Peiper,
They actually do go that low. At the Cleveland airshow the blue angles just disapear for a few seconds to most of the crowd in the stands. What they actually do is drop below the roofs of the buildings, and fly down the street. If you are in one of the buildings, you are looking down at the plane. It is so cool to watch, especially when they make that 90 deg left turn and pop out over the lake again.
It reminds me of that scene in “True Lies” with the Harrier. (I’ve seen one of those in action at an airshow, and just the noise will knock you down!)
This photo looks like it came from a good size telephoto lens, which tends to compress distance… but that’s still close!
StephanA - yeah, but do they obey the traffic signals? I don’t think Cleveland has Left On Red for anybody!
Thanks guys. I really was beginning to wonder.
I had never seen anything like that before, outside a staged war movie.
How fast would those planes be flying below the roffs of those buildings then?
Heck of a good pilot you bet. WOW again.
yeah, I know, Cleveland has been left on red for ages now! [groan]
Anyone have a guess on how close he was to that building? I forgot all about the telephotos lens and compression. Still though, the noise had to be overpowering.
Only way to figure that out accurately, Peiper, is to know the lens. A 15mm lens has a lot different compression than a 50 or 100mm lens.
Other than that, it is a simple factor of known measurements, and a little trigonometry.
Going on a basis of a 100mm lens I would say, assuming a standard 8 feet per floor, and a length of approximately 56ft for the F-18 and a wingspan of 40 feet, giving me the angle of the plane in relation of the building. The plane is about 20-25 yards from the building.
Of course, you have to remember that these guys fly within 10 yards of each other when in formation. 20 yards from a static object has to be a cakewalk.
Bill
I wish they’d buzz my street at 3AM. I’d rather be awakened by that than by some #%@!clown who thinks we all need to hear; and feel; his hip-hop bass.
While buzzing my street at 3AM, kindly strafe those hip-hopper cars.
Thank you.
I won’t hazard a guess about his speed, but it looks to me like he has his front flaps extended (lead edge of the wings). I’m not a physicist, an aircraft designer or a pilot, but I *think* they do that to lower stall speed. Perhaps that’s because of the tight turns, perhaps because of (comparatively) low speed. Your guess is as good as mine.
Helluva show either way.
That picture reminds me of the day an F4 came cruising down the valley my friend lived on the hillside of. We were on his front porch looking straight across at the side of the pilots headgear. This was in southern Ohio about 15-18 years ago. The National Guard flyboys used the forested & nearly uninhabited areas for low level training.
We were very impressed
This kinda ties into an earlier article about the BBC getting basic facts wrong. The Daily Mail shows a heading about US Navy F-18 streaking past an apartment building, but the reporter writes “F-15” in the last line. Do they not proof read their copy?
Corsair,
Actually, they generally don’t if recent history is any guide. And they aren’t alone.
Quite often we’re frustrated reading something where a line might end with some something like, “and so to continue” or else some line or word that might indicate the article continues somewhere, but where? It ends there with no continuation. And it happens quite often. Not a .....
Next entry: Global Warming!!
Previous entry: The Headline is: Segregation in schools is fueled by 'White Flight.' Look familiar?