formations, one or more of the planes had those rear panels opened, I guess as a sort of speed brake. If you look closely in the shot below you will see one plane on the back row, right side with the panels extended.



More formations:

I think he means "stereotypical Canadian phrases" like "blast from the point", "kick save and a beaut", and
"drop the gloves".

Rich

Those are, as you indicated, their speed brakes. They'll deploy them in order to hold in a formation if they find their picking up speed from being in a slip stream - similar to what race car drivers would call drafting.

Bandit

and he rings another off the post!... (anyone else happen to know the theme from Hockey Night in Canada?) the patron saints of hockey... Pete the Post and Chris Crossbar

It looks like that one is also slightly out of formation. Maybe that's why he was braking.

It looks like that one is also slightly out of formation. Maybe that's why he was braking.

I have processed a few more photos and have them posted at my smugmug gallery site. Here are some examples:

Here's one I caught as they were transitioning from the Goose to the Double Diamond. Note the brakes are deployed while going vertical.

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Bandit -

Thanks for making that clarification. The Snowbirds do that at every show - including inverted flight for each jet to make sure there's nothing loose in the cockpit. I think that they call it their "shakeout."

I don't get to see the Snowbirds often - as a matter of fact, yesterday I flew in a Cessna 182 from my home in Cincinnati to Pittsburgh to see them. It's the ONLY time this season I'll have seen them. They were awesome.

I would like to comment on BigRedDog's post about more formations - I saw many yesterday, including some changes of formation while pulling to the vertical. It was amazing and I wish that there was some way to properly communicate how difficult all of that is - in 40-year-old, relatively underpowered jets. The Snowbirds, with nine jets in formation are amazing - simply amazing. What they don't have in speed they make up for in grace.

I've flown with The Thunderbirds (in 1980) and with the Blues a year and a half ago and ALL these team members are simply awesome. It takes incredible skill to be flying within 2 feet of another airplane, whether it's a Canadian Tutor, Hornet, or Viper. I love 'em all!

I believe that Hugh Oldham put the show together. Way to go, sir. The Snowbirds enjoyed working with you.

Regards,

Rob

You know those maneuvers with nine planes in perfect alignment are impossible, but they do them anyway. We owe Hugh a really big thank you for being promoter, organizer, announcer and lol even working crowd control.

Looking forward to catching Rob at Huntsville next month.

This is more about the Snowbirds than about this show in particular. I've only seen the Snowbirds once in my life and that was in Dayton at the 2003 show. I was a little wary so to speak about their routine being that the top speed of there jets was not very high compared to what I was used to with the jet demo teams here in America but I was also excited to see nine jets in the air at one time. Well after the show, seeing the big three North American jet demonstration teams in one day and after reviewing my slides I found myself very very impressed with the Snowbirds demonstration. To see the formations they fly with nine airplanes is amazing and, a term I do not use too often, beautiful. The T-birds and Blues fly shows which are very powerful and impressive in their own right and I love watching them as well but the Snowbirds show seems to have an artsy feeling to it. They are definitely a great team and a nice change of pace from what most of us in North America are used to and I wish I had the opportunity to see them more often. Thanks to everyone posting pictures here, they are very nice and they are really making me wish I could take my wife and son to see them fly somewhere this summer.