The USS Constellation cruising through the "gate", with Baker Beach in the background. The Fleet Week schedule indicated the Constellation had the following on-board:
Aircraft types will likely include F-14s, F/A-18s, an EA-6B, an E-2C, and a S-3. Also expect one SH-60F as a plane guard.
Click on the photo for a higher resolution image. You can count quite a few planes on the deck.
The Blue Angels check out the San Francisco skyline.
The top of the north tower of the Golden Gate Bridge would be an excellent observation point. [Yes, I am aware this would of been a better photo had I waited a 10th of a second longer to shoot.]
The vantage point I used in Marin County for these photos is one that the Blue Angels often fly over with not a lot of margin. The smoke dots are generally off by the time they reach Marin since the planes are pretty far from the crowd.
This photo is a bit deceptive. A formation of three planes was in the photo, but they were so close that two got chopped off. Number five was the lucky winner.
The formations are not planned to look good from this side of the show. The crowd would see an inverted "V".
In theory the Blue Angles don't do anything dangerous. Well, that's the theory....
This photo was taken with a 50mm lens to give an indication what the naked eye would see. What appears to be a parking lot is 101 south, which is usually jammed during most hours of the day. The area at the edge of the curve of 101 is one of two "official" vista point parking areas, with the other one being just west of the bridge beyond the right edge of the photo. Most of the photos were shot with a 400mm telephoto.
