Cleveland Airshow Pics (and lots of 'em)

[TransMan]

Yeha A-10s are bad i saw one shooting tanks at a Show in FortKnox they also demontrated tanks. I also got to play with the missle thing they put on the back of hummers(that was fun )

[magman007]

nice pics, but i gotta dissagree, the f18 hornet is hotter!

and the f14 d super tomcat is in second.....

i will be flying a hornet in about 5 years ! woot!!! navy here i come!

[rx2]

The airshow is nice, but I must say that living only a few miles from the lakeshore means that this time of year is a noisy experience. Back when I was in high-school (St. Ignatius for you area AO folks, just so you can gauge the proximity), it was nearly impossible to conduct class as every few seconds the whole class would be gawking out the window at the F-18 maneuvers.
I would be interested to see what sort of stunts could be pulled off by the newer generation jets with thrust-vectoring technology, even the F-22. Of course, most of the moves subject pilots to g-forces too high to withstand without blacking out. Hmm, maybe a robot...

[Restola]

When the Blue Angels fly their turns sometimes take them close enough to Kent that I've been told the KSU Airport (about 30 miles away) gets people calling in complaining about the noise.

So it's pretty much a distraction everywhere

[shartley]

[rx2]

Cleveland gets auto-shows as well. Many of the local ice-cream parlors serve as meeting places for the car buffs. This is less noisy, though.

I have seen the Angels and other squadrons arriving over my house, but I hadn't ever noticed them going that far south that Kent would hear them. That is a bit of trivia I was not aware of.

I should say, though, that this year seemed a bit more tame that the previous years. I didn't really start noticing things until mid-way through the week. It used to be some of the pilots would be flying in the weekend before.

[Army]

Ah, Cleveland, one of the bigger ones that should be on any plane buff's list.

The A-10's gun is actually offset to the pilots left, in order for the plane to better counteract the torsion and recoil forces. 30mm is a lot of power in a gun, times that by 6 for well over 3000rpm and you have enough recoil to actually slow the plane in flight. Pilots must apply power to the engines to maintain forward speed.

Great pics. P51 and the B25 are my absolute favs for WWII planes. I'm saving those shots in my pic file

[Blennidae]

Nice pics, I am also an airshow freak.

FYI: With the exception of one 2 seat prototype (the N/AW), there has only been one model A-10. They have been updated over the years, but thats it. The nose gear is offset for the gun. The barrel that fires is on the centerline. Definately a tankers worst nightmare.

P.S. Army, might want to do a recount on the barrels. M-61's have six, 20mm barrels, GAU-8 has seven 30mm.

*EDIT* Oh picky picky Hey, it's way past my bedtime, and I don't type very well, gimme a break Army

[Restola]

Originally posted by Blennidae
With the exception of one 2 seat prototype (the N/AW), there has only been one model A-10. They have been updated over the years, but thats it. The nose gear is offset for the gun.

Granted I am no military expert here, but I've been told they moved the nosegear back to the center and offset the gun after they found it made no difference in accuracy. If I'm right they may not have made a new "model" for it.

But like I said I'm no expert.

[Blennidae]

As far as I know on the production aircraft the gear has always been offset. The gun "system" is 22 feet long. It takes up a lot of room up front. The barrel that fires has to be on the centerline due to the recoil forces Army mentioned.

It is definately a plane designed with function over form.

[TRIAD]

Sorry, but the F-22 Raptor is the sexiest, stealthiest, and best plane ever. Period.

[vf-xx]

Wharthogs kick much tanker butt.

And the blue angels used to be in near my house at least 2x a year. They would do practices out of Carswell AFB. These guys must have used my house for a nav point, cause every year they flew directly over my house, and I mean directly. I could step out my back door and look up and see the bellies of these guys as they flew overhead. One year when I heard them coming I ran outside and climed up the fort in our backyard and waved at one and he rocked his wings at me!! Woot!!

Personally I like the F-14 but that's cause I can see them turning into giant robots!! Robotech rules.

Edit* Oh and if i remember correctly the GAU-8 has enough recoil to stall the plane, thats why they have very short bursts. I believe a kill burst is 6 rounds, but the gun bursts in groups of 15. Lets see, most of their parts are interchangeable: ie a replacement engine can go on either side, and the vertical tails are not side specific. The A-10 was actually originally designed for the Maverick smart bomb, the GAU-8 was an afterthought.(I think, I don't remember extactly) Another interesting note is that the GAU-8 doesn't eject spent shells, they are actually kept inside the plane and have to be unloaded when it lands.

[TRIAD]

Supercruise rules.

[rx2]

Here is a nice pic...

[AutoMaggot]

The coolest thing I have ever seen at an air show was a Northrop B-2 doing a single fly by.

The announcer, all of a sudden, told the crowd to look towards the north end of the runway... and we all saw a little black dot, and it swept by with the engines cut... it sounded like a frikkin glider and it looked badass.