2009 South Texas Shootout

***UPDATE 4-29-09 - The Horsemen will fly the Bearcat routine one more time for the Planes of Fame Air Show in Chino, California. The POF theme this year is "Salute to Grumman Aircraft"...so it seems only fitting. Looks like the Bearcats are turning out to be as popular as the Mustangs...maybe even more popular.***

The 2009 South Texas Shootout at NAS Corpus Christi (April 18-19, 2009), the 5th airshow for the Blue Angels this season, was very special. The airshow was unique in that the "Horsemen" formation team flew a three ship Bearcat routine. This was the first time an F8F Bearcat had been used in a formation aerobatic team of this magnitude (Corky Fornoff and his son flew a two ship routine in the 60's) since the Blue Angels during the 1946-1949 timeline. The routine was incredible and very rare. This was the only time the Horsemen team flew/will be flying the Bearcat routine this year. It was a very special treat! Below is a link to the Horsemen video I filmed at Sunday's airshow:

Horsemen Sunday Demo

This airshow was also the second to last show for the F-15C Demo Team. Their final airshow was this weekend in Langley, Virginia. The team is now retired from service. This airshow season is also the 50th Anniversary of the Golden Knights U.S. Army Parachute Demonstration Team.

Also, here are a few Bearcat formation team pictures from over the years (none of these pictures are mine). The first is a picture of the Blue Angels flying the Bearcat (notice the numbering system. #5 lead, #3 left wing, #4 right wing, #2 slot):


This next picture is of the Fornoff's flying their Bearcats in formation with Blue Angels 5 and 6 in F-4 Phantom II's:


This final picture is from the 2009 South Texas Shootout with the Horsemen team flying with Blue Angels 5 and 6 in F/A-18A Hornets.



Here are a few pictures from the show on Sunday:





SLICK