Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Thunderbirds Over Waikiki

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #61
    Re: Thunderbirds Over Waikiki

    it's official. i am a cranky, grumplestiltskin of an old lady in a *mumble*-aged body.

    yesterday, eric and i were at his house in kaimuki, finishing up getting ready to go to work in the morning when i got startled by all the growlywhooshes. i was still putting on makeup and if not for the fact that i have perfected my winged eyeliner technique, i would have ended up looking more like a football player with a bad greasepaint job. the noise was so loud that eric and i had to yell at each other.

    later in the day, the five story building i work in (which is in liliha) was shaken by all the noise. yesterday was a busy day, what with my boss leaving for a month's vacation next week and my taking the day off today. all that ruckus did was irritate the crap out of me and mess up my concentration, and i had a lot of work to do.

    grrr.

    *sigh* i guess i was just jealous i couldn't watch the show. *pouts*
    superbia (pride), avaritia (greed), luxuria (lust), invidia (envy), gula (gluttony), ira (wrath) & acedia (sloth)--the seven deadly sins.

    "when you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: the people i deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly..."--meditations, marcus aurelius (make sure you read the rest of the passage, ya lazy wankers!)

    nothing humiliates like the truth.--me, in conversation w/mixedplatebroker re 3rd party, 2009-11-11, 1213

    Comment


    • #62
      Re: Thunderbirds Over Waikiki

      It looks that pilot is digging his nose and scratching his n#ts. If that's one of the female pilots, then my-bad on the latter.

      Dammm Mel, that's CLEAR! You're seriously having me contemplate running out today and buying a DSLR for tomorrow's show.

      Originally posted by mel View Post


      Added a few more to my Flickr site. Most now from 2:30 show taken at Magic Island.
      This is what happens when the jet flies too fast (directly over our building) and the photographer is too slow! (and no, I didn't crop the jet out... I just missed it!)...



      What was also frustrating was I couldn't hear or see the autofocus lock and shutter sound on my camera because of the loud roar of the jets and bright sun.

      AbsolutChaos can attest to that.
      sigpic The Tasty Island

      Comment


      • #63
        Re: Thunderbirds Over Waikiki

        Originally posted by GeckoGeek View Post
        All this is making be think about where I want to be for Saturday. Those ridges sound like a good idea. Keeps me far away from the madhouse the double feature of Aloha Week Parade and TB is going to bring.

        So, which ridge? What valleys did the usually fly up in the afternoon show? Where's a good spot with a view?
        From where I observed at the 2:30 performance yesterday, they took lots of turns over St. Louis heights and Waialae Iki.

        But basically, yesterday at least, it looked like they purposely tried to get "island-wide coverage", taking an excessively long turn-around radius in whatever direction towards Oahu they were heading. Which is good for folks (like many in this thread) who couldn't actually be in Waikiki to see them. But it made the showbox appear empty for an extended period of time. Whatever. It's all good.
        sigpic The Tasty Island

        Comment


        • #64
          Re: Thunderbirds Over Waikiki

          My husband said he could hear them while he was climbing Koko Crater yesterday. At the same time, my girls heard them while in school at Koko Head School. My first grader was in PE and got to see them. "I saw the Thunder Angels, Mom!"
          Aloha from Lavagal

          Comment


          • #65
            Re: Thunderbirds Over Waikiki

            Kim Gennaula gained some serious respect in our household after we watched the segment on KGMB last night where she went up in one of the planes and pulled 9.1 g's. Didn't need to use her barf bags either and earned a tiny 9 g-force pin which she was wearing on her lapel. You could tell Keahi and Guy were really jealous that she's the one who got to go.

            Comment


            • #66
              Re: Thunderbirds Over Waikiki

              Originally posted by scrivener View Post
              With all due respect to our men in uniform and with the full disclosure that I am as fascinated by these amazing machines of flight as anyone, am I the only person here who thinks military air shows are an unnecessary risk of civilian life and an unnecessary expense?
              As much as I am against frivolous military spending, particularly the Iraq War, I think it’s important to celebrate the skills of our nation’s top pilots. Every once in awhile, we need to remind ourselves how technology has allowed us to harness control of the big, blue sky for the public’s enjoyment.

              It’s not like they do this every year.

              We can’t be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans.

              — U.S. President Bill Clinton
              USA TODAY, page 2A
              11 March 1993

              Comment


              • #67
                Re: Thunderbirds Over Waikiki

                Originally posted by TuNnL View Post
                think it’s important to celebrate the skills of our nation’s top pilots. Every once in awhile, we need to remind ourselves how technology has allowed us to harness control of the big, blue sky for the public’s enjoyment.

                It’s not like they do this every year.
                Actually they do this practically every weekend throughout the year. According to their website, next weekend they'll be performing in El Paso, Texas, followed by the next week in Columbus, Ohio. And so on, and so on. The pilots are on 2 year commitments with them and then rotated out.

                Along with the reasons you stated, it's also a PR and recruiting tool for our armed forces. The kind of thing you watch when you're a kid and say, "I wanna' do that when I grow up". Heck some grown-ups probably say that, even though they're now too old to do it. lol
                sigpic The Tasty Island

                Comment


                • #68
                  Re: Thunderbirds Over Waikiki

                  Originally posted by Honoruru View Post
                  I've thought about this a lot. I've watched many of these shows ... and I enjoy it ... I enjoy it ... I enjoy it ... but I keep thinking: Isn't this kinda dangerous, not only for the pilots, but also for the spectators on the ground?

