![]() ![]() “Each aircraft gets more difficult to fly, the differences amplify, and the more unstable the formation. Oliver notes that adding more pairs of aircraft radiating from the center of the standard “V” complicates handling. For the Super Delta formation, the Blue Angels are at center while the Thunderbirds form the outer rung or echelon. He also serves as the squadron Flight Safety Officer. Major Kyle Oliver is the new Thunderbird slot #6 this season, flying the boldest and fastest solo maneuvers. The Blue Angels and Thunderbirds fly together over New York City as part of the America Strong tour in April 2020 to honor those fighting the pandemic. In their individual performances, each team flies their aircraft as close as 18 inches apart, but the Super Delta formation of dissimilar aircraft will keep a separation of 36 inches. In previous joint flyovers, including last year’s America Strong tour to honor healthcare workers and others combating the pandemic, the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels flew separate formations in parallel, while leaving a safety buffer of open sky between them. The Super Delta draws a tight “V” consisting of six Thunderbird F-16C Fighting Falcons and six Blue Angels F/A-18 Super Hornets. ![]() The teams perfected the new routine in March during joint training at Naval Air Facility (NAF) El Centro, California. for the first public display of the joint formation dubbed the Super Delta, during the televised National Memorial Day Parade. On Memorial Day weekend, the teams plan to assemble over Washington, D.C. ![]() The Thunderbirds also will introduce the first major revision to their performance since 1983, when the team switched from flying T-38s to F-16s. ![]() But they used the down time to swap ideas and best practices, resulting in new routines-including a new joint formation that will have the aircraft flying closer to each other than at any point in their history. military’s premier aerial performance teams-the Air Force Thunderbirds and the Navy Blue Angels-are coming back even stronger for the 2021 season, which gets into full swing this month.īoth teams were grounded from on-site performances last summer, and were limited to flyovers of major cities. After sitting out most of last year’s airshow season due to the pandemic, the U.S. ![]()
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