DC area aviation nerds: the airboss for the airshow is operating on the Potomac Approach channel, 128.0.
Replying to @mattblaze@federate.social
Instruction everyone serms to be getting: “Turn Right after Washington Monument. Do not overfly the Capitol.” So they fly over the (green) reflecting pool but not the Mall.
Replying to @mattblaze@federate.social
Everyone gets a “nice job” after they make their turn.
Replying to @mattblaze@federate.social
We are now at the “alarmingly loud over all of DC” part of the show.
Replying to @mattblaze@federate.social
Blue Angels coming up in 10 mins. Symphony of Car Alarms coming up in 11 minutes.
Replying to @mattblaze@federate.social
Every time a fighter jet does a loud flyby, I’m transported back to the weeks after 9/11 when combat air patrols were constantly buzzing the city and everyone on the street would involuntarily duck.
Not my favorite kind of Proustian moment.
Replying to @markwoll@universeodon.com
@mattblaze I still hear them around, with this storm front coming in I would have thought they would leave the area, or land.
Replying to @markwoll@universeodon.com
@mattblaze 5 fighters just flew over my house following a big 4 engine and a 737. I assume they were military because there was less than a mile between the first and last group. Fun day for flying in the DMV.
Replying to @mattblaze@federate.social
AF1 (the new emolumental 747-800) is in the air, with Trump possibly on board for some reason, for a flyby later. Callsign is AF1 on ADSB, suggesting Trump on board, but using “Freedom 1” on the air.
ALT
Replying to @mattblaze@federate.social
So… a bunch of storm cels came in just as the parade of AF1 planes was heading to the Mall. Just before they went by, the Mall was evacuated. In the words of the Skyboss on the radio: “Fucking awesome planning here”
Replying to @mattblaze@federate.social
The rest of the airshow has been pushed back an hour. But because the mall has been evacuated, there will be no one to see it. And it will be dark out.
Replying to @mattblaze@federate.social
They’re busily asking everyone on the radio how much fuel they have. The show controllers have switched from their calm air traffic control voices to their “I will cut you” voices.
Replying to @mattblaze@federate.social
Anyway, I am convinced that I enjoyed this stupid airshow in the best possible way: listening to ATC audio while occasionally looking up at planes in the distance out the window from an air conditioned room.
@mattblaze I had trouble sleeping during that period. The jets would fly over at pretty regular intervals. There were no other planes flying, just that F16 or whatever every x number of minutes All.Night.Long.
I had an F18 fly really low over my house yesterday. No car alarms, but really loud.
i suspect they'd relate to an expression/description we used to use a lot in the military:
"couldn't poor piss out of a boot if the instructions were on the sole"
@mattblaze LOL I see the show has started in DC
@ai6yr @mattblaze the real show i want to see is the promised long speech in the pouring rain to an audience of no-one, but alas i assume they will probably cancel that too, unless he stupidly insists upon it
@mattblaze Do you think God’s pissed?
more like disgusted and disappointed...
@mattblaze I live in the UK. I remember distinctly, during a history class in the week that followed 9/11, a fighter jet roaring overhead, not a common sound where my school was located. I jumped and I wasn't the only one. We were all on edge.
@JustinMac84 @mattblaze Last year I managed to photograph a jet display team, going over a castle, from inside a car park.
Still trying to work out a new angle for them this year.
ALT