Airshow!

Went to the CNE Airshow again this year. The highlight, the Blue Angels and the F/A-22.

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The HMCS Ville De Quebec a Halifax class Frigate

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A CF-18 Hornet flanked by a Canadaire Sabre (F-86), and a CT-114 Tutor. Celebrating 100 years of powered flight in Canada

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A CF-18 Hornet, dressed in 100 Years of Powered Flight Livery

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A Supermarine Spitfire

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"The Horsemen" a group of P-51 Mustangs

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F/A-18 Hornet of the Blue Angels

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My favourite shot of the Blue Angels

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F/A-22 Raptor

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Dinosaur and Horses, a F/A-22 flanked by a pair of P-51D Mustangs

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The Snowbirds (CT-114 Tutor) with Hawk 1 (Canadaire Sabre)

Nice sharp shots. Looks like you had some beautiful blue skies. - TF

very nice shots !

:)

So why are the old planes so much more attractive to look at?

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Originally Posted by Frog

So why are the old planes so much more attractive to look at?

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Because they make such a nice noise.

OK I know that's not the reason, but there is some sort of logic behind it. A Spitfire or Mustang is powered by a Merlin V12 and it makes a really melodious roar as it goes by. The aircraft's shape is rounded and colourful, you can see the pilot (briefly) - propeller-driven aircraft are still human in scale.

A modern jet fighter is about as approchable as a bolt of lightning. The sound is like ripping the air apart, the forms are all sharp and unfriendly, they fly high and fast and you rarely have the opportunity to see the pilot.

Also the draw of old planes is that they stir up memories when there was a certain morbid romanticism about air combat, before the days of fire-and-forget missiles, when it was just you, riding in a flying metal coffin with six to eight machine guns mounted on your plane. Knowing that one well placed shot by the enemy and you're done for, and you can see your enemy.

Approachable as a lightning bolt, I like that analogy.

When I see a Spitfire or a Mustang it's over the fields of northern France. This is where it actually happened. In the village where I live there are the graves of 16 crew members of a B17 that was shot down in 1944. From time to time there is a ceremony to pay tribute to them (which is how I found out about it).

It's not romantic, it's thrilling to hear that V12 sound, look up and see a Spitfire go over. Not that it ever happens in my village, I'm too close to Paris. The air display in June at la Ferte Allais 30km south is where I go