Blue Angel hi-speed sneak pass - San Fran

[Bill Wood]

This is an impressive series of pics taken at Fleetweek 2007. It's a single F/A-18 Blue Angel traveling at just under the speed of sound (~700mph) and less than 20ft above the water.


It's coming but you can't hear it yet. (Golden Gate bridge in background)



Check out the wake it's leaving in the water below it.



Can you hear it yet? Likely, not.



Those people on the boat have no idea that a wall of sound is about to blow them away!



Oh yeah!



Ear protection is in order about now!



This is a closeup of the previous picture. Check out the visual distortion caused by the shockwave. Cool!



Bye bye

[Jim B.]

WOW!!! What fantastic photos. That is just simply incredible. I lived there in San Francisco for 25 years, and went to Fleet Week many,many, times and even got to sit in the Mayor's VIP area seats at the end of the Aquatic Park pier, one year, but NEVER, EVER saw them that close.

The background shots show the Matrain County Waldo Grade, past the bridge, Sausalito and (last one) Alcatraz Island.

Those could be framed. I bet you will NEVER forget that moment.

[Bill Wood]

Originally Posted by Jim B.

WOW!!! What fantastic photos. That is just simply incredible. I lived there in San Francisco for 25 years, and went to Fleet Week many,many, times and even got to sit in the Mayor's VIP area seats at the end of the Aquatic Park pier, one year, but NEVER, EVER saw them that close.

The background shots show the Matrain County Waldo Grade, past the bridge, Sausalito and (last one) Alcatraz Island.

Those could be framed. I bet you will NEVER forget that moment.

I wish I could say I shot those but, I didn't. My brother-in-law sent those pics to me.

[Gurkha]

Very nice....

[Emmerich]

What is the chance a Blue Angel pilot is going to violate FAA rules? (in a big way) Plus, I doubt you ever see them fly alone.

And isn't it amazing that the plane is in perfect focus in every shot?

I call it a Photoshop.

[Holeshot]

Originally Posted by Emmerich

.

And isn't it amazing that the plane is in perfect focus in every shot?

I call it a Photoshop.

Not really. All it takes is a little practice, and some good camera equipment.

[Holeshot]

I took this one about 3 years ago with vastly inferior equipment.

Now, I'm not saying those photos are anything less than spectacular.. especially with the shockwave. Awesome!

[BAVBMW]

Here's a link to the photographers website, the rest of the pics and some of the story are there.

http://home.comcast.net/~bzee1a/

As for real, yeah, it's real. It's called the "Sneak Pass" and is performed at almost every show they do.

The Blue Angels usually operate with 6 planes flying, 4 in the diamond, and two that do solo/duo passes.

For the Sneak Pass, one of the solo planes flies well away, completely out of sight and hearing (as they normally do when the others are center stage), then the 4 come by and do something right in front of the crowd and then fade off into the distance in a certain direction, while the announcer keeps talking about them. Before they get too far away and lose the crowds interest, the solo plane "sneaks" in from an unexpected direction, low and very fast (transonic usually, not quite supersonic, but on the edge, that's why the vapor clouds and the refracting light...) and scares the crap out of the crowd.

Very cool to see. I've seen it enough now to know to be on the look out for the solo plane, but they'll do what ever they can to keep hidden, use whatever available cover there is, builing, tree, hill, anything on the horizon that they can hide behind, or even the sun if it will co-operate.

MV

[TwitchKitty]

20ft? don't think so.

A recruiter told me years ago that a fighter jet passing over a populated area was the best recruitment tool they had. For days afterward the phone would ring off the hook.

[WVOtoGO]

Cool pictures. Thanks for the post.

As for breaking FAA rules - Truth is – in most cases, all you have to do is ask. They are surprisingly lenient about things if you go through the right channels and ask before you do something normally against the regulations. It’s when you do it without clearance first, that gets you into trouble. As a helicopter pilot near a large metropolis, I ask for special clearance all the time. I’ve yet to be turned down.

As for that fly-by being at 700 mph – I’d have to say he’s no where near 700.
But a great series of pics of an awesome fly-by, regardless.

Thanks again for the post.

BTW - Here's the video:

http://www.videosift.com/video/Blue-Angels-Low-Speed-Pass-Over-San-Francisco-Bay

[mgburg]

We had the Blue Angels in La Crosse the week after the crash that killed one of their pilots somewhere down south...it was their first show following the loss of one of their own...

BAVBMW has it right...it's called the "Sneak Pass" and if you're not expecting it...many damp shorts are the result...dogs duck under cars and kids cry...neat stuff...scares the 5hit out of you...then the after-burner roar...

If you look closely at the photos, you'll notice that there is a "corridor" of clean water so the show can be performed...it just looks crowded because of the photographer's angle to the shot...you can be sure that the COAST GUARD made the area clear so the show could be performed...the FAA makes sure there's no one in the air during these shows and the area where the show is being performed has to agree to certain conditions WELL BEFORE HAND so that there's no mis-understanding about having the right conditions available for the pilots in case something "should" happen that's not part of the show's script...

As for the speed and height...600 m.p.h. is fast enough to give you a semi-bang...if the after-burners don't make you deaf during the pass...and the height is more like 50-75 feet above the "deck" - 20' wouldn't give the pilot alot of room to recover in case something went a little squirrely...Hey, 50-75 feet is close enough at > 600 m.p.h.!

This "stunt" will raise the hairs on your arms, neck and bck...even if you don't have any hair there to begin with...

[Hatterasguy]

Very cool!

He should have went super sonic, that really would have scared them!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f756vzaL63w

Those jets are freaken loud when they pass! I have been buzzed a few times on the water, I think they enjoy messing with sailboats.

[Botnst]

When I was a kid in Norfolk, VA the Navy was just learning how to deal with supersonic aircraft. The pilots would shake your windows and rattle your walls, for the times they were a-changing.

B