SORRY! Swiss aerial display team flies over yodeling festival by mistake

The following article was scraped off the Deutsche Welle website. We hope they won't mind. We repost it here, exactly as written. Any smart-aleck comments would be superfluous. Ed.

Switzerland's Patrouille Suisse squadron has apologized for making a fly-by over the wrong municipality. Instead of marking the centenary of an aviation pioneer's death, it startled visitors at a yodeling event.

The commander of the Swiss air force's aerobatics team has apologized after a fly-by on Saturday that was meant to have taken place over the birthplace of Swiss aviation pioneer Oskar Bider was held over a nearby municipality instead, Swiss media have reported.

The Patrouille Suisse squadron had been engaged to fly over Langenbruck, where Bider was born in 1891, but instead made its pass over Mümliswil, some 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) away, after the team leader was misled by seeing a tent for a yodeling festival.

The Swiss Defense Ministry was quoted by The Associated Press as saying that the formation had been distracted by an unauthorized helicopter in the area.

According to the Swiss paper Neue Zürcher Zeitung, an army spokesman said the error was not worrying. The newspaper quoted him as saying that the planes, all F-5E Tiger II jets, were more than 40 years old and navigated using "map, felt pen and sight."

The aircraft were not equipped with GPS devices or other modern technology and were no longer used for combat operations, he was quoted as saying.

Oskar Bider, who died in a crash on June 7, 1919, at the age of just 28, is famous, among other things, for having made the first aerial crossing of the Alps in both directions, a feat he accomplished in 1913.

L'Armée de l'Aire célébrent 50 ans d'Astérix et la Patrouille de France

It's been some time since WWW featured a video of spectacular formation flying, a subject of great interest to yours very truly and Agent 17, to whom be much thanks for this 2009 video. À l'occasion du 50ème anniversaire d'Astérix, créé en octobre 1959, la Patrouille de France rend hommage au plus célèbre des Gaulois dans un film décoiffant! No translation needed. Just watch and enjoy.



Réalisé par Eric Magnan. Produit par www.e-mediapublishing.fr. Bien fait, les gars!

VIDEO: Absolutely amazing airshow stunts!

All you aviation buffs -- I know you're out there -- will surely join Walt in thanking Agent 17 for this short (4+ minutes) video of highlights from the 2014 edition of the Cameron Air Show 2014. Agent 17 said watching this array of cunning stunts was good for his bowels. Walt agrees.



The Cameron Air Show is held every year in Cameron MO [No surprises there. Ed.], hard by St. Joe. The 2015 show is just one month away -- June 27th and 28th. Here's the FB link with the lineup and other details. Air ya gonna be thar?

VIDEO: US Navy Blue Angels inside the cockpit - WILD

The Blue Angels are the precision aerobatic team of the United States Navy, often the featured attraction and always a big hit at airshows across the USA. Walt saw them for the first time, along with Agent 17, back in the 70s at Harlingen TX, at the terrific show put on by the Confederate Air Force.*

Here we have a video taken over Seattle, Lake Washington and Boeing Field. It takes training and ability to handle the extremely high emotional and physical stress levels incurred in this kind of flying. There's no room for errors or second-guessing.

In this video, you'll see the "slot man" in the diamond formation -- toughest flying due to wingtip vortices, etc. Notice the rest of the formation in the pilot's reflective goggles. When he "smiles", he is pulling some serious "G" forces. The grimace is part of tensing his body to stop blood pooling and having a grey- or blackout -- even with a G-suit!

Towards the end, the pilot holds both hands in the air. He must have had the aircraft very well trimmed, and/or be just a tad reckless. Do you really want to do this in a formation?!

This may be one of the best "in the cockpit" videos currently on YouTube. Go full screen, but you might want to turn OFF the sound.



Thanks and a thumbs up to a friend of Agent 17, and the US Navy and Blue Angels.

And... in case you missed it... here's the link to "Two minutes of aviation majesty".

* Footnote: Need I tell you that the Confederate Air Force was renamed the "Commemorative Air Force" -- another casualty of political correctness. They're still flying though! If you're a warplanes buff and want to join, you'll find a link on their website.

VIDEO: Two minutes of aviation majesty

It's been a while since we had anything for aviation buffs. Those who like to see the old (WWII) warbirds in action will surely enjoy this trailer for the July 2014 air show at The Imperial War Museum in Cambridgeshire, which we have courtesy of Agent 17, aka Sky King. Walt recommends full screen mode, and sound up, to send chills up your spine.

VIDEO: Awesome air show coming up in July

Marketing experts have long known that nothing stimulates a real man like... wait for it... moving conveyances -- things that get you from point A to point B (or beyond) in the fastest and most furious a manner possible. You know: planes, trains and automobiles. [That would make a great title for a movie! Ed.]

Earlier today we did a great camper-trailer, attached to a pretty great off-road unit. Who said the Japanese can't build a better jeep? Now it's time for stuff that really moves, a passion for which Walt shares with Agent 17.

Here's the trailer for this year's Duxford Air Show, featuring the wonderful warbirds. As far as I know, you won't see as large and fine a collection, all in the air at the same time, anywhere in North America. Definitely worth the trip to Old Blighty.