Please see pix. How do the Blue Angels do this?

Question

I assume that the top jet is the lead and the next in line uses the jet above him as a visual reference. Only a theory on my part. Fasinating.

http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=0314742&size=L

Answer 1

You are correct. The top plane is lead, the next plane down keys off him and so on. They will have a defined mark on the plane, perhaps and antenna or intentional paint mark that they reference for positioning and the formation is very tight. They are also in constant communication and only move when the leader calls the mark. What most don't realize is that the Blue Angels and Air Force Thunderbirds are all line fighter pilots. They accept the assignment to the demonstration team, stay with the team for about 3 years, then go back to regular military flying. The airshow they do is a dressed-up version of combat maneuvers. And yes, they are VERY good!

Answer 2

Yes your theory is correct, the other answer about reference points is spot on.

Now for all those saying it's fake:

1. Regular fighter formations routinely fly at 36" wingtip to wingtip. Demonstration teams reduce this to 18". That's the distance these aircraft were apart before initiating the bank turn.

2. I cannot account for the white edge at the underside of each forward fuselage, this doesn't make any sense with the other optics in the photo. Also, each trailing aircraft has this portion of the left strake in shadow.

3. The smoke doesn't look quite right, you would expect to see four clear trails going straight back. The low AOA of the leading edge flaps and the lack of rear stab deflection indicate a fairly high speed, low turn rate maneuver.

4. The left engine inlets have a glint on the lower edge that shouldn't be there with the sun at somewhere between 2 and 4 o'clock high (the Miramar airshow typically occurs in October and the last demo ends around 4:00 pm). They also have some distortion that could possible be vapor build up, but looks more like sloppy editing.

5. Look at the way (big zoom) the 2, 3, and 4 aircrafts' left wings overlay each other. There's a small zigzag of white pixels between elements. They could be compression artifacts, but more likely sloppy editing. Also note the way the left flaperon "spoils" the reflection of the left vertical stab on the lead aircraft. What is going on in the same place on number 2?

6. (Smoking gun) The number four aircraft has a clearly visible white edge surrounding the underside against a highly pixelated blue sky. Try it at 800% zoom and you'll see it too.

The background of the photo is fake, the aircraft show lots of evidence of doctoring. I'm calling it fake.

Here's a better photo of the same maneuver: http://www.mrprophead.com/BlueAng/BA10.jpg

Answer 3

rayk469 is correct, the blue angels do have paint lines and visual refrence points to stay in formation during different flight attitudes,

and other than the minimum 130 hours flight time training for the shows before every season, they are regular line pilots.

here is a bit of trivia knowledge for you,

Every Blue Angel MUST be nominated by a previous Blue Angel and accepted by the entire team to become a member of the squad. ( even the ground crew ) and are only allowed a 3 year tour.

It also used to be a requirement that the pilots be bachelors.

Answer 4

The view from this angle is playing tricks on people. They are actually like 15 feet apart but he answer to your question is that they started out as naval fighter jet pilots over 20 years before they get to loin the blue angles and in that time you can get alot of flight hours in, and with all that expeirience and good enough skills in math and science they will be able to do ANYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 5

They are staggard slightly more than it appears in the picture but the Blue Angels are the best pilots in the military... they know what they are doing and have hundreds of hours of practice... Its just instinct along with a tightly followed script...

Answer 6

yes the top aircraft would be the lead, you can't follow someone you can't see. This kind of flying is the result of hundreds and hundreds of hours of practice.
I am a former member of a military demonstration team.

Answer 7

Hmmmm, I can't find an explanation for the white gap between the forward sections of these airplanes...

And the smoke trails look funny. I think it's a fake.

Answer 8

i would guess that the point from where the picture was taken is close to the same level as the planes, so that your depth perception is a bit off, and the planes aren't actually as close as they seem.

Answer 9

They're further apart than it appears.Otherwise the stabilizers of the lower planes are already crushed.Great pic.

Answer 10

lots of practice! I saw them for real more than once-they are truely awesome!