The Who by bmac62
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Description
No, "The Who" referred to here isn't the classic English rock band of the 60s and 70s, this is the men and women of the US Air Force Thunderbirds.
99% of the time we focus on the aircraft involved in an airshow. "The Who" is meant to give you a glimpse of the people behind the show.
I have several images of this team in flight earlier in my gallery. The classic image is the upload on September 8th, titled "Blue Skies".
Please zoom to full-size for a closer look. The leading 11 men and 1 woman are the ground crews for the 6 demonstration aircraft. They are all sergeants.
The following 5 men and 1 woman standing at attention are the 6 pilots. The commander is a Lieutenant Colonel and the remaining 5 pilots are Majors. Their call signs are Thunderbird 1 through 6 and each aircraft is numbered accordingly. The commander's aircraft is number 1 and is shown here.
I appreciate all your comments and hope this gives you an appreciation for the faces behind the airplanes.
Bill
Comments (16)
A really interesting image and narrative Bill, as you say we often forget the personnel behind the aircraft. Thanks for sharing.
Great to see these vital folk!
Vital folk, indeed. Excellent reminder, Bill.
I have never met a F-16 pilot though I have met maintenance and logistics people involved. I specifially remember the Dutch. I've met pilots who were preparing to fly the F-16 at Nellis before it existed in metal.
On behalf of the wonderful men and women who keep them flying, thanks for featuring them. Those of us who drove the birds got the glory, but these folks made it so. To "The Who" of all services, thanks for making us drivers old men. Skipper 62 Broke wing fighter jock.
Great pilots, all! A worthy shot indeed! Rob.
Great image and description,wonderful shot!!:-)
Great shot of crew and pilots. Yes, we sometimes forget that it is 'people' who make this wonderful team.
Nice shot. The plane is the focus of the show, but it's the troops who make it go.
One of the cool things about the US demonstration teams is they include the grownd crew in the shows. I've seen the Snowbirds more times than I can remember. Their shows all start & end in the air. I've only seen the Red Arrows once, and the experience was similar (in fairness, the display area was miles from the airfield). Excellent shot of an often-overlooked part of the Thunderbird's display!
Along with their true-blue military stance, another thing I admire about them is that they've all had haircuts and are wearing sunglasses. Incidentally, the F-16 is one of my favorite jets, the other being the Lockheed F-104. Shot well taken, Bill.
Truly great scene, well captured!
We usually get the Blue Angels here in the Bay Area...can't say that I have ever seen the Thunderbirds here...somebody correct me if I'm wrong...
This is so nice, Bill, that you gave those, who fly the birds a shot too...smile... I admire them beeing able to do so and to keep them up in the sky..
Great image Bill, as said above we tend to appreciate the planes and the pilots and forget the hard work of the ground crew.A fine tribute to the often over looked part of the team.
Yep, they're the body and soul of these teams...I especially like the Fat Albert C-130 crew that hauls the Blue Angels' gear around...good work, Bill!