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Published: January 28th 2012
Thunder Waterfall
Thunder's most famous feature, the fireworks waterfall. Sparklers pour off the bridge, as starbusts fly above.Thunder over Louisville
My intention today was to attend
Thunder Over Louisville.
This event is one of the largest
air shows in the US, followed by one of the
largest fireworks displays in the world.
The website warns people to be
prepared for the weather, which has ranged from sunny and warm to freezing rain in past years.
The warning was an understatement.
The event is held on the
Ohio River waterfront.
An elevated expressway runs along the river.
In front of this is a large lawn usually used for sports events.
Entry to the lawn requires admission, which goes to charity.
Tents, stakes, and all other forms of space savers are prohibited; the only way to save a spot is to physically occupy it.
Events like this attract vendors by the dozen, and they are arranged under the expressway.
On a normal weekend, the lawn is packed
tight as a sardine can by 9 AM.
Cold Rain
This day was very different.
The forecast was cold with scattered showers, and the clouds delivered in spades.
The wind chill was wet and nasty.
Low clouds will kill an air show, and can kill fireworks.
Stunt team
precision flying from a Chicago stunt team If that wasn’t enough, the river was at
flood stage thanks to the spring thunderstorms, so at least a third of the lawn was under water.
Given the bad weather, I decided to take a risk on the crowd.
As it turns out, I did not risk enough.
I got there in the early afternoon (around the time the show was supposed to start) and found plenty of space, except under the expressway.
People were hiding under here in an effort to keep warm.
In addition to keeping the rain away, it also acted as a partial wind barrier.
On the lawn, there was
plenty of space.
As it turned out, this situation continued until it got dark, so I could have had a good spot at almost any time.
Thanks to the weather, the air show portion was mostly a disappointment with a spectacular ending.
For safety reasons, aircraft are not allowed to fly below a certain height.
If the clouds are below this, one can’t see them.
The organizers scrambled to find every craft that could fit within the available space, but
Air Force Raptor
The Air Force Raptor. The plane is so fast this is the only photo I could get! there were still long stretches of dead air (literally and figuratively).
Since it was raining during most of these stretches, things were doubly miserable.
As it turns out, over a third of the scheduled aircraft did not appear.
Thunder Air Show
The clouds lifted just enough near the end to fit in some planes, and the organizers chose the most popular of the scheduled events.
The first of these was the Coast Guard rescue helicopter.
A Coast Guard member wearing a wet suit jumped into the river to simulate a lost sailor, and the helicopter lowered a harness that pulled him out.
Given the fast flood stage current, this was far more dangerous than a normal demonstration.
The second planes were the
Air Force Raptor team.
The Raptor is the most technologically advanced fighter the Air Force uses.
Unlike the famous Blue Angles and Thunderbirds, these planes were not just for show; they are fully operational.
They blasted through at high speeds, turned with tight radii, did all sorts of combat rolls, dived as low as they could safely go, and otherwise showed off lots of
Flag Ceremony
The flag ceremony at the end of the airshow portion of Thunder over Louisville. Two helicoptors fly the largest American flags every flown over the river. cool maneuvers.
(It should come as no surprise that the Air Force had a recruiting booth among the vendors).
The final event was a stunt team from Chicago.
Flying propeller driven biplanes, these pilots did things that no sane person would ever attempt in an airplane.
They flew to the height of the cloud deck and then spun and tumbled nearly to the water, pulling out at the last second.
They flew low enough to the river that they gave off spay.
They did combat rolls upside down.
They even flew into the wind slowly enough that it looked like the planes stopped in air.
Yikes.
After dark came the flag ceremony.
A pair of helicopters flew over the river, dragging huge American flags behind them.
The flags were lit by spotlights.
This was the one event where the wind actually helped, because the flags were flying in full.
During this event the sound system played patriotic poems.
This event was different to every patriotic display I have ever seen, including the Marine memorial in Wilmington.
It
Thunder opening
The opening fireworks for Thunder. This is just a third of them! worked pretty well.
Thunder Fireworks
After the ceremony, the real reason most people shivered though all that rain
finally started.
Thunder is the
largest fireworks show in the US, and the fourth largest in the world.
It’s roughly four times the size of the famous
July 4th fireworks in Boston, for example.
It looks like no other show.
Most fireworks shows are essentially a single point.
There is an area where the fireworks are shot off, and everyone looks to that area for the entire show.
Thunder fireworks are a wall.
A mile long bridge runs from Louisville across the Ohio River.
The entire bridge is covered in fireworks!
On either side of the bridge are four barges (for eight total) which are also covered in fireworks.
When everything goes, it produces a field of light so wide that from a good spot it’s impossible to take it all in at once.
The show overwhelms with sheer power.
The amount of things happening at once is unbelievable.
Other shows try to impress with artistry, shooting different fireworks to create patterns.
Here, the same sorts of fireworks are shot
White Phosphorus Starbursts
White phosphorus starbusts, the brightest of all fireworks, at Thunder. This display is briefly brighter than daylight. The bridge is on the left, and half of the barges are on the right. over and over to create a massive spectacle.
The bridge really makes the difference.
At one point, a ribbon of jumpers starts at one end of the bridge and runs to the other.
This is accompanied by chrysthanthemums from the barges.
At another, colored jets shoot off the bridge over the river.
When the sky over the bridge was filled with white phosphorus starbursts, it was brighter than daylight.
The most famous feature comes near the end.
Sparklers are poured off the bridge, creating a waterfall of fireworks down to the river.
Naturally, this is accompanied by more starbursts above.
This part of the show alone is worth a visit.
That leads into the finale.
Virtually all fireworks shows now have a finale where explosive dots are shot into the sky, faster and faster to create a strobe effect.
Bursts and other things often fly over the dots.
Try to imagine this effect being so wide it exceeds the range of human vision; that was the finale to Thunder.
I loved every second of it.
(LATE UPDATE)
Someone posted an
Fireworks everywhere
A look at the shear size of this show amazing video from the Indiana side of the river
Ultimately, was Thunder worth freezing all day in the rain?
Hard to say.
The planes that did make an appearance were thrilling, and the fireworks were like nothing else in the US.
On the other hand, I spent much of the day huddled under a raincoat, cold and miserable, and thought of leaving several times.
Having said that, if the weather had not been this bad, the crowds would have been packed, creating another form of misery.
Ultimately, Thunder reminds me of many special events I have done; something to definitely see once, but think carefully about seeing it again.
I spent the night at a Bed and Breakfast called
Gallery House.
It’s run by an artist and a pastry chef.
The walls and rooms are decorated with artwork, and the breakfasts are delightful.
I chose it because it was within tolerable walking distance of the waterfront (about two miles), parking was available, and the rates were surprisingly low for a huge
Thunder Finale
The finale to Thunder, with the bridge on the left, half of the barges behind it onn the far left, and the remainder on the right. More shells are shot off here alone than most shows use. special event.
As it turns out, there are reasons for the low rates.
Like many bed and breakfasts, the rooms were small.
I could deal with this.
The house is also located near an active railroad, and under the flight path of one of the busiest cargo airports in the US.
This meant that my room had noise at random times all night.
I barely noticed it this night because I was so worn out; I used earplugs the other nights.
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