Am I one of the very few progressives who loves this action?

[cboy4]

I don't understand the logic that enjoying this equates to being pro-war or something.

I think it's just very cool to watch. :shrug:

And historically, air shows have been a good recruiting tool for the military.



(10-06) 17:44 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- A good pair of binoculars and an even better pair of earplugs might come in handy this week as the giant ships and the noisy jets return for Fleet Week in San Francisco.

The window-rattling Blue Angels will be flying for four straight afternoons, with practice flights Thursday and Friday and air show performances Saturday and Sunday.

<snip>

Tens of thousands of spectators are expected along the northern waterfront, from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Embarcadero, to watch the annual parade of ships Saturday and the air shows Saturday and Sunday. A spot in the official grandstand costs $25 to $150, but looking up at the sky from any other place is free.

Events start Thursday at noon, with the six F/A-18 Hornet jets of the Blue Angels conducting a 5-hour practice flight. On Friday, the other planes in the air shows will practice, along with the Blue Angels.

Windows will rattle, dogs will howl and a lot of people will complain about the ruckus. But those cries are traditionally drowned out by cheers from enthralled fans, and also drowned out by the jet engines.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/07/BAC813B14H.DTL

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

1. I always enjoyed fleet week when I lived in SF.

If they'd started bombing the Inner Sunset then yeah, I would have had a problem with it. As it was, hiking around up on the strees around Mt. Sutro or Twin Peaks to watch the action has always been one of my fav memories of my time there.

[lynnertic]

10. I used to watch them from the roof of Bancroft Hall

I wonder if McCain did too, in his day.

[Starry Messenger]

2. Hi cboy4!

They are pretty magnificent when you see the pictures. I'm slightly against them for personal reasons since they fly them (I think?) when football season opens in Oakland. They turn around over my neighborhood! Boy, is that scary. Every year I forget...and then have a full body freakout as they RRRRRRIIIIIIPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP away through the skies! They are cool though.

[cboy4]

5. I'm not sure the Blue Angels fly over the Coliseum for the

Raiders, but probably F-18's. :bounce:

Yea, cool pics indeed. :)

[Starry Messenger]

8. Gotcha!

Hey I was close...they *sound* like the landing of the Mothership! :tinfoilhat: ;)

[Sal Minella]

3. Environmentally, we could achieve the same effect by setting a couple-three oil wells on fire.

Except for making the dogs' ears hurt, of course.
But I am no fan of parading military hardware of any sort.
Insufficient level of testosterone in my system is to blame, I suppose.

So, in the cause of "recruitment," if young guys join up hoping they're going to get to fly one of these blue airplanes instead of getting blown to bits by IEDs, is that a good thing, then?

[gateley]

4. No -- seeing the Blue Angels at Sefair in Seattle each summer was the highlight

of my year.

The days of practice, with noses pressed against windows of downtown office buildings hoping to see them come screaming by to do a turn around over the waterfront then head back to Lake Washington, going down to Boeing Field to watch them arrive in town, standing on the I-90 floating bridge during the show and having them come SO CLOSE you'd swear you could see the pilot's eyes looking at you.

When I was growing up, they used to park at Sand Point Naval Air Base, which we lived above, and since my dad was retired Navy Air we'd head on down to the field and just look at them sitting there. :-)

I can't tell you how excited I get when it comes to the Blues. :hi:

[cboy4]

6. Oh, I bet the photos of them flying around Seattle are

spectacular.

That's one gorgeous city. :hi:

[gateley]

9. I was just thinking the same thing about the pics you posted -- and I saved them.

I especially like the one in front of Coit Tower (I think that's Coit Tower, right?)

[cboy4]

11. The top one is Alcatraz ... it kinda looks like Coit.

And the skyline one is of the TransAmerica Building.

[gateley]

13. D'oh! I think the rock it is perched on and the institutional building should

have been my clue. Doesn't look anything like Telegraph Hill! ;-)

[magellan]

7. Hell no

My husband and I would love to see the Blue Angels one day. We were fortunate to live in a town in England where an annual airshow took place -- once a year our street was buzzed by Spitfires and Lancaster bombers. VERY cool stuff! I used to stand outside and wave as enthusiastically as the kids.

[OwnedByFerrets]

12. I have thought for some time that its a complete waste

of resources for nothing more than to praise the mantra of "might is right". Can you imagine the poor people that could be helped with the money that is wasted on the training and execution of these exhibits? And no, I don't need to watch some aircraft flying overhead to prove my patriotism. YMMV

[cboy4]

14. I don't feel patriotic watching it. I just think it's great

entertainment.

Maybe you have to be an aviation fanatic like myself (my father is a pilot for United) to understand the whole airplane thing.