OT: Salute to the Blue Angels

Thanks to sequestration, both the USAF and the USN Flight Demonstration Teams have been grounded for the foreseeable future. How unfortunate, for there's no better public demonstration of the skill of our armed forces than that afforded by the pilots of these two teams.

Here's a tip of the hat to the brave men who fly the tightest diamond formation flown anywhere in the world. The distance from the wingtips to the canopies is about 18 inches.

My nephew is mowing the grass now instead of flying. I'd like to have a chance to photograph something like this.

Another glimpse of incredible precision ... in the Eschelon Formation.

Notice the right wingtips of the #1, 2, & 3 aircraft in relation to the canopies of the #2, 3, & 4 aircraft. Once again, separation from wingtip to canopy is about 18 inches.

P.S. Although just about everything else I shoot is a true landscape, I do love the challenge of going from a subject that almost always "stands still" to one that's moving so incredibly fast that I'm still trying to get as good as I'd like to be in capturing their "right moments."

These are really great, Howard! 18 inches!!
Thanks so much for sharing these with us.