Cross over

Part 1: • U.S. AIR FORCE THUNDERBIRDS " CROSS O... This color promotional film is about the U.S. Air Force Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Thunderbirds, making a tour of Latin America including Guatemala, Chile, Paraguay and Brazil. This is circa March 1961 to June 1963 when the Thunderbirds were flying the F-100 Super Sabre and led by Col. Ralph "Hoot" Gibson. Chile. Spectators watch in awe as the planes fly by. A solider on horseback watches as well. Plaza Baquedano, Santiago, Chile :32. Organ grinder plays and a monkey dances. Thunderbird planes fly in formation. Children look up and laugh. Crew chief of the Thunderbird planes shakes hands (:06-1:43). Aeropuerto Internacional Presidente Stroessner in Luque, Paraguay (1:21). One of the men holds a gift, a model of the team's support aircraft. The pilots meet with foreign dignitaries who may include Chile's Augusto Pinochet and Paraguay's Alfredo Stroessner, Guatemala's General José Miguel Ramón Ydígoras Fuente, . The team walks in formation, the officer on the far right is team leader and Air Force Ace, Col. Ralph Duane "Hoot" Gibson. People on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil thrill to the sights of the Thunderbirds flying by. A man builds a sandcastle (1:44-3:08). Beaches are packed. The man continues to make his sand castle. People at an airbase watch planes. People look up, including a fireman, who marvel at the F-100s (3:09-4:22). A crowd of people watch the planes pass by. The planes do a cross-over above the crowd, low to the ground. Thunderbirds head home to the USA (4:23-5:50). End credits (5:51-5:59). The Thunderbirds entered the supersonic era with the the F-100C Super Sabre in 1956. This switch was accompanied by a relocation of their headquarters to Nellis AFB, Nevada. An emphasis was placed on low, screaming flyovers and demonstrations of takeoff performance. For a time, if the show's sponsor permitted it, the pilots would create a sonic boom; this ended when the FAA banned supersonic flight over the continental United States. In 1961, the team was compelled to discontinue the vertical bank maneuver due to an FAA regulation prohibiting aerobatics that pointed the nose of the aircraft toward the crowd. The year 1962 saw the introduction of dual solo routines, and the Thunderbirds went on their first European deployment in 1963, the year after the disbanding of the "Skyblazers" (see below). The team switched to the F-105 Thunderchief for the 1964 season, but were forced to re-equip with the F-100D after only six airshows due to a catastrophic structural failure of the No. 2 aircraft during a pitch-up maneuver that resulted in the death of Capt Gene Devlin at Hamilton Air Force Base on 9 May. The F-100D Super Sabre was retained through the 1968 season.

Transcription

I try hard to look the part of a horse soldier mainly because my wife and child are watching and they are always so proud when I am out in front of a crowd it is good that some things never change [Music] and the organ grinder plays in a continent that is the greatest melting pot the world has ever known I have often said no matter what nationality what race or religion all people like to be entertained [Music] he is good to laugh to be thrilled by the exploits of daring performers I watch the look on the children's faces as eyes upward they follow the aerialist swinging through the sky as if suspended by invisible ropes and like all great performers they have no net below a crew chief of the Thunderbirds stands at attention in front of his airplane and salutes his pilot officer I did a lot of handshaking during our trip to South America I can tell you that and I can also tell you that in the process I met a lot of real fine [Music] one thing it's kind of hard to learn even though it's real simple people are people no matter where you go a smile a nod a look of the eyes these are universal greetings [Music] but Latin Americans also have a special greeting of their own which caught my fancy they call it a brothel and the way it works you Pat each other gently on the back it sure is a fine way to say hello [Applause] [Music] [Music] many times I hear people say that I am a fool for building castles out of sand how long do you think they will last they say I don't always know why I do it I like the feel of wet sand the smell of the ocean and today I am further blessed with watching the airplanes dipped to the waves like seagulls hunting for food I have seen men do more foolish things than I castles in the air' castles in the sand there is no difference all men must have dreams without dreams of a better life a woman children a better country there is nothing yes a man must dream [Music] I've been a fireman for a long time now as the hot blood of youth cools in one's veins you come more and more to believe in prevention this is what I think of as I look at the thunderbirds prevention of war just as we keep our firefighting equipment shined and polished so we need to keep military machines up-to-date in both cases we never want to use them I am happiest when the alarm bell remains silent it is a sad part of life that one's ambitions do not always materialize today I am a soldier but when I was very young I had a great desire to be in the bullring as I watched the airplanes perform and the precision of the maneuvers I think it is like the Cape work of a famous Matador and for a few moments I am in the great arena in Madrid listening to the excitement of the crowd after each pass [Music] the crossover has been made and the Thunderbirds head home the movement from one continent to another continent has been accomplished but the crossover of ideas of values of customs can continue distance today is no barrier as long as we have freedom of the air these planes are leaving the air over South America the air over peoples that allow the movement in their airspace of jet-powered supersonic aircraft allowed the Thunderbirds to demonstrate in a gesture of friendship as long as we continue to make such crossovers and not retreat in isolationism progress in understanding not die [Music]

Sources

16mm Filmography (legacy record) — title, year, format, description, video

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