Air Force Thunderbirds Warmup is Exhilarating [VIDEO]

As excitement builds for the 20th Atlantic City Airshow on Wednesday, Aug 16, I thought you might like to experience the US Air Force Thunderbirds "smoke show".

The Thunderbirds landed Monday at the 177th Fighter Wing in Egg Harbor Township to prepare for the airshow and get a little practice flying time. The Thunderbirds buzzed loudly over my house in Margate Monday afternoon and giae us all a thrill.

Three Things to Know About the Thunderbirds Airshow

- Most of the Thunderbirds’ performance features alternating maneuvers performed in the diamond formation or in solos. There are a total of eight different formations featuring 4-6 jets flying in close proximity to each other.

- The jets come the closest to each other in the Arrowhead formation with as little as 18 inches between aircraft. All formation maneuvers are performed at speeds exceeding 400 mph.

- The two solo aircraft highlight some of the extreme capabilities of the F-16 executing maneuvers as low as 100 feet off the ground and some at speeds of over 700 mph. During high-speed maneuvers, the shock cone is sometimes visible as the jet teeters on the edge of the sound barrier.

The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds are scheduled to fly at 2:45 pm Wednesday, the final event in the airshow.

Here is video of the Thunderbirds warming up Monday at the 177th Fighter Wing. Turn the sound up for this one!