Airshow video clips

Got around to uploading a clip of Jim Leroy and the Bulldog bi-plane doing a few parts of his routine.

This might give the unfamiliar an idea of what these guys do. It's amazing.

This clip (such as it is) shows a small bit of the entire routine, but includes one of the more spectacular maneuvers where he traces an octagon mid-air and enters it inverted. Can you imagine the negative G's?



The next clip is of two of the USAF Thuderbirds doing a head-on deflection pass. Watch closely or you might miss the plane coming the opposite direction. They roll in oppposite directions just as they pass. (of course it's an illusion as they're both on parallel lines and wouldn't hit each other.... but that's not to say that they're not VERY close and it's still extremely difficult and dangerous.


And here's a clip of a P-51 Mustang "The Gunfighter" taxiing out and then a pull away shot of Jim LeRoy floating inverted in a stall, spinning slowly, and then diving out to within feet of the ground.



And of course the ubiquitous Shockwave, the semi-tractor powered by three enormous jet engines that returns each year to the show. It races up and down the runway belching flames and enormous volumes of smoke along with what sound like sonic booms when the driver momentarily shuts off the fuel. Flames also shoot several feet out of the stacks.

The clip isn't great, or even good, as I was caught at a bad vantage point, but you can get an idea of what Shockwave is about.