Thunderbirds Set to Unveil New Demonstration For First Time in 38 Years

The Thunderbirds conduct a certification flight over Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, March 25. Photo courtesy of Nicholas J. De La Pena.

The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds are ready to kick off the 2021 airshow season in Cocoa Beach, Florida this week, and will be debuting a new demonstration to the public for the first time in nearly 40 years; the last time being 1983 when the team transitioned to the F-16 Fighting Falcon.

Prior to that, the only time the team changed the demo was when the team was established in 1953 and had to build a 15 minute show from scratch.

The new demonstration comes after the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled a majority of the 2020 season, which gave the team time to enhance the demo following long-time feedback from fans and the industry, in an effort to evolve and keep the public's attention as more of a performance centered around emotion and entertainment, while still showcasing the complexity, challenge and capabilities of the F-16 and the men and women who fly them. The team also consulted with Disney, who knows a thing or two about performing and entertaining and keeping the public hungry for more, even when they’re out in 90+ degrees all day with a family (like at Disney World, or a summer air show).

The show has long been comprised of both a ground and aerial demo, both of which have now been cut down in time. The ground demo alone is now more concise, and has been more streamlined and cut by more than half to 15 minutes, to showcase how maintainers & their pilots conduct rapid deployment in an alert situation. Verbal communications are now replaced with visual communications, to highlight the trust and responsibility between the pilots and their maintenance teams.

The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will be debuting a new demo this weekend in Cocoa Beach, FL. It's the first time the team has changed their demo in nearly four decades. Photo courtesy of Mike Killian.

The flying demonstration, of which there are several (high, low and flat shows depending on weather), now has a few new maneuvers such as a ‘Stinger Break Cross,’ and now has new music and revised narration to match the high energy of the new demo. The team reordered the maneuvers to provide increased excitement, tap into audience emotion, showcase the most complex aerial maneuvers with style, grace, and precision and display the capabilities and precision of the aircraft and pilots. Aircraft reposition times between diamond and solo maneuvers have been shortened to reduce gaps and pauses in the show and to provide non-stop action for the audience.

“We wanted everything in the show to have a purpose, not just a sequence of maneuvers strung together” says Thunderbird 3, Major Zane Taylor, who helped lead the design of the new aerial demo and worked on the creative aspects and mechanics of the maneuvers. “We want the entire show to tell a story to the crowd, & tie the emotion of the audience to the demonstration. We also wanted our maneuvers to build in complexity and excitement over time.”

The team also eliminated a total of six maneuvers which they felt were repetitive. But don't worry, the sneak pass is safe. As a matter of fact, Thunderbird 1, Col. John Caldwell, says to expect more sneak passes this year!

“The show used to take 1.5 hours from the moment we took the microphone at an air show to when we handed it back.” says Caldwell. “We're now down to 50 minutes total, and thats for a reason. Humans only have a finite attention span, and we have to capture and hold their attention, that's our objective, and that's what drove a lot of our thought.”

Photo courtesy of Mike Killian.

Another design goal of the new aerial demo was to eliminate the difference between the team's different shows (high, low and flat depending on weather), so no matter what show the audience gets they are still seeing 90% of what another audience at a different show saw. Such a design also means that, no matter what type of show they’ll fly, the pilots remain proficient and have flown the maneuvers recently, which will help the team execute a better demo overall. It's now one consistent show with a consistent theme and very few changes whether it's a high, low or flat show.

“It's easy to add to a show and make it longer by adding more maneuvers, and nobody in our history really ever cut things out, so we got to a point where our high show was 45 minutes long and we were landing on fumes,” added Caldwell. “So we cut things out and got it down to a 30 minute show. Not easy decisions either, because we have an alumni association and a lot of fans who have strong feelings, opinions and emotions about certain maneuvers, so we had to navigate all that to make sure everybody was happy with the final product.”

All in all, the Thunderbirds hope the new, shortened flying demo is more entertaining than ever before, with a series of smaller finales leading to the grand finale they have always been known for. “Most live performances like a fireworks display typically have more than one finale, so we tried to model that where you kind of build the crowd's excitement and anticipation over time and get them to a point, then reset the tempo and theme to bring them up to the grand finale. We want people to have a big exciting grand introduction, and then bring them back down and rebuild their excitement rebuilding certain concepts throughout the performance.”

The ultimate goal is to keep the public thirsty for more, leading to increased air show attendance and recruiting efforts.

For the latest updates regarding the Thunderbirds’ 2021 air show season and the new demonstration, be sure to stay tuned to our website, social media, and mobile app!