CitiField Fly-by

[emshighway]

The military jets just past over my house. Anyone getting shots?

[N221UA]

I didn't get any, a lot of cloud cover around my area, but I did saw 4 F-18s. :borat:

[SCOTYDEMCO]

I heard them plug the burners. They were VMFA-251 Thunderbolts from MCAS Beufort.

[Gerard]

I heard them plug the burners. They were VMFA-251 Thunderbolts from MCAS Beufort.

Were they here before the flyby or did they fly in and then out?

[LGA777]

See my post in the daily LGA visitors thread in the news section for more details.

LGA777

[Gerard]

[quote="LGA777"]See my post in the daily LGA visitors thread in the news section for more details.

Thanks. Wonder where they went for 45 minutes? Touring the area? :)

[Matt Molnar]

See my post in the daily LGA visitors thread in the news section for more details.

Thanks. Wonder where they went for 45 minutes? Touring the area? :)
Hope they were doing something good, because they were about a minute late for the flyby.

I had a great angle to shoot them right over the CitiField sign had they done what I expected them to do. Unfortunately they didn't fly directly from centerfield, they came more from right-center, which was essentially right over my head and only visible to me for a split second before the Pepsi Porch blocked them. :(

[cancidas]

See my post in the daily LGA visitors thread in the news section for more details.

Thanks. Wonder where they went for 45 minutes? Touring the area?
it takes time to get set up for formation flight. they also need to get talking with the departure controllers and get tuned in with the person on the ground working thier timing. and yes, i'm sure they got a good view of NYC from thier perch. you also don't want to be late for something like this, meaning they were just burning circles in the sky waiting for the star spangled banner...


I heard them plug the burners. They were VMFA-251 Thunderbolts from MCAS Beufort.
and the XO was flight lead. too bad no full color CAG colors though.

[PhilDernerJr]

I'll post the video I took later. At Matt, said, it was very late, but still nice.

[PhilDernerJr]

fTVVXKJR-X0

[Fighting_falcon_51]

Very nice, didnt hear anything over here, but I didnt expect anything...

[LGA777]

Phil, nice job with the flyover, you seemed to know right where to aim the camera and when, good catch.

Cheers

LGA777

[PhilDernerJr]

Thanks. Only from past flybys, I know they come from the west like that.

[Steven Holzinger]

Was there a moment of silence in honor of Harry Kalas? I heard there was... but didn't believe it.

[flyboy 28]

Leave it to the marines to screw up a flyover. :P

Kidding, of course.

[nikon50bigma]

I heard them over here which is a bit a-ways from CitiField.
I wonder if they circled around the downtown for a bit...

[njgtr82]

I heard them over here which is a bit a-ways from CitiField.
I wonder if they circled around the downtown for a bit...

Over the Statue of Liberty is where they were holding

[moose135]

I heard them over here which is a bit a-ways from CitiField.
I wonder if they circled around the downtown for a bit...

Over the Statue of Liberty is where they were holding
Which of course led to yesterday's panicky A.net thread "there are jet fighters over NYC, what's going on?" As if there isn't some sort of fly by over NYC just about every few weeks.

[PhilDernerJr]

Well, a tip from a friend got me to take a break from ADX practice and I headed to the shoreline for pics of the F-18s taking off!

However, there were FIVE of them that departed. However, there were only 4 in the flyby. Anyone know why?

They took off in pairs, with the 5th one departing alone.

First pair:
http://www.nycaviation.com/hosting/F18_LGA_041509_1a.jpg

Second pair:
http://www.nycaviation.com/hosting/F18_LGA_041509_2a.jpg

http://www.nycaviation.com/hosting/F18_LGA_041509_2b.jpg

[Mellyrose]

Was there a moment of silence in honor of Harry Kalas? I heard there was... but didn't believe it.

Yes. It was the first thing they did before the ceremony started.

[LGA777]

Great shots Phil, my co-workers are all impressed with how great your shots are, especially in such so-so lighting.

