2024 Charleston Airshow “Heroes of Flight"

[awal2049]

Wings of Blue were accompanied by the Air Force Academy marching band, which I didn't expect. They were a treat. The Cargo Heritage Flight is always a treat, but the C-17 really kept it's distance today. I can imagine formation flying a plane that size is challenging, but I would've liked to see them a little closer.

Warbird Thunder and RT Dickson hit the mark as always. The F-35B is always impressive. It banked towards the crowd on takeoff, giving us a glimpse into the lift fan. The P-51/F-35B formation didn't happen. It was a neat idea, would have been cool as a one-off.

I returned to the car to cool off during the commercial break. I didn't record as much of the red bull air force as I would've liked. I was just too hot. Seeing Kevin essentially spin in formation with the jumpers was insane. Just cool to see how extreme their stuff is and how much effort Red Bull puts into aviation. C-17 Demo went as expected. Nothing to note there, really.

Recording the Thunderbirds from the parking lot was a good idea. As mentioned, Thunderbird 4 knocked it off after the Diamond Roll. They flew a low show, which was actually good for me because I got to see them do the Stinger Break Cross for the first time, albeit minus one jet. The 4 Card Bottom Up Pass is also a rare spot, which I'm glad I captured. There were a few high show maneuvers sprinkled in as clouds permitted. Unfortunately, they did not do the High Bomb Burst, which was heartbreaking.

Lastly, I LOVE the AX53. I can't believe I didn't make the switch sooner. Such an improvement in so many ways. I didn't use a filter, so I had to manually compensate for the brightness by lowering the exposure. Some of the videos are darker than others, but I can adjust in post to make them more consistent. Still have some learning to do. Sadly, the files may also be corrupted. They playback just fine, but when I go edit or take a screenshot I'm seeing some digital artifacts. Maybe a data rate or ISO issue. I'd appreciate any advice that people have. I'll keep messing around with them and see if I can get something usable. For now, here are some more statics.

[awal2049]

B-1B guts

[awal2049]

A few more that amuse me.

@passedgas46 look, another experimental winglet

[Offshore24]

Did the slot pilot land during the show or after? I never saw them after they pulled out of formation.

[awal2049]

Did the slot pilot land during the show or after? I never saw them after they pulled out of formation.

Usually I pay attention to that stuff, but I didn't have a great view of either runway from where I was. I didn't see it either.

Looks like today's show will be abridged due to weather.

[Offshore24]

The lines of sight at charleston are bad, I couldn't see much of the runways either. I usually go to the 3 airshows in SC shaw, chs, and beaufort. Shaw has the best setup for an airshow in my opinion.

[passedgas46]

The lines of sight at charleston are bad, I couldn't see much of the runways either. I usually go to the 3 airshows in SC shaw, chs, and beaufort. Shaw has the best setup for an airshow in my opinion.

That's good to know. Shaw and Beaufort have always been on my radar (same for Cherry Point).

"I couldn't see much of the runways either" is another good line to use for Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. Their main runway is so far away and if they use 24 you don't see them start their takeoff roll and by the time you do see the top of the fuselage and tail they'll either already be airborne or rotating. Look at it on Google Maps' satellite view; the departure end of that runway is more than a mile in front of you!

It looks like they might get some of the airshow in and from the looks of it, it all goes downhill in terms of the weather and the ceiling after 2:30.

[awal2049]

Managed to get some usable screenshots from my computer, but still trying to work through video file issues. Here's some of the flying.

[awal2049]

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[CultOfTheWyvern]

Managed to get some usable screenshots from my computer, but still trying to work through video file issues. Here's some of the flying.

That's some serious distance between the C-47 and C-17, probably even farther than the B-25/B-52 at Barksdale last year. Still cool to see them in the same piece of airspace though, and it makes the C-47 look a lot bigger in comparison to the Moose!