GoPro video shows U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds demo team display from the Lead Solo point of view

November 17, 2014 Airshows, Military Aviation

David Cenciotti

This is probably one of the coolest Thunderbirds video ever.

Filmed from the cockpit of U.S. Air Force Flight Thunderbirds demo team’s Lead Solo, the following video provides a previously unseen point of view of the team’s most famous maneuvers, including the crossover break, the belly-to-belly Calypso pass and the solo’s maximum performance maneuvers.

The video was filmed with GoPro cameras installed inside the cockpit of pilot Maj. Blaine Jones, who flies the #5 position within the team.

Jones is a former F-22 pilot, who joined the team in 2012 as opposing solo (#6).

H/T to Neil Walker and Tom Demerly for the heads-up

Here’s why F-16 pilots take the most stunning selfies. Such as this one.

About David Cenciotti

David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.