Runway perks

I work at Tinker AFB (unfortunately, it hasn't yet made me a millionaire), in a building right next to the main runway. The perks about such a location are usually limited to seeing various aircraft come to the base for maintenance/repair/overhaul ("MRO"), aircraft performing operational flight tests before returning to home station, or during the hurricane season, when squadrons of F-15s scramble up to Tinker from bases in Florida. On this day, however, the treat was extra special, as the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds have come to town to do a 4th of July weekend air show, their first in Oklahoma since 1987.

Yesterday, I missed them practicing in the afternoon, but saw them flying around later, just after dinner time. In neither of those cases was I able to get any pics, but today I stepped outside with my camera and actually got of a few decent shots (use this link for full resolution versions).





This one is my favorite.