At first I saw two in line, then the second pair. The 5th was un expected and took position on 13 as the second pair departed. The 5th was not here Monday and not really sure why today.

Of the several dozen times I have seen Military fighters depart LGA in the 23 years of working here I can only recall a few when they departed in formation like today, very cool. I would also say it has been about 3-4 years and maybe 8 or 9 times since they made a departure where they gained speed and then at the end of the runway pull all the way back and climb straight up. That was always a cloud pleaser and was like being at an Airshow at work.

Many of my co-workers from all departments love watching these departures and we make advance announcements of their departure, usually like today tipped off by the FAA tower who are nice enough to call on the bat phone. Today was a small group, only about 60 or 70 folks out on the ramp when they departed. I don't think anyone was dissapointed.

Again Great Job Phil

LGA777

[PhilDernerJr]

Thank you much! ISO400 helped a lot on those shots.

Nothing beats the sounds of fighters, especially when they are flying over my town! They all took a nice, easy left turn off departure and over College Point, and kept on turning until they were way overhead above the clouds.

[Steven Holzinger]

Usually that fifth aircraft is a spare, in case one breaks.

[SmAlbany]

Sorry that I'm late with this but I was away without my computer for a couple of days.

I had the fortune of flying through LGA on Monday evening (ALB-LGA-CMH) and was treated to the airshow.

I saw those F-18s taxiing to rwy 31 and said "Holy Crap!" to myself.

I took some so-so pictures of their departure (those windows in the terminal are dirty) but they are still on the flash card.

I'll post the pictures here when I get a chance to edit.

The interesting thing was that ATC thought that they were going to take off as a 4 ship formation. Instead they took off individually. An american eagle flight arriving on 22 had to go around. In the words of the eagle pilot "It was pretty close" I would say that it looked like an operational oops to me. I wonder if the eagle flight will complain.

[LGA777]

Usually that fifth aircraft is a spare, in case one breaks.

Not to doubt you but the 5th was not here for the actual flyover nor have I ever seen a 5th one at LGA in several dozen previous visits.

Respectfully,

LGA777

[SCOTYDEMCO]

Why not send 5. Probably a hometown boy. Get to spend a day in NYC.

Nice shots Phil! I saw one was painted on the tail.

[USAF Pilot 07]

The interesting thing was that ATC thought that they were going to take off as a 4 ship formation. Instead they took off individually. An american eagle flight arriving on 22 had to go around. In the words of the eagle pilot "It was pretty close" I would say that it looked like an operational oops to me. I wonder if the eagle flight will complain.

Formation takeoffs generally do take longer than individual takeoffs for many reasons (static t/o's, formation checks etc...), but they are also the most fun (to watch and to fly!). It's quite possible that LGA tower didn't realize that (based on them thinking they were going to do a 4-ship takeoff, I'm sure they didn't). The pointy nose guys (at least from my experiences talking to a bunch of MWS guys) don't seem to like flying solo through the weather, so I wonder if that's why they departed in formation.

In any case, hope there wasn't any immediate traffic conflict. If not, the FAA may have to violate four pilots with the same name: "ON FILE". lol

[SmAlbany]

Better late than never. Here are my shots of the F-18s departing for the flyby.

The lead had the lightning bolt colored
http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o215/Sacandaga86/LGA%20F18s/LGAF18leadside.jpg

Ship 414
http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o215/Sacandaga86/LGA%20F18s/LGAF18414nosegear.jpg

Ship 405
http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o215/Sacandaga86/LGA%20F18s/LGAF18405up.jpg

411 shows some afterburner
http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o215/Sacandaga86/LGA%20F18s/LGAF18411burner.jpg

The ramp guys seemed to approve!
http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o215/Sacandaga86/LGA%20F18s/LGAramp.jpg

[PhilDernerJr]

GREAT shots! Good perspective. I was watching the runway from section 502 at ****ifield.

[coachrowsey]

Phil:
That was great. Thanks for sharing.