Forum: F-16 News

What do you all make of this?

Quote:

PRESS RELEASE -- Secretary of the Air Force, Office of Public Affairs

Release No. 090206
February 17,2006

Air Force terminates contract

WASHINGTON DC - The Air Force announced today termination of the Thunderbird Airshow Production Services contract with Strategic Message Solutions.

A protest of the award was made to the Government Accountability Office on January 17. An Air Force review of the protest determined contract termination was appropriate. The GAO agreed with the Air Force and subsequently dismissed the protest.

For additional information please call the Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs Office at 703-695-0640.

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SMS is the production group that Films the T-Birds. Well, the used to aparently.

Active Member Joined: Apr 08, 2004 - 10:40 PM Posts: 203

In simple terms, there are differnet people filming us now. There will be jumbo trons at most of the shows this year.

SWEET....that means big screen action of those beautiful birds

Last edited by LinkF16SimDude on Feb 20, 2006 - 04:48 PM; edited 1 time in total

Dare I say, real-time cockpit video to said Jumbo Tron? Cool

Active Member Joined: Apr 08, 2004 - 10:40 PM Posts: 203

Yes, there will be in cockpit video

F@#$in A!!! Right on!!! Real time cockpit video!!!

God, I love the 'thunderchickens'.

I have a better idea. Why not just cancel the Thunderbird program. For the last twenty years it has been the same boring airshow and same paint schemes.

I say let active duty units go to airshows and perform demos. I always enjoyed the F-16 demos at Shaw years ago. Let's face it we all know the Blue Angels fly rings around the T-Birds. The people who run the T-Bird program don't want to shake it up at all. I never thought the best people got selected to the team. I think the Air Force could be better represented by doing something else. We all know the F-16 can perform better than that and we know the best people really don't get selected for the team. Also the Air Force needs to show these young kids what life is really like for you people who are still active.

I know I learned a lot about the world when I was a crew chief and found that out when I went to college. I apply a lot of what I learned being a crew chief in the corporate world today.

I don't believe the T-Birds really represent the Air Force very well. That money could be better spent.

Active Member Joined: Apr 08, 2004 - 10:40 PM Posts: 203

Sorry you feel that way.

I am also sorry to hear you feel that way Scary. I respect your preference for the Blues over the Birds but to say they are a waste of money is ridiculous, in my humble opinion. Since the missions of the Blues and Birds are similar, do you also consider the Blues to be a waste of money and a poor representation of the Navy?

I also suspect that since you are a new member to this website, your comments may be an intentional attempt to upset people.

It appears that you did not learn "allot" about grammar or spelling when you were in college.

Tankrat, keep up the great work! My wife and I are already excited to see you and the rest of the crew this summer in Duluth, MN.

Scary343,

I'm also sorry you feel that way. I can only speak from my perspective as a civilian aviation nut and airshow fan, but I think that both shows are awesome Very Happy

!

As I've said many times before, I've lost count as to how many times I've seen the Blues - I've been going to airshows since I was nine months old. The last few times have been a bit disappointing due to weather at Miramar, but that's not the Team's fault Wink

.

I've only seen the T-Birds a few times, but I've truly enjoyed their show Thumb

! They've actually looked more precise than the Blue Angels the last two years running, no sierra.

Both teams have essentially the same mission - show the Flag, bring in recruits, and show the taxpayers what they're paying for. Of course they're going to have different routines - who wants to see the same show in different aircraft?

For the Navy to have a precision aerobatics demonstration squadron while the Air Force rests on the laurels of its individual demo teams would truly be a travesty. For one thing, it's called the "AIR FORCE" for a reason Wink

. The other big reason I can think of is that there's so much of the United States that's nowhere near a body of water!

The USAF demo teams are awesome and I don't mean to take anything away from them, but there's something special about those red, white, and blue F-16s with the music during the show that just makes me want to leap to my feet, salute the flag, and sing the Star Spangled Banner Very Happy

! Even the ground show prior to takeoff is a wonderful sight to behold!

I hope we'll see more of you in this thread as well as around the site Smile

. We have a lot of fun discussing different points of view on everything from "F-16 vs. MiG-29" to whether you should start a shower by washing your hair first and working your way down or vice versa (and yes there's a thread in off topic called "Showering") Laughing

!

Have fun and I'll see ya around the boards Very Happy

!

So instead of having a dedicated demo team do what it does best, let's take several pilots, crews, and jets from operational units out of theater, where they're putting a world o'hurt on the enemy and have them instead fly airshow demos they're completely unfamiliar with.

Right. Well....his opinion.

Scary.... I'm pretty sure everyone on here that has been a pilot or CC knows that they are far from "the best" they just fit the profile more or less.

I love hearing about some of the ole shitbags I've trained going to the Tbirds... It's where they belong. Laughing

Active Member Joined: Apr 08, 2004 - 10:40 PM Posts: 203

I guess thats the reason we have the highest FMC rate in the entire AF.

Tankrat wrote:

I guess thats the reason we have the highest FMC rate in the entire AF.

Your joking right???? Your making my point for me guy...

Forum: F-16 News

Thunderbird ends contract with Strategic Message Solutions