Over Memorial Day weekend, Miami Beach was visited by two earth-shaking air shows, from USA Salute, as part of the city’s attempt to take back the holiday from raucous and violent beach blow-outs over the last decade.

It is viscerally exciting to see up close and personal so many different military and rescue planes and choppers.  Some F-16s (max speed 1,500mph) streaked by at a heart-pounding 650 mph (to avoid sonic booms which occur above 700mph), but the most incredible was the extreme maneuverability of the F-18 Super Hornets (max speed 1,190mph), which seemed to turn on a dime.

A lovely salute to all who have given their lives fighting for our freedom.  [please hover over images for captions]