Blue Angels Fly But President Puts the Kabosh On Another Air Show

Despite the best efforts from dyspeptic Supervisor Chris Daly, the Blue Angels flew their programs as planned over San Francisco this weekend (it's unknown whether Daly followed the advice I offered him in this videoblog). There were no reports of F-18s crashing into the Transamerica Building or liberals dropping dead at the sound of freedom. SF Gate had this photo:

If you want a good laugh, go to this SF Gate page and click on the Open Mic link and listen to the San Francisco nuts complaining about the air show. There are a few supporters mixed in with the calls, but the anti-Blues callers are classic. One guy even called them cowards because they were flying in San Francisco and not Iraq.

Another air show on the opposite side of the country was interrupted by F-16 interceptors thanks to a visit from President Bush:

EMMITSBURG, Md. — The skies were empty at a charity air show after participants were escorted out of the area by F-16 fighter jets sent up because President Bush was in town.

The president's security no-fly air zone was extended Sunday and included the Hagerstown event, but at least four pilots of antique airplanes who were supposed to join the charity show were apparently unaware of the Federal Aviation Administration restrictions. They were intercepted by F-16s and escorted out of the area, federal officials said.

Bush was speaking at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, about 26 miles from Hagerstown.

Several pilots headed to the benefit for the Experimental Aircraft Association and the Hagerstown Aviation Museum apparently were unaware of the security measure in part because their antique planes carried no radios.

A dozen planes flew into the area, causing the North American Aerospace Defense Command to scramble its fighters. The four antiques intercepted were escorted to nearby airports and forced to land. The others were warned off.

Meanwhile, at the annual event, attendees were staring at an empty sky, wondering when the show was about to start. Suddenly, according to an account in The Washington Post, the crowd saw a little propeller plane buzzing along with a sleek fighter jet flying circles around it.

It was hair-raising, said Tracey Potter, owner of Hagerstown Aircraft Services Inc. "The F-16 is an evil, menacing scary sound, and at the same time — amazing."

Sounds like a bit of a mismatch. The FAA does post what are knows as NOTAMs, or Notices to Airmen, which pilots are supposed to check for the area in which they'll be traveling. Had they done that, they would have known about the local restrictions.