Airshows from your Youth

[Dougs]

my first airshow which also got me hooked, was leicester in 83 or 84 augaust bank holiday red arrows with concode and a vulcan think it was XL426 but not sure i think their was a phantom as well but cant be sure i do miss the old shows

[Old Rigger]

First air show memory
The main Royal Air Force contribution to Aden Forces Week was the Open Day at RAF Khormaksar on 30 March, 1962. The flying display was to be opened at 15:15 by a sonic boom followed by a high speed, low level flypast.
Three Hunters took off in formation at 15:04 and, once out of sight of the crowd, separated. No.3 was to do a flypast from West to East on the South side of the main runway. Nos.1 and 2 were to aim a sonic boom at the centre of the airfield, throttle back to subsonic speed and steepen their dive before pulling out to fly across the airfield from East to West on the North side of the main runway. The three aircraft were to pass the control tower at the same time at 250 feet.
A delay of one minute in getting off the ground gave Nos.1 and 2 slightly reduced entry speed from that used in practice but the timing was perfect. The pair dived at 0.98M, reduced speed and increased the angle of dive as planned and at 7,000 feet started pulling out from the 45 degree dive. During the pull out the leader did not exceed 3 ‘g’ . No.2 in XE607 never fully recovered from the dive and struck the ground at an angle of about 25 degrees. The aircraft exploded on impact.
Second air show memory
Wycombe Air Park (EGTB), also known as Booker Airfield (was RAF Booker) sometime late 60s Red Arrows approached from below and behind the crowd (on a plateau) and applied smoke as they flew low and fast over our heads, was a while before we could see and stopped coughing.
And then the 70's was: RAF Scampton, RAF Finningley, RAF Kinloss, RAF Luqa, RAF Wyton

[Dougs]

its so easy to forget the risk that the pilots are putting themselves to to give us 'the crowd' a display very sad when it goes wrong just glad thate that type of incedent is rare! bet you can remember it well though O.R. i guess you and/or family were serving at the time? as they are all RAF displays?

[Saracenman]

one of those plans that, had it gone right, would've warranted a cheer from the crowd - but things don't always go right do they?

even so, if the Reds wanted a 100% safety record for ever more, they wouldn't fly at all!

that's one huge regret of mine - not being around in the days when, even at Farnborough, sonic booms were all part of the fun!

sm

[Old Rigger]

I think that was why I remember that one as a kid and yes my dad was in the mob. I am sure that there was an air show of some sort at RAF Eastleigh before Aden, but the Hunter incident has sort of blurred the memory. In some respects the airshows are so sanitised now that it is hard to explain what the old shows were like the low and fast runs, the tight turns, flying over the crowds, the touch and goes, the amount of aircraft flying that meant there was not the breaks there are now, the amount of aircraft on the ground and the weapons all laid out in front.

I realise that our forces and our partner nations forces are hard stretched, short off aircraft, money and then H & S on top makes it hardly worth the effort and cost these days, which is a shame as these shows made impressionable young lads want to and usually did join up, despite dad trying to talk me out of it (then had the cheek to tell me once when recounting a few problems with a WO 'that sort of thing does not go on in the RAF son').

[Saracenman]

what a shame we don't have a huge triangular recruitment tool for the RAF these days - oh, hang on a minute............

[Old Rigger]

Going off topic now, but talking of a triangular education/recruitment tool, I e-mailed our head of education asking if they would be interested in working with Bruntingthorpe/RAF in a possibly mutually beneficial education / recruitment campaign, but no response yet and probably get told the same as when I asked if they would help with advertising/sponsorship

[Saracenman]

well done for trying OR

you never know, you might just get an answer

[Old Rigger]

Well I have had an answer in as much as my contact has been away so only picked my e-mail up this morning and is going to see what might be do-able so to speak as BAES works with the RAF themselves with edcation and recruitment initiatives. I think both BAES (if they are not allready) and Bruntingthorpe might be interested in an education type event over two days just before the Waddington Air Show, so hopefully if education at Bruntingthorpe has been sorted this might also bear fruit if handled correctly, but I do not want to be too optomistic at this early stage.

Sorry about taking this totally off topic but it would seem out of place to start a new thread, which I will do if anything else is forthcoming.

[Saracenman]

perfect timing then me finks OR - well done mate!

small suggestion though - if you do choose to pass all the info on to a certain Education Mgr at Brunty - cc Michael Trotter AND Dr. P - belt and braces mate!

sm

[Pujgnie]

How come the Reds are the only ones allowed to enter from behind the crowd again.. do they get special permission for that ? Why only them ?

[Saracenman]

i wouldn't be surprised if their entrance isn't actually part of their 'display', just the final bit of the transit flight. let's face it, the authorities can't prevent the Reds from flying over a single human being en route from A to B can they!

it is some entrance though!

sm

[Pujgnie]

it is some entrance though!

sm

Agree... I Knew the format at Yeovilton and Farnborough - whilst most were looking along the runway I got this one :




There was a lot of cursing around me after they roared into view........

[Mayfly]

they do have to have special permisson for it - I'm not sure if they are the only ones who would get it or if they are the only ones who have asked