Netflix Thunderbirds documentary

[y_p_w]

Here’s a review of it including a former Thunderbirds pilot.



The commander’s callsign is “Astro”. I think the story is that he got lost once when he was disoriented by stars at night.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-elliott-7a35307b

It bears a lot of obvious comparisons with Amazon Prime’s Blue Angels IMAX. That was really well done, but this doc seems like it didn’t have quite the budget and of course no IMAX.

 

[slo town]

The commander’s callsign is “Astro”.

I knew @Astro14 has been up to something!

Scott

 

[wavinwayne]

I saw the Thunderbirds at an air show in the early 2000s and they were amazing!

 

[Hall]

I watched this a while ago and it was okay. I didn't dig into it, but they had bits where they apparently were filming some guys that do a podcast on the Thunderbirds and their infatuation with them came across as really weird. They talked like they knew the members personally, how tough or stressful the selection process was, and so on....

 

[y_p_w]

I knew @Astro14 has been up to something!

Scott

Something tells me this ain’t him.

Found out more detail on how Colonel Elliott became “Astro”. Followed a star thinking it was his flight lead when flying with night vision on.

https://moviedelic.com/justin-elliott-thunderbirds-commander/​

Elliott revealed that when he first flew an F-15E at nighttime, he wore night vision goggles, which made the stars, planets, and airplanes look similar in appearance. Due to this, he confused a star for his flight lead and chased after it for a while before he realised his mistake. It was due to this that “Astro” became his callsign.​

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

We watched this a few weeks ago and enjoyed it. The skills and dedication these folks have is amazing. Some great hi-def visuals for sure. I'm a fan of the F-16 and the Air Force in general which is why I've always been partial to the Thunderbirds over the Blue Angels.

It was a good watch but it still suffered from the same thing every other show out there does nowadays which is it put an emphasis on the personal drama with editing and music choices which 'modern audiences' gobble up. It's tiresome.

I also don't understand the whole forced high-five, back-slap, cool-handshake, hooting and hollering bit with the ground crew. I guess I'm not wired to enjoy or appreciate that kind of "Teamwork!! Hell yeah!!" display.

 

[Dave Hess]

Thunderbirds are good…. but the team from Pensacola is absolutely amazing.

*** Edit ***
I still remember the air show back in 1983 with Maverick. Precision flying skills and very, very tight formation flying.

 

[Trav]

At first I thought it was these.

 

[97prizm]

There was an article published recently by Business Insider I think asking if the money spent towards both the Thunderbirds and the Blue Angels is worth the tax payer dollars. Apparently it was initially used as a recruiting tool more than anything. Still a cool show to see.

 

[y_p_w]

Thunderbirds are good…. but the team from Pensacola is absolutely amazing.

They're from El Centro.

https://www.johnfry.com/pages/BlueAngels.html

 

[y_p_w]

It is cool that they have their callsigns on the front of the helmet where it shows up in photos/video. Col Elliott is a Yale grad plus two masters degrees, and a graduate of the USAF Weapons School and formerly a test pilot. Wanted to be an astronaut though.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Over Levi's Stadium (and our house) yesterday before the 9er fiasco, er ah, game. The sound was incredible!