Tag Archives: thunderbirds

Can we give it up for the Air Demonstration Teams?

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Sure, the whole thing smacked a bit of “bread and circuses,” but you have to admit the Super Delta last weekend coming over the White House was stirring.

Who doesn’t love seeing the Blues and the Birds in one 12-plane formation?

Plus, it really shows how much larger the F-18E/F is over the F-16C/D.

Via White House.

The Navy’s Blue Angels and Air Force’s Thunderbirds fly in a 12-plane Super Delta formation over the Ellipse in Washington, June 14, 2026, ahead of the UFC Freedom 250 fights at the White House. Army Sgt. 1st Class Brittany Primavera

Similarly, the RAF’s No. 1 Group Red Arrows, tooling around in little Hawk T1As, made their appearance the same weekend over St. James during the Trooping of the Colors in London.

Pictured: His Majesty the King’s Birthday flypast over Buckingham Palace. Nine Hawk jets from the Red Arrows. The King’s Birthday Parade, also known as Trooping the Colour, is a celebration of the monarch’s official birthday in the United Kingdom.  

The Arrows have been active since 1964, making them much newer than the Blues (formed in 1946, flying F6F Hellcats) or the Birds (1953).

Speaking of demonstration teams, the Italian Frecce Tricolori (313° Gruppo Addestramento Acrobatico), which are three years older than the Arrows (they flew F-86 Sabres when formed), were recently in action over Rome with their Aermacchi MB-339-A/PAN trainers to celebrate the Festa della Repubblica.

I had just stayed in an Airbnb at the Argentina ruins, watching cats sunbathe, while in Italy visiting Benelli (more to come on that very soon!), and was sad I missed them.

Meanwhile, the Hawk Mk 132-borne Suryakiran Aerobatic Team of the Indian Air Force’s No. 52 Squadron just celebrated its 30th, and they look great.

Sadly, the RCAF’s Snowbirds, officially known as the 431 Air Demonstration Squadron, are hanging it up after 55 years as they retire their Cold War-vintage CT-114 Tutors in November.

They are supposed to be back in some form, possibly in 2030, with new Pilatus PC21s, but you know how the Labor government is with Defense spending, so don’t hold your breath.

They have like 20 more shows this season, including some in California, New York, and Ohio. After that, it will be the end of an era either way.

Pour one out for the Snows, fellas, and try to catch an airshow near you this summer. Take a kid or grandkid or three. They’ll love it.

Keeping acrobatic

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ICYMI, check out these amazing images of the Canadian Forces 431 Air Demonstration Squadron (Snowbirds) along with the USAF’s Thunderbirds and the Navy’s Blue Angels. Some 151 years of friendship in one photo: three military jet teams from two countries sharing the skies over one common border. According to RCAF, it is the first time all three demonstration teams have flown together.

The oldest unit, the Pensacola-based Blues, formed in 1946 with F6F-5 Hellcats, are seen in their F-18C/Ds. Now the last Navy unit flying the older version of the Hornet (although the Marines will continue on) the Blues are expected to upgrade to the F-18E/F next year. They recently rocked Biloxi last month. I watched them from a kayak off Deer Island and they were great as usual.

The second oldest unit, the Nellis-based Thunderbirds, was formed in 1953 and have been rocking F-16C/Ds since 1993.

The Snowbirds, formed in 1971 as an evolution of the RCAF’s special Golden Centennaires group, has always flown the Canadair CT-114 Tutor, a downright cute two-place lead-in trainer produced in the 1960s. To put that into perspective, at the time the Snowbirds were formed, the Blues were flying the smoky Vietnam-era F-4J Phantom while the Thunderbirds were using the F-4E.

Lafayette, we are here

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If you are a Francophile, or just plain old French or Creole (here’s to you, Ben and Aaron!), then consider this Happy Bastille Day.

In honor of the ceremony in Paris, 190 troops from the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines will march alongside thousands of French servicemen and women in the Friday parade, and U.S. military planes will contribute to the grand flypast.

The select honor guard leading the American contingent for the parade are patch-wearing members of The Big Red One– 1st U.S. Infantry Division– who will be marching with M1903 Springfields, cartridge belts, and M1917 Brodie style helmets, while some officers will be carrying M1902 pattern swords of the same sort carried by Pershing when he walked off the deck onto French soil.

PARIS (July 12, 2017) Almost 200 U.S. Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen assigned to units in Europe and the 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas, march from the Arc de Triomphe to the Place de la Concorde during a rehearsal for the Military Parade on Bastille Day to be held July 14, 2017. This year, the U.S. will lead the parade as the country of honor in commemoration of the centennial of U.S. entry into World War I – as well as the long-standing partnership between France and the U.S. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Michael McNabb/Released)

Rehersals:

The Americans will lead the Military Parade on Bastille Day, July 14, 2017, along the famous Champs-Elysées in Paris in commemoration of the U.S. entry into WWI.

“France stood with us during the American Revolution and that strategic partnership endures today,” said General Curtis Scaparrotti, Commander, U.S. European Command. “On behalf of the 60,000 service members standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the French to ensure Europe is whole, free and at peace, we are honored to lead the Bastille Day Parade and help celebrate the French independence.”

On July 4, 1917, U.S. Army regular, Lt. Col. Charles Egbert Stanton–nephew of Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of War, SpanAm War vet and chief disbursing officer and aide to Pershing– visited the tomb of French Revolution and American Revolution hero Marquis de La Fayette and was famously attributed as saying, “Lafayette, we are here!”

It should be noted that this occurred after the 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry, (then part of the Big Red One) paraded through the streets of Paris.

The unit went on to suffer the first American casualties of the war in the Trenches just weeks later. On 4 October 1918, the 16th was the only regiment in the entire First Army to take its regimental objectives in the opening attacks in the Meuse-Argonne. Today the 16th carries the French Fourragère, awarded after Normandy in 1944, and while the 2nd Battalion inactivated in 2015, 1-16 is still part of the 1st ID, and the battalion colors are in the color guard at the head of the parade.

Meanwhile, in the air, the Thunderbirds have been practicing for the flypast.