United States Air Force Thunderbirds
The Thunderbirds are the Air Demonstration Squadron of the United States Air Force. As such they tour the United States and much of the world, performing aerobatic formation and solo flying in specially marked USAF jet aircraft.
History
The Squadron was activated, after 6 months training in an unofficial status, on June 1, 1953 as the 3600th Air Demonstration Team at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. They flew their debut exhibition at Luke a week later, and began public exhibitions at the 1953 Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The team had flown 26 shows by that August. The first team leader was Maj. Gen. Dick Catledge, and the first plane flown by the squadron was the F-84 Thunderjet.
The next year the Thunderbirds performed their first overseas air shows, in a tour of South America. A year later, 1955, they moved to the F-84F Thunderstreak aircraft, in which they performed 91 air shows.
The aircraft of the squadron was again changed in June, 1956, this time to the F-100 Super Sabre, which gave the pilots supersonic capability. This switch was accompanied by a move of headquarters to Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada on June 1 with their first show after the move being held on June 23. It also signaled a shift in their performance routine—for example, the Cuban 8 opening routine was dropped, and emphasis was placed on low, screaming flyovers and demonstrations of takeoff performance. For a time, if the show's sponsor permitted it, the pilots would create a "sonic boom." (This ended when the FAA banned supersonic flight over the continental U.S.)
In 1960 a decision was made to allow the tail vertical stabilizer of the slot plane, black from exhaust of the other planes, to remain black. (Contrary to rumor, the stabilizer has never been painted black.) In 1961, the team was compelled to discontinue the vertical bank maneuver due to an FAA regulation prohibiting aerobatics that pointed the nose of the aircraft toward the crowd. 1962 saw the introduction of dual solo routines, and the Thunderbirds went on their first European deployment in 1963, the year after the disbanding of the "Skyblazers" (see below). The team switched to the F-105 Thunderchief for a brief period, but returned to the F-100 in 1964 after only six airshows, following Capt. Gene Devlin's death resulting from structural failure of the aircraft in a high-G climbing maneuver.
By 1967, the Thunderbirds had flown their 1,000th show. In 1969, the squadron adopted the F-4E Phantom, which it flew until 1973, switching to the T-38 Talon, mainly due to considerations of fuel efficiency (the team had been grounded for some time during the 1973 oil crisis). The switch to the T-38 also saw an alteration of the flight routine to exhibit the aircraft's maneuverability in tight turns.
1982 saw another disaster for the Thunderbirds. On January 18, while practicing a line abreast loop, the leader delayed his pullout from the maneuver to such an extent that recovery was impossible. The entire diamond contacted the ground, killing all four pilots: Maj. Norm Lowry, leader, Capt. Willie Mays, Capt. Pete Peterson and Capt. Mark Melancon. The cause of the mishap whether pilot error or mechanical blockage of the flight controls, was never officially determined by the safety investigation board. The line abreast loop, which effectively denies forward visibility to the wingmen, was discontinued as a result of this mishap.
Conversion to F16's
In 1983 the team switched to the F-16 Fighting Falcon, which had been under consideration even before the "Diamond Crash." The team still flies the F-16, having switched from the A model to the F-16C in 1992. These are almost identical to current combat aircraft, the only difference being the replacement of the 20mm cannon with a smoke-generating system to create a white smoke trail. If necessary, the planes could be made combat-ready in less than 72 hours.
In 1986, the Thunderbirds did a flyby for the rededication of the Statue of Liberty, which was viewed by tens of millions. They also performed the first American military demonstration in a Communist country when they did an air show in Beijing, China in 1987. Their 3,000th air show was performed in 1990. In 1996, the team participated in the Atlanta Olympics' opening ceremonies, which were viewed by an estimated 3.5 billion people worldwide. The squadron celebrated its 50th anniversary on June 1, 2003. In June 2005 the Thunderbirds accepted Capt. Nicole Malachowski as the squadron's first ever female pilot.
On August 20 2005, the Thunderbirds temporarily grounded themselves pending an investigation into a minor mid-air incident during the Chicago Air and Water show. During a diamond formation slow-roll pass, the tip of the missile rail on the right wing of the slot (#4) aircraft contacted the left stabilator of the right (#3) aircraft. A four-foot section of the missile rail snapped off, while the #3 aircraft sustained damage described by one of the Thunderbirds pilots as a "medium deep scratch" to the red paint of the stabilator. Amateur video showed the missile rail falling into the "safety box" on Lake Michigan away from boaters. While there were no injuries and the aircraft remained apparently flightworthy, the demonstration was immediately terminated, all aircraft returned to the Gary International Airport, and the Thunderbirds did not return for the second day of the Chicago show. The Right Winger (#3) was Maj. D. Chris Callahan, and the Slot position (#4) was flown by Maj. Steve Horton.
