2016 Los Angeles County Airshow

[Mike Margolis]

I was only at LA16 for the Friday practice - it was awesome... No crowds, no traffic, no lines, almost like a private airshow.
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LA Airshow March 2016 Friday Skip Stewart Winftip only TWO and a half feet off runway-0754 by Mike Margolis, on Flickr
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LA Airshow 2016 Flying Wing N9MB From Left Rear-8728 by Mike Margolis, on Flickr
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LA Airshow March 2016 Friday B-25J Mitchell Bomber-0172 by Mike Margolis, on Flickr
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LA Airshow 2016 Shockwave Jet Truck 2-0724 by Mike Margolis, on Flickr

[Mike Margolis]

The Blues looked great!! But they had 4 jets break - 2 in the chocks with pilots jumping in spares. Then one solo landed early, followed a few minutes later by the other solo.

Shot this sequence after number two broke in the chocks, pilot scrambled to the running spare (did not know the Plane Captains fired up the engines on the waiting spare) which happened to be a number two jet. He turned aggressively in our direction right after takeoff, buzzed the very low Moon, and got a bead on the rest of the diamond... It was very cool!!

LA Airshow 2016 Blues Solo Quick Turn After Takeoff New Jet Then Moon and Rejoin-1824 by Mike Margolis, on Flickr

LA Airshow 2016 Blues Over Moon Rejoin Diamond After Break in Chocks Hot Swap-1847 by Mike Margolis, on Flickr

LA Airshow 2016 Blues Wingman Rejoin Diamond After Break in Chocks Hot Swap-1862 by Mike Margolis, on Flickr

[Ross Dinsdale]

Rad salvo from L.A. Mike. I had planned on going out there, but had a family medical emergency that negated the trip. Matt and I witnessed a plane transfer at El Centro. If I remember correctly it was six as well. Kudos on the moon shot.

[Mike Margolis]

Rad salvo from L.A. Mike. I had planned on going out there, but had a family medical emergency that negated the trip. Matt and I witnessed a plane transfer at El Centro. If I remember correctly it was six as well. Kudos on the moon shot.

Thanks Ross!! Sorry you missed it.
I've seen numerous spares employed over the years (like last year at El Centro when the Boss lost an engine on initial takeoff over the hay stacks and another recent one at Miramar) but I never saw a pilot jump into a running jet and roll... Personally, that's a bit too far. There's a certain ritualistic flow that goes with strapping on a jet - mess that up too much and other things tend to get missed. Unless they spend some time practicing and training for that particular situation - which they just might be doing these days with so many mechanical problems. I actually had a "There I Was..." published 20 years ago about this sort of situation. If I find it, I'll share it here.

[Ned Harris]

Great series of images Mike. I am going to try to make that show next year.

[Mike Margolis]

Great series of images Mike. I am going to try to make that show next year.

Thanks Ned!! Friday practice (media day) was so much nicer than our visit in 2015 - even with the photo passes - I strongly recommend Friday for the LA airshow!