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Cockpit View of Thunderbirds F-16s Going Straight Up Takes Your Breath Away

We, regular folks, are used to seeing airplanes perform aerial stunts from below, where we sit comfortably as they are taken by their skilled pilots on adrenaline-packed flights at various air shows. Even from that angle, some of the more extreme tricks performed can cause physical reactions in some of us. Imagine how they feel from inside the airplanes, then.
Thunderbirds commander cockpit view 18 photos
Photo: USAF/Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Sarv
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In case that’s a bit difficult to do, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) is giving us a hand with this incredible cockpit view of a formation of five F-16 Fighting Falcons (only three are visible in the pic) shooting straight up, and leaving the Earth to shrink away into a bubble behind them.

The airplanes are the ones flown by the USAF Thunderbirds, and the image (this is how it looks from the outside) was captured from inside the one operated by the team’s commander, Lt. Col. Justin Elliott. The stunt was performed in late January over Fort Huachuca in Arizona.

The Thunderbirds are getting ready for their first official outing at an air show this year, which will take place in March during the Luke Days Air and Space Expo at the Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. This year, the team will be present at over 30 air shows across America, the last one being in November, at the Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada (you can have a look at the full Thunderbirds schedule here).

Depending on where you’re located, chances are you’ll not be able to enjoy the aerobatic F-16s for a while still, and this is where incredible images like the one we have here come in. Because, as it did in previous years, we expect the Air Force to keep releasing them, showing the world what some of its finest pilots can do when paired with capable machines.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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