Thunder Over Michigan - 2016 - Part II

So we continue our journey into the air.

 The F/A-18 Super Hornet warming up on the tarmac.  She one of the demonstration aircraft.

 Prior to the Hornet's demonstration, the Michigan State Police did a demonstration of a police chase using a helicopter.  This is the police version of the Dodge Charger.  I read an article that the State Police was talking about using black instead of the blue pictured above.  I really hope they don't because I love this color scheme and there is a fairly long history behind it.

 The helicopter used in this demonstration by the Michigan State Police was a Bell 407.  The Bell 407 came out further development of the already successful Bell 207 program.  It has a wider fuselage and a more powerful engine.  It first flew in 1995 and in that time over 1000 have been produced.

 The F/A-18 Super Hornet came out of a requirement to replace both the older Hornets in service and the F-14 Tomcat.  While the F-14 Tomcat was a cool aircraft, it was getting long in the tooth and was a very complex aircraft to operate and maintain.  The Super Hornet was based on the Hornet design but added additional wing air and more powerful engines. 

 The Super Hornet first flew in 1995 and entered the fleet in 1999.  In 2007, the Royal Australian Air Force ordered the Super Hornet in order to replace it's aging fleet of F-111s.

 As of right now, there have been 500 Super Hornets produced.  There is currently research into an advanced version but that is only in the planning stages.  If issues with the F-35 continue to linger, this may become a reality.

 I will have to say this is a pretty impressive aircraft. 

 The F/A-18 in landing configuration.

 And a nice flyby for us.

 And a nice landing.

 After the Hornet, they did a ground demonstration.  This year was what they called a "Hollywood Battle".  It wasn't based on any particular period.  But they had helicopters in support.

 The Huey.

 Troops landing from the Huey.  Much like many Hollywood movies of the 80's, the troops are in non-descript uniforms.

 The Huey Cobra turning in for a strafing run.

 One of the bad guys.  It seems like the bad guys in 80's movies typically had black uniforms so that they didn't represent any particular country (although we knew that for the most part they were supposed to be Soviets).

 One of the good guys with an AK-47.  It seems like the main character in many 80's movies served in Vietnam.  And somehow managed to get their hands on an AK.

 Another Huey Cobra.

 I tried to slow the shutter speed down to get some rotor blur.

 The OH-6 Cayuse.  This is a helicopter that was manufactured by the Hughes Corporation and used in a scouting role.

 Another shot of the Cobra.

 Next up was the North American F-100 Super Sabre.  The Super Sabre was the first American jet equipped with an afterburner.  It was also the first US production aircraft capable of going supersonic in normal flight.  It was built after the Korean War but saw some service in Vietnam.

 It was retired during the Vietnam War though.

 Still a pretty nice looking aircraft.

 The DC-3/C-47 Yankee Warrior coming in for a landing.

 An R-22 Helicopter.  This helicopter has been covered on this blog before, so I wont go into any details on it.

This is a Bell 47J which was an improvement on the earlier Bell 47 Model (which was famous in MASH).  It added additional passenger capacity.

A Bell 47 which was used as the Bat Copter during the Batman TV series.