Beaker wrote:Man... not going to lie, that looked like a LOT of movement in that video to me!
Not at all points of course, but there were some pretty radical over-the-wing movements... not a concept I'm used to coming from the Blue Angels camp.
The electric jet definitely isn't as dampened as the Hornet is, especially considering the Thunderbirds also fly at faster speeds than the Blue Angels.
That's why I said "interesting to see how much/little movement they have within the formation". It will undoubtedly be reduced as the season progresses, but even in videos from the 80's and 90's, there's quite a bit of
minor movement within each formation when seen up close. This is all relative of course, and we can split hairs over the magnitude of these all day long.
As far as comparing the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds is also a matter of the eye of the beholder...
There are definitely enough differences worth mentioning (some of which you already brought up), such as: Different jets (systems and controls), different sizes (wingspans), flying at different speeds and to some degree differences in training. However, they do have one thing in common - both teams execute their respective missions with high accuracy whatever the objectives might be!
Beaker wrote:LD you said something to the effect of (convective) turbulence creating little or no extra relative movement. I'll agree with that, but add that in real life, that turbulence would be a distraction. (Visually and physically) Wind is (apparently) a much greater factor in the cockpit, because of the way nearby aircraft can disturb flow.
This is why I'm not keen on turbulence in a flight sim, because it can't be simulated accruately unless you're in a level D, and even then it leaves something to be desired. The only feedback we get of turb in the sim is visual, which is hardly what you'd say in the real world... you
feel it first and foremost!
Beaker wrote:LD - Great to hear you guys are back to tackling problems/changes with the usual analytical style.
Keep at it so we can see a show this year!
Yessir! Some things can never be overanalyzed, hehe.