The Routine
The performers typically include six pilots, each flying one F-16. (A pilot that must stop flying part way through the airshow season is usually not replaced. From that point on the Thunderbirds will fly five-ship demonstrations until the end of the season).
The team is split into "the Diamond" (Thunderbirds 1 through 4) and the Opposing Solos (Thunderbirds 5 and 6). Most of their display alternates between maneuvers performed by the diamond, and those performed by the solos. The diamond performs maneuvers in tight formation, usually at "lower" speeds, such as formation loops and barrel rolls or transitions from one formation to another. The opposing solos usually perform their maneuvers just under the speed of sound, and show off the capabilities of their individual F-16s by doing maneuver such as fast passes, slow passes, fast rolls, slow rolls, and very tight turns. Some of their maneuvers include both solo F-16s at once, such as opposing passes (where the solos fly towards each other in what appears to be a collision course, and seem to narrowly miss each other) and mirror formations (their two F-16s being flown back-to-back or belly-to-belly. In such formations, one Thunderbird must of course be inverted, and it is always Thunderbird number 5. In fact, the "5" on this aircraft is painted on upside down, and thus appears right-side-up for much of the routine). At the end of the routine, all six aircraft join in formation, forming the Delta. There is also an extra amount of humor regarding the inverted performance of Thunderbird Five: the pilots all wear tailored flight suits with their name and jet number embroidered on the left breast. The 5 is sewn inverted.
Lineage
Organized as 30th Aero Squadron on 13 Jun 1917. Demobilized on 14 Apr 1919. Reconstituted, and redesignated 30th Bombardment Squadron, on 24 Mar 1923. Activated on 24 Jun 1932. Redesignated: 30th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 6 Dec 1939; 30th Bombardment Squadron, Very Heavy, on 28 Mar 1944. Inactivated on 1 Apr 1944. Activated on 1 Apr 1944. Redesignated: 30th Bombardment Squadron, Medium, on 10 Aug 1948; 30th Bombardment Squadron, Heavy, on 1 Jul 1961. Discontinued, and inactivated, on 1 Feb 1963. Consolidated (19 Sep 1965) with unit constituted as USAF Air Demonstration Squadron, and activated, on 13 Feb 1967. Organized on 25 Feb 1967.
Relationship to Other USAF Aerial Demonstration Teams
The first USAF jet-powered aerobatic demo team was the "Acrojets," performing early in 1949 with F-80Cs at the USAF Fighter School at Williams AFB, Arizona. This team flew together until August 1950, when it was deactivated due to the American committment to the Korean War. Additionally, there was also a later USAFE "Acrojets" team in Germany, this one made up of USAF T-33 instructor pilots at Fürstenfeldbruck AB in the mid-1950's.
The "Skyblazers" were the USAF demonstration team representing the United States Air Forces Europe (USAFE) from the late 1940's through the 1950's. This team was formed in early 1949 by a group of 22nd Fighter Squadron pilots from the 36th Fighter Wing at Fürstenfeldbruck AB in Germany. At this time they were flying Lockheed F-80B "Shooting Stars." The unit transitioned to the F-84E in 1950, the F-86F in 1955 and the F-100C in 1956. Unlike the Thunderbirds, the Skyblazers seldom appeared outside of the realm of USAFE operations in Europe.
The Skyblazers were disbanded in January 1962 when their home squadron was rotated back to the United States and their assigned aircraft transitioned to the F-105 Thunderchief.
Image Gallery
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USAF Thunderbirds flying the F-16 -
The USAF Thunderbirds form up into the Delta near the end of an airshow.
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The USAF Thunderbirds start their routine at Moffett Field's 2004 airshow the way they start every routine - with a sneak pass, overhead from behind.
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The USAF Thunderbirds opposing solos fly two mirror formations.
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A USAF Thunderbird taxis out just before the demo at Edwards AFB's 2003 airshow.
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A USAF Thunderbird performs a sneak pass at high speed and full afterburner at the Nellis airshow, 2004.
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The USAF Thunderbirds diamond performs a loop while in tight formation, at the Nellis AFB 2004 airshow.