                  This morning, I watched these aircraft streak above our city (my apartment window looks out at the Koolaus), and I was thrilled, excited, but I kept thinking: What if one of them crashes? ... into the city.
                  You have to celebrate sometimes. Why not make the national speed limit 30MPH and require all pedestrians to wear safety helmets? You can be so safe that you stifle everything.
                  You can apply any terms to any situation to suit your perspective.

                  Comment


                  • #69
                    Re: Thunderbirds Over Waikiki

                    Originally posted by Fritz View Post
                    You have to celebrate sometimes. Why not make the national speed limit 30MPH and require all pedestrians to wear safety helmets? You can be so safe that you stifle everything.
                    Like our post-9/11 NTSB commercial air safety procedures are. Everyone has to remove their shoes just because one joker puts plastic explosives in his. Grrrr. We might as well travel naked.
                    sigpic The Tasty Island

                    Comment


                    • #70
                      Re: Thunderbirds Over Waikiki

                      My camera WILL be charged on Sat...these are the few shots I took early on before my battery died...





                      Comment


                      • #71
                        Re: Thunderbirds Over Waikiki

                        Thanks AC! If you look at this particular photo, straight ahead is the center point of the "showbox" in front of Ft. DeRussy, where all the knife-edge passes and other riskier stuff are performed, and also where the announcement stand will be located on the beach tomorrow.

                        Our building's rooftop has an excellent view of the showbox (as you can see here), and high enough to also see them circle around the city and over the Koolau. Better than being right there on the beach, where the hotels block the view from behind.

                        See ya' tomorrow up there @ 2:30pm!


                        Originally posted by AbsolutChaos View Post
                        My camera WILL be charged on Sat...these are the few shots I took early on before my battery died...
                        sigpic The Tasty Island

                        Comment


                        • #72
                          Re: Thunderbirds Over Waikiki

                          Originally posted by shaveice View Post
                          i ended up near ward center and it wasn't a very good spot. it was okay although i was able to see the planes fly by AND watch them makes huge circles on their way back to waikiki. i imagine that being on the top of a ridge in the manoa area would have been awesome!
                          In their opening appearance yesterday afternoon, the entire formation flew over the Koolaus and shot straight over Manoa Valley. They shot straight out of there at least 5 times, like this photo I posted before...



                          You'd probably get some interesting photos from Tantalus lookout. But be ready. they're fast!
                          sigpic The Tasty Island

                          Comment


                          • #73
                            Re: Thunderbirds Over Waikiki

                            that's a really good question but i'm not sure how much of thursday's pattern is gonna hold for saturday so i'm hesitant to make any suggestions. i'd feel awful if you hiked up some ridge in manoa and the planes never flew by there!

                            keep in mind that the waikiki area is where the main action is supposed to happen (e.g., the close fly bys, the amazing "crawl" where the plane appears to move as slowly as some senior citizens in their old cars, the tight formations, etc.) and so IF the planes fly the same routes they flew on thursday, you'd only see the planes as they circled around for another pass. (of course, when i wrote what i did, i really meant that i would have thoroughly enjoyed being on a ridge watching the planes fly close by and circle back).

                            one last idea: when watching the thunderbirds on thursday, i could have kicked myself for NOT taking my binoculars with me! i was glad i was able to get a few shots with my canon sd700 but the practice run lasted around 45 minutes and so there was A LOT of time to use my binoculars and picture taking. those birds fly fast and it'd be so cool to actually see the pilots up close!

                            good luck in finding a good spot tomorrow (unfortunately, i forgot that i'm going to maui tomorrow and i regret not being able to watch them again.)


                            Originally Posted by GeckoGeek View Post
                            All this is making be think about where I want to be for Saturday. Those ridges sound like a good idea. Keeps me far away from the madhouse the double feature of Aloha Week Parade and TB is going to bring.

                            So, which ridge? What valleys did the usually fly up in the afternoon show? Where's a good spot with a view?

                            ................
                            Originally posted by Pomai View Post
                            From where I observed at the 2:30 performance yesterday, they took lots of turns over St. Louis heights and Waialae Iki.

                            But basically, yesterday at least, it looked like they purposely tried to get "island-wide coverage", taking an excessively long turn-around radius in whatever direction towards Oahu they were heading. Which is good for folks (like many in this thread) who couldn't actually be in Waikiki to see them. But it made the showbox appear empty for an extended period of time. Whatever. It's all good.
                            525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year?

                            Comment


                            • #74
                              Re: Thunderbirds Over Waikiki

                              Originally posted by GeckoGeek View Post
                              [...] I have a TB diving into Waikiki with buildings in the background and I'm shooting from above him.[...]
                              I have friends staying on the 36th floor at Discovery Bay facing the ocean. They said they were looking down on the jets. That will be my perch for tomorrow's show!

                              Comment


                              • #75
                                Re: Thunderbirds Over Waikiki

                                Originally posted by shaveice View Post
                                that's a really good question but i'm not sure how much of thursday's pattern is gonna hold for saturday so i'm hesitant to make any suggestions.
                                Yes, and I'm sure that's going to depend on the weather. I heard them talking about avoiding the rain in the 9AM show. If the Koolaus get socked in, I doubt if they will be going over them.

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X