Originally posted January 10, 2008.Here is a reminder for those in the Daytona Area. The T-Birds are in the house.
Frontstretch.com is reporting that the US Air Force Thunderbirds will conduct a flyby at the opening ceremonies of the NASCAR Spint Cup Daytona 500 race on Sunday, February 17, 2008.
This will be the 50th anniversary of this historic NASCAR race.
It is the first time the exclusive flying squadron will perform a flyover at the historic “World Center of Racing.” It will also be the first flyover by the exclusive group in 2008.
Reaching speeds of 600 mph, the Thunderbirds flyover will feature six Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcons buzzing the famed Speedway Frontstretch; the famous Delta formation will return for a second pass en route to land.
The Thunderbirds, an Air Combat Command unit comprised of eight pilots (six are demonstration pilots), perform precision aerial maneuvers in approximately 70 shows a year in 35 different locations every weekend from the middle of March to the middle of November.
Since the unit's inception in 1953, more than 350 million people in all 50 states and 61 countries have witnessed the red, white and blue jets in more than 4,123 official aerial demonstrations.
For those of you who will be attendng the Daytona 500, below are the frequencies you can program into your scanner to enjoy this unique evernt. These are the latest frequencies courtesy of Monitoring Times magazine and the annual airshow guide that will appear in the March 2008 issue of this magazine.
USAF Thunderbirds Frequencies
Frequency Usage
139.8000 Possible New VHF (AM)
140.4000 Support "T Bird Ops"/Cross country air to air (AM)
141.8250 Alternate Diamond
141.8500 Pre take/Four ship/Diamond formation linked to PA system/Cross country air to air (AM)
142.5750 Program audio/Air Ground communications (NBFM)
143.8500 Diamond formation/Cross country air to air (AM)
235.0250 Unknown usage [Tentative]
235.2000 Thunderbird Control/ComCart (AM)
235.2500 Pre Engine Start and Solo aircraft on/off show center/ linked to PA system (AM)
322.9500 Engine Starts/Solo aircraft (5 6) Air Air (AM)