Now I am sorry to admit this but one plane looks much like another to me, Eurofighter and Red Arrows excepted, so I can't tell you which planes flew overhead as we were walking to the beach but they had a very familiar sound. The sort of noise, from old war films, that makes you feel you have to go, daga daga daga.
On Saturday the tide was out when the Red Arrows appeared - the tide goes out a very long way in Swansea bay - and I was walking across the acres of sand towards the sea with GrandSons 2 and 4, who decided they'd race the planes. They were doing well until, as GrandSon2 said, 'When they saw I was keeping up with them they went faster.'
Younger Son later told me how amused they (Daughter, Son-in-law, Nuora and YS, all sitting on the beach) had been to see me running one way and then another after the boys. 'The best bit was when they went in different directions and you stood in the middle dithering.'
This year for the first time, and to commemorate fifty years of Swansea as a city, there was an evening event lined up. Husband, George and I walked along the prom and watched - or rather waited for a bit - and then after seeing some parachutists decided we'd have to get much closer to the action if we wanted a good view and we were just too tired, so we went home.
But here's one of my typically poor attempts at a photo.
No beach today but thirty skinny-dipping laps of the pool. That may sound a lot or not much but it's enough for me.
12 comments:
How smart of your Grandson2 to figure out why he couldn't beat the Red Arrows! As to knowing various aircraft models when one sees them: that's a skill that most people can safely ignore in living wonderful lives. It sounds like you had a great weekend!
Not ever having left North America (and having spent only 24 hours outside the States - in Canada), I've never been privileged to see the Red Arrows. I have seen the Snowbirds (Royal Canadian Air Force 431 Air Demonstration Squadron) when they flew a show at Tyndall AFB Florida and have, several times each, seen the Thunderbirds (United States Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron) and the Blue Angels (United States Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron) - in addition to which I've seen the Golden Knights (United States Army Parachute Team. When one's profession was in aviation, one expects her to see lots of air shows!
Cop Car
He is very clever, CopCar! I'm sure most aerial displays are similar and equally awesome.
I live rather too near an airfield to be very excited. Luckily they take off over the sea most of the time.
Having done some formation aerobatics, Liz, albeit in prop planes, here's a snippet y'all might enjoy :-
Apart from the leader, nobody knows where they're going! ! !
That's because you're too busy maintaining relative spacing and speed by watching your wingmate (changes depending on where you are in the formation) VERY closely and juggling the throttle etc all the time, having more or less memorised the Aresti sheet of manoevers to be performed :-)
I suppose that would make it a bit boring, Sonata, but the Red Arrows ...
I was wondering how they did it, Stu. Is it mostly computerised these days, do you think?
Liz--Aerobatic programs may vary, as Stu implies, with the type of aircraft/propulsion being flown. The Snow Birds had a much more graceful program than the whiz-banger Thunderbird and Blue Angel groups. Then, the civilian propeller-driven aircraft can perform within a much smaller "air box" than can/do the jets, which is nice for the crowd. (I've flown a bit of aerobatics and I've flown a bit of formations; but, I've not flown formation aerobatics.)
Proving that only the lead pilot knows where they are was a fatal accident in 1982 in which three Thunderbird pilots followed their leader into the ground. Wikipedia tells about it, including this quote: "The Thunderbirds were practicing at Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Field, Nevada (now Creech Air Force Base) for a performance at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona.[2] Four T-38As, Numbers 1–4, comprising the basic diamond formation, hit the desert floor almost simultaneously on Range 65...." It was a really sad time for all who loved the Thunderbirds and aviation, and it is still sad to recall it.
Cop Car
Oh gosh, that's dreadful. That really is following your leader. And I am so impressed that you and Stu have both flown some aerobatics too. My life has been so boring!
Skinny-dipping in the pool? Now, where are the photos of THAT?
No, Liz, no computers. It's all up to the skill of the pilots; I cannot imagine a computer flying a Lomcevak (look it up) on its own.
The Swiss AF jet aerobatic team flew a display over the WRONG village last weekend, 2 miles away from where they should have been, because their Tigers don't even have GPS (satnav) let alone computers. How embarassing is that!
Husband banned photos, Debra. And you wouldn't really want to see us in the altogether.
That is even more incredible then, Stu. Two miles isn't far for a jet though, just a blink. But very embarrassing.
Blimey! I didn't even understand the definition of Lomcevak!
Liz--Think of a falling leaf when considering the Lomcevak OR go to YouTube. (And, while I'm here I should add that my flight experiences are as nothing in comparison to Stu's!)
Cop Car
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