It is cold, snowy Memorial Day here in the Northern Rockies of western Montana. A good time to think back on warmer days, and to remember to thank our men and women in uniform, both past and present. Here is a collection photos, taken by Mrs. Ed in Montana, shot on a beautiful, warm, blue-sky day three years ago when the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds came to town for the Helena Air Show.
F-15 Eagle soars past the American flag at Memorial Park
The weather in Big Sky Country doesn't get more beautiful than this!
This was the third or fourth time the Helena Air show has been put on, a pretty big deal for a small town in the foothills of the Northern Rockies. Former guests had included the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels, but this was the first time the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds had put on a performance. Helena, the small capital city of Montana, sits on the south side of a broad intermountain valley, with the Continental Divide toward the southwest and the Big Belt Mountains to the northeast. A great place to showcase the aerobatics of the Thunderbirds.
The F16 Fighting Falcons flown by the Thunderbirds line up on the tarmac at the Helena Regional Airport
Here's a closeup of one of the Fighting Falcons.
Another plane flown in the air show was this beautiful WWII vintage P-51 Mustang.
Another WWII vintage aircraft is this B-24 Mitchell two-engine bomber.
For more modern era aircraft, there were these two F-15 Eagles.
A FA-18 Hornet.
An A-10 Thunderbolt Warthog, a ground attack plane used frequently in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A T-45 Goshawk Trainer.
And a C-17 Globemaster cargo plane.
The funniest aircraft on display was this large helicopter from U.S. Homeland Security. What's funny you may ask? Anyone in western rural America knows the conspiracy theories of the dreaded black helicopters which spy on conservatives in the sticks. So the Homeland Security Administration decides to get black helicopters (actually a dark brown) to fly around our northern borderlands. All they could add would be a United Nations insignia and the rural nightmares would be complete! Just because you are paranoid, doesn't mean that they aren't after you...
Enough of the displays at the airport. On to the air show!
For a better vantage point, we relocated three miles west to a small hillside on the campus of our local college. This proven to be a great location to shoot pics with Mrs. Ed's Canon EOS 50D and a Tamron 28-300mm zoom lens.
First up, an F-15 Eagle performs aerobatics overhead.
Upside down.
The F-15 pulls up to the P-51 Mustang. The P-51 is one of the fastest propeller planes ever built, with a top speed of near 400mph. The supersonic F-15 can hit 1,400mph.
It's time for the Thunderbirds to take off from the airport.
The Thunderbirds' performance starts with four aircraft flying in formation and two other aircraft flying around them.
The Big Belt Mountains provide a dramatic backdrop to the aerial maneuvers.
Flying almost directly overhead as one of the chase planes moves up to the formation.
The aircraft would trail smoke as they went into complicated aerobatics.
You can make out the Native American Thunderbird design on their undersides as all six aircraft move up into formation.
The T-Birds circle around in preparation for their most spectacular moves.
The Thunderbirds go vertical as one after another peel off of formation.
All six joined up again.
Now it is time for a high altitude barrel roll. The powerful engines of the F-16 Fighting Falcons allow them to roar straight up for 10,000 to 20,000 feet and more.
At the top of their climb (30,000 feet?) the T-Birds start to roll over in formation.
It is along way back down!
Going straight up again into a cloudless sky, the Thunderbirds perform a Starburst maneuver.
After 45 minutes of incredible moves, it's time to circle back to the airport.
What a show!