Issue 266: Thunderbirds

Over the top Down Under

The sounds of large military jet formation teams has been missing from our shores for too long, so it was both a thrill and relief for Australian air show enthusiasts to see the USAF Thunderbirds in action over The Strand in Townsville in late September after an absence of 17 years.

The Thunderbirds show is a distillate of over 50 years of experience at the top of the business. Many of the maneuvers seen over Townsville have been a feature of the routine since the inception of the team in 1953, whilst others have been recently added to take full advantage of the power and agility of the teams new Block 52 F-16C/D’s