Thunderbirds Cancel 2013 Season

miamiair (netAirspace FAA) 02 Mar 13, 12:35

Air Force cuts aviation support at public events

As the Air Force braces for potential sequester, leadership has cancelled all aviation support to public events for at least the remainder of the fiscal year and is standing down the Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team to save flying hours to support readiness needs.

Effective today, active-duty, Reserve and Guard units will cease all aviation support to the public. This includes the cancellation of support to all air shows, tradeshows, flyovers (including funerals and military graduations), orientation flights, heritage flights, F-22 demonstration flights and open houses, unless the event includes only local static assets.

Additionally, the Air Force will cancel the Thunderbirds' entire 2013 season beginning April 1.

The Thunderbirds and Heritage Flight crews will complete their certification procedures for safely flying aerial demonstrations in case the budget allows resumption of scheduled events in 2013, but and the Air Force will cease participation in Heritage flights following certification.

The Air Force will reduce flying hours by as much as 18 percent -- approximately 203,000 hours -- and impacts will be felt across the service and directly affect operational and training missions.

Link

I am sure the Blues will be singing the blues real soon.

And let's get one thing straight. There's a big difference between a pilot and an aviator. One is a technician; the other is an artist in love with flight. — E. B. Jeppesen

Click Click D'oh (Photo Quality Screener & Founding Member) 02 Mar 13, 14:07

That's BS. The entire USAF civilian outreach program, which not only includes the Thunderbirds but all the other USAF promotional programs, only costs $35 Million per year... which may seem a lot, but it's just a drop in the USAF budget.

They could easily have found $35 Million to cut in other places quite easily.

We sleep peacefully in our beds at night because rough men stand ready to do violence on our behalf

Boris (Founding Member) 02 Mar 13, 14:34

Click Click D'oh wrote:That's BS. The entire USAF civilian outreach program, which not only includes the Thunderbirds but all the other USAF promotional programs, only costs $35 Million per year... which may seem a lot, but it's just a drop in the USAF budget.

They could easily have found $35 Million to cut in other places quite easily.

Of course you're right.

The administration could make all these cuts, and many more, where nobody would notice, but Obama wants people to notice.

He's been playing Chicken Little, but the sky's not going to fall. He just wants to make it look like the sky is falling.

The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers...

AndesSMF (Founding Member) 02 Mar 13, 18:17

I want to hear one official once talk about all the bureaucrats that will lose their job, but politically speaking canceling these seasons is a great move.

Einstein said two things were infinite; the universe, and stupidity. He wasn't sure about the first, but he was certain about the second.

CO777ER (Database Editor & Founding Member) 02 Mar 13, 20:25

Hopefully the Angels will show up at Wings over Houston instead.

TUSpilot (Founding Member) 03 Mar 13, 19:20

miamiair wrote:This includes the cancellation of support to all air shows, tradeshows, flyovers (including funerals and military graduations), orientation flights, heritage flights, F-22 demonstration flights and open houses, unless the event includes only local static assets.

Heritage flights at airshows may be cancelled, but they were still doing their certification flights at DMA this weekend.

We live in a galaxy far far away and we STILL have to connect in ATL.

CO777ER (Database Editor & Founding Member) 03 Mar 13, 19:23

I'm surprised to see Galveston Gal out in Arizona.

halls120 (Plank Owner) 03 Mar 13, 20:33

Click Click D'oh wrote:That's BS. The entire USAF civilian outreach program, which not only includes the Thunderbirds but all the other USAF promotional programs, only costs $35 Million per year... which may seem a lot, but it's just a drop in the USAF budget.

They could easily have found $35 Million to cut in other places quite easily.

I'll tell you why they are cutting here. DOD Civilian employees are facing 22 days of unpaid furlough. That is almost a 10 % pay cut for hundreds of thousands of employees.

Holding air shows for civilians when you are cutting pay for civilians is a recipe for workplace disaster.

vikkyvik 08 Mar 13, 00:05

This has me completely and utterly bummed out. Especially if the Blues cancel as well, as expected.

{hissy}

Click Click D'oh (Photo Quality Screener & Founding Member) 08 Mar 13, 04:26

halls120 wrote:I'll tell you why they are cutting here. DOD Civilian employees are facing 22 days of unpaid furlough. That is almost a 10 % pay cut for hundreds of thousands of employees.

Holding air shows for civilians when you are cutting pay for civilians is a recipe for workplace disaster.

All of which could also be averted by cancelling a pair of F-35s... a program which should have been killed years ago.

We sleep peacefully in our beds at night because rough men stand ready to do violence on our behalf

vikkyvik 08 Mar 13, 04:29

Click Click D'oh wrote:All of which could also be averted by cancelling a pair of F-35s... a program which should have been killed years ago.

Amusingly enough, I emailed some friends about this. My buddy, who isn't really into airplanes but enjoys and has gone with me to a few air shows, said:

That blows chunks. Couldn't they just sell an F-35 windshield to cover the Thunderbirds' budget?

captoveur 08 Mar 13, 14:10

I am sure Tops In Blue and other ridiculous Air Force outreach programs nobody cares about will survive.

I wonder what happens to the airplanes. Will the airplanes return to operational units until the Thunderbirds are re-established.. If so, is there money to paint them gray? {crazy}

I was going to say more here, but this isn't the politics forum.

Excuse me.. Is that an Uzi?

vikkyvik 09 Apr 13, 18:14

Well, there go the Blues as well:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04 ... -2013?lite

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