Orlando Air and Space Show 2023

[passedgas46]

The TBirds had a near collision during the high low hit maneuver when the Diamond formation got hit with wake turbulence from the solo.

I've seen the Thunderbirds do that maneuver so many times over the past several decades without issue. The solo is never that close to the diamond, it's always flying on a different line than the diamond - when you see photos of the solo piercing through it always appears smaller than the other four jets. You'd be surprised how many non-aviation folk don't understand that.

This is the kind of video that is perfect to add and share to just about anyone on the dangers of wake turbulence.

[Ken91]

The TBirds had a near collision during the high low hit maneuver when the Diamond formation got hit with wake turbulence from the solo.

I've seen the Thunderbirds do that maneuver so many times over the past several decades without issue. The solo is never that close to the diamond, it's always flying on a different line than the diamond - when you see photos of the solo piercing through it always appears smaller than the other four jets. You'd be surprised how many non-aviation folk don't understand that.

This is the kind of video that is perfect to add and share to just about anyone on the dangers of wake turbulence.

Here's a quick snapshot of that maneuver on Sunday. The solo looks a lot smaller.

TBirds.PNG (196.55 KiB) Viewed 2372 times

[awal2049]

The TBirds had a near collision during the high low hit maneuver when the Diamond formation got hit with wake turbulence from the solo.

That's very odd, because they stopped doing that maneuver when they changed the routine in 2021. I wonder how many times this specific team of pilots has even practiced it. I haven't seen it done at any of their shows this year, but I haven't been following them very closely.

[passedgas46]

The TBirds had a near collision during the high low hit maneuver when the Diamond formation got hit with wake turbulence from the solo.

That's very odd, because they stopped doing that maneuver when they changed the routine in 2021. I wonder how many times this specific team of pilots has even practiced it. I haven't seen it done at any of their shows this year, but I haven't been following them very closely.

My wife and I saw them do it at Latrobe earlier this year. According to a friend of ours he said it's now part of their low and flat shows - which makes sense because they flew a high show the next day.