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- The #5 is painted upside down because it represents how the lead solo spends most of his time during an aerial demonstration.
aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/5015/why-is-thunderbird-5s-number-upside-down
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Mar 10, 2017 · When the Thunderbird's fly the reflection pattern, one plane will be right side up flying level. Number 5 will be upside down and below the first one. They are like reflections in a mirror, bottom to bottom. Number 5's engine number is written upside down, so that it can be read correctly.
Jun 17, 2011 · People that are not used to see a USAF demo team display always wonder why Thunderbird 5 has its number painted on upside down: as these pictures show, in mirror flybys, the inverted...
I know they don't swap sides. I was just telling dude that if any did, it would be those two. Only ones that change numbers are 5 and 6...new solo is only 6, second year solo moves to the Lead Solo position. Source: Am Tbird now.
You may have noticed the upside down 5 on our lead solo jet but this modification to the traditional 5 wasn't added until 1986. Members of the maintenance team convinced leadership that the 5 on the jet should be inverted to match the upside down maneuvers flown by our lead solo pilot.
The 5 is purposefully like that as that jet does the majority of the inverted maneuvers. It’s also painted upside down on the jet (actually they’re all stickers in case of a last minute swap-out) and I believe on the pilot’s uniform as well
In mirror formations, one Thunderbird must be inverted, and it is always number 5. In fact, the number 5 on this aircraft is painted upside-down, and thus appears right-side-up for much of the routine.
As the sun goes down, the stars come out 💫 Our dedicated maintenance team is the reason we have never had to cancel an airshow due to maintenance in our 71 years as a team. Our swing shift maintenance team works tirelessly throughout the night to ensure that our jets are safe to fly the next morning!
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