Today is #MarketFriday initiated by @dswigle (Denise! That is me!)

I hope you will join us as we share the different markets from all over the world. I have always and forever loved traveling and I find it simply fascinating to go to the markets. Who doesn't love to see what they are selling? There is always a curiosity attached to foreign ingredients, different produce or any product sold. So, yes! I would love to see yours! So don't forget to take photos wherever you happen to be shopping - whether it be the grocery, art galleries, wherever money is exchanged for a service or for merchandise. Don't forget to use the hashtag #marketfriday and @dswigle.

Please leave the link to your post on here so it can easily be found by others. They will all be in one place!! Thank you! ❤

Sometime in the fall, I was fortunate enough to attend the practice for the US Air ForceThunderbirds, officially known as U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron. They came to the Washington, DC area and did their demonstration at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. It coincided with a trip with a friend to look/purchase several airplanes. Lucky me!

Let's go on in and see which plane it is that we wish we could buy. I have my eye on a nice one. How about you? Hang on to your seats. I can feel a few G's coming on!

The Thunderbirds fly the F-16 Fighting Falcon based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada

The Joint Base Andrews Air Show was used as one of the final, year-long celebrations of the Air Force's 70th anniversary. The airshow's main headliner was the US Air Force Thunderbird Aerial Demonstration Team. The Thunderbirds, which are based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, have been performing precision, formation aerobatic demonstrations in the F-16 Fighting Falcon, since 1983. While the Thunderbird aircraft may look highly modified, the biggest changes are the paint scheme and the addition of a smoke system. If required, these aircraft are capable of returning to the operational fleet for combat missions very quickly.

While the primary air show was on Saturday and Sunday I was fortunate and got to watch a "Department of Defense only" practice show on Friday, avoided the crowds.

While not a tactical formation, this beautiful echelon formation showcases precision maneuvering and is used on a daily basis by all US Air Force fighter/attack aircraft whenever they return to a visual overhead pattern to land. with just a tad bit more spacing :)

Synchronized Flying They are always amazing to watch. Did you know that they can fly up to 1,500 miles per hour?

Fingertip flying is another non-tactical formation that is regularly flown to allow air traffic control to treat the flight as a single entity, facilitating the launch and recovery of more aircraft in a given timeframe. However, normal fighter/attack aircraft don't assume this formation on takeoff. :) Notice that while the landing gear is up, the landing gear doors are still open - showing this picture was captured immediately after takeoff!

What you are seeing is a ballet in the sky ...

Seriously insane

This is a beautiful picture of the "Reflection Pass", a Thunderbird only variation on a two-ship fingertip formation. It is interesting to note that Thunderbird 5 flies upside down so much that his aircraft number is painted upside down. In case you're wondering, Thunderbird 5 is the lead in this formation. That way he can concentrate on flying upside down without worrying about the formation (Thunderbird 6 flies formation off of Thunderbird 5).

This formation is often confused with the "Calypso Pass" in which the same basic formation is flown with the aircraft being "back to back" instead of "belly to belly".

If you take the opportunity to meet the team, you'll be able to spot the Thunderbird 5 pilot by the upside down 5 on his flight suit. :)

The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress

While the flying performances are normally considered "the main event" at airshows, the bulk of the show is the huge array of static displays that allow you an up-close view of many aircraft and the opportunity to talk with crew members of many of the static display aircraft. This year's air show featured 39 different types of aircraft in the static display...way too many to cover in this short blog.

While this year's airshow didn't include a B-52, I had to include these two pictures to show its immense size. The wings are so long, they need outrigger wheels towards the wingtips to keep them from dragging on the ground when the wings are full of fuel. Another interesting "historical" tidbit can be remembered by observing the size of the tail section of the fuselage. When the B-52 was originally built, there was a tail gunner back there to defend against enemy fighters coming in, to shoot the aircraft down. The tail gunner has since been replaced by electronics (notice the radomes on the tail) to defend against radar guided missiles.

B-52 Where are you?

Most of the B-52's right wing, showing its two, two engine wing pods and the wing tip-wheel.

Take me in

Made famous during WWII by General Jimmie Doolittle's raid on Tokyo, "Panchito" is a wonderfully restored B-25. Here, Panchito is captured taxing by for its flying demonstration.

Panchito is proudly owned and operated by the Deleware Aviation Museum. As a source of funding, and a way of keeping this aircraft and the memory of WWII alive, there are many different opportunities available to actually fly in this aircraft. These opportunities vary from "Warbird Rides" for anyone ($425 for about 30 minutes) to complete FAA Certified "Pilot In Command" type rating for experienced pilots ($48,174 with ground instruction and 18 hours of flying).

If you are wondering about the green paint in front of the windshield and on the inside of the engine's (you can see this in the reflections), it is to avoid blinding the aircrew as they look out the windows!

Some guys have all the fun. Vintage fun

Here is Ponchito taxiing back after its flight demo. Notice all the smoke in the background from the pyrotechnics which simulated multiple "bomb passes"!

P-40 Warhawk painted with a Flying Tiger shark face

Upside down, pulling down some serious G's

Oh...and the aerobatics! So gracefull! Here is Matt Chapman flying his routine in the Emery-Riddle Aeronautical University Extra 330XL :)

P.R.E.C.I.S.I.O.N.

´¨)
¸.· ´¸.·´ ) ¸.·*¨)
(¸.·´ (¸. Flight is freedom in its purest form,
To dance with the clouds which follow a storm;

To roll and glide, to wheel and spin,
To feel the joy that swells within;

To leave the earth with its troubles and fly,
And know the warmth of a clear spring sky;

Then back to earth at the end of a day,
Released from the tensions which melted away.

Should my end come while I am in flight,
Whether brightest day or darkest night;

Spare me your pity and shrug off the pain,
Secure in the knowledge that I'd do it again;

For each of us is created to die,
And within me I know,
I was born to fly.

— Gary Claud Stokor

Thank you so much for perusing the Air Show with me for #MarketFriday. I did get a couple of mementos at the gift shop and although this was a little unusual, I thought it might be an enjoyable departure from my normal. In the end, I think my friend will have to wait another year to purchase that airplane. But, in the meantime, I got to see a show that coincided with a look at some pretty fabulous planes.

More footage from the Thunderbirds - Courtesy of Daily Military Defense & Archive

Let the sun shine in on your life
So the joy may touch your soul

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Note: Parts of this have already been posted by me on Steemit