I have always had a fascination with planes and fighter jets ever since my Dad used to take the family and I to the Dubai Airshow when I was really young where we got to watch some of the craziest and most talented pilots showing off their stuff. I remember once seeing the Blue Angels on display and they blew me away! Still to this day their stuff is top notch and gives me thrills to see them fly.
Lucky for us we get to see the view from one of their cockpits as they perform some hair raising maneuvers. I trust I won't be the only one who gets goosebumps and a few butterflies in their stomachs as you get to see how amazingly close they get to each other and how in tune they are to each others positions. Mind you it's almost 10 minutes of video!
* Also, if you are prone to motion sickness be careful watching this! Thank you SydneyClaire for reminding me to put a motion sickness warning!
** This is raw footage so the sound will be a little loud so please take care to drop the level just a bit after hitting play! Don't want to hurt your ears! ;)
I love the Blue Angels and see them practice every year for the NAS Oceana air show.
Thanks Alex! From what I understand (loosely) about stunt pilots is that they begin most of the time as normal combat pilots but then after a few years of distinguished service get the chance to become stunt pilots after they have proven to have the ability to do such tight maneuvers.
Theatrics in dogfights...I'm unsure unless they can be used to confuse and bamboozle the enemy. However, many combat pilots learn tactics that allow them to come up behind the enemy or to prevent the enemy from coming up behind them. So, in essence this maneuvers maybe just for show...or not. I would love to hear testimony from a pilot though! :)
Ali and Alex, you can learn more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_angels. Usually those demonstration pilots (stunt seems a little bit too 'kenivel') are the best in their field.
Check out this interview as well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf8glYDFNpc