09/10/11 - I head to the Thunder over Niagara air show with a monster telephoto lens!
Previous BatchNext Batch The B-1 bomber! |
 It's going so fast it's building up condensation around the wings! |
 And away it goes |
 A couple of C-130s did flybys |
 It was a pretty steep bank considering how low to the ground it was! |
 Classy. |
 An authentic space shuttle tile! |
 An inauthentic space shuttle! |
 The stunt plane pilots were out of their minds |
 Putt putt putt |
 Going straight up into a stall |
 Flying straight towards the ground like a crazy person! |
 Another view of the funny inflatable space shuttle |
 This guy had pieces falling off his airplane, and then threw a roll of toilet paper out the window. Then turned around and flew through it! |
 A MiG-17! The announcer said it's very rare to see one in action |
 These were a big threat to American pilots during the Vietnam War |
 The MiG flies by in a steep bank |
 I love seeing the flames coming out the back |
 The glider was graceful and silent |
 It traced out lots of long swooping lines in the sky |
 Passing directly overhead |
 Heading up for another pass |
 I love how you can see the smoke going turbulent |
 Coming in for a landing! |
 Another stunt plane takes the skies |
 Upside down! |
 This lens is so much fun. You can see the pilot! |
 Heading down for another low pass |
 The smoke trail makes a huge difference |
 Spinning out of the control! Well, mostly. |
 One more pass |
 I wasn't the only one with a camera trained on the sky |
 Among the static displayers was this enormous Navy helicopter |
 This guy again! |
 An F-18 hornet revs up for takeoff |
 These planes may be small compared to a 747, but when you see the pilots up front, it reminds you of how massive they really are! |
 Picking up altitude quickly |
 Condenstation forms around the vehicle as it stresses the air around it |
 Another great condensation shot |
 Just look at the water vapor streaming off of this plane! |
 An inverted pass |
 Topaz, ever the engineer, fashioned a sunshield |
 Passing ina steep bank |
 This photos is a little sloppy, but I like the lens flare, and love the mach cone forming around the F-18 |
 So fast! I'm glad I brought ear plugs! |
 The guy with the crazy yellow stunt plane is back! |
 This time he brought smoke |
 I didn't get any pictures of it, but he had other colors of smoke as well |
 Attempting to land on the back of a modified truck |
 He nailed it on this second pass. Only eight inches of clearance on each side! |
 The B-2 "stealth" bomber. I feel like this photo makes up for the poor quality of the last time I saw it, in Dayton! |
 A magnificient vehicle |
 It's a shame it costs almost as much as a space shuttle to build |
 Coming around for another pass |
 Such a slim profile |
 I wish it had done a few more passes. It was amazing to see |
 The Thunderbirds prepare for their show |
 Getting into the cockpits |
 Helmets on, cockpits closed |
 If it wasn't for those damn lights, I'd really like this shot. Maybe I'll photoshop them out.. |
 Thunderbird 1 heads down the runway |
 Hi there! |
 A powerhouse! |
 Thunderbird 1 moving down the runway |
 More Thunderbirds |
 All the Thunderbirds! |
 The main four diamond take off in the delta formation |
 One of the solo planes takes off. This isn't in super crisp focus, but I love how you can clearly see the exhaust |
 Passing by, perpendicular to the ground! |
 The delta formation passes by |
 Taking off into the clouds |
 I love the trails coming off the wingtips! |
 I'm not sure what it is about this photo that I like, but I really like it |
 Banking in unicon |
 The precision is incredible |
 Roaring by for another deafening pass |
 The two solo planes play a 500+ mph game of chicken |
 A new formation |
 Inverted! |
 Probably my favorite shot of the day. Incredible! |
 Heading down for another low pass |
 The two solo planse get ready for another stunt |
 Another near miss! |
 The delta formation passes by |
 The slightest error could clip a wing |
 The death defying near misses were breathtaking |
 Coming in hot! |
 The Thunderbirds fly in F-16s |
 The main four flying in a line |
 It was tough to keep track of them in the sky because they moved so fast |
 I like this photo because of the clean background |
 Performing a "high alpha" pass. It was very slow! |
 You almost expected the plane to drop out of the sky at any moment |
 It's not easy to tell in this photo, but the leftmost plane passed through the center of this formation at great speed |
 It's easy to forget that it takes these guys several miles to turn around for another pass |
 Now they're flying with five in formation |
 Passing low clouds |
 Gotta love the Thunderbird pattern on the underside of the vehicles |
 Another steep formation bank. You can tell how quickly they're turning by the smoke trails |
 All six in formation! |
 Passing by the audience |
 They were performing crazy stunts like formation rolls |
 Building up to their big finish |
 Upside down! |
 The "Delta Burst" pattern |
 All six passed right by each other! |
 Look at all the trails! |
 Forming up into a group over the course of miles |
 It was quite the spectacle |
 Walking into the back of a large cargo vehicle |
 My Little Pony decals? On an Air Force TC-135? Unfortunately, it was the older generation |
 Who is this RJ? |
 Another pony decal! |
 The Reaper. Predator's big brother |
 Such a massive plane! |
 I was tempted to wait in line to get in the cockpit, but after roasting in the sun with that giant lens all day, I was exhausted! |