Greatest airshow moments

[Eric Mc]

The Wroughton Air Show was held in 1993.

[LimaDelta]

As already mentioned once or twice - Mildenhall '86 and the SR-71. Also after an early AM arrival at Duxford sometime in the 80's (maybe early 90's) being buzzed by a very low Corsair making a dramatic entrance well before the flying program was due to begin. Remember the famous MiG-29 display at Farnbrough too, oh and more recently the F-22 at RIAT (2010?) seemingly breaking the laws of physics. Have to mention my mate flying Black 2 at our 'home' display and having a good poke around the Lynx at RM Tyne later that day. The transit route took them (by sheer coincidence ) directly over my back garden on the way to the display.

[Stu R]

Nimrod causing The glass at a morrisons to shatter at sunderland air show.

[trashbat]

Ginetta G15 Girl said:

Faiford 1993. Standing on the wing of Albert (parked next to the Belgique Albert) watching the MiG 29 pairs display.

This looks interesting I thought, followed by OOPS! Then the BANG! BANG! as the pilots ejected.

The first one to land shrugged his parachue harness off and promptly lit a cigarette.

The second guy landed, got rid of his parachute, marched up to the first guy and punchd him in the face!


Interestingly the Belgian C-130 took shrapnel damage from the crash.

Are you sure this wasn't The Simpsons?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHExwNn-sqw

[aeropilot]

Eric Mc said:

The Wroughton Air Show was held in 1993.

There were 3 x Great Warbirds airshows at Wroughton.

1992 was the first and 1993 in it's traditional Aug BH slot and the final GW at Wroughton and the last ever, in 1994 moved to a June slot for the 50th Anniversary of D-Day.

[mrmaggit]

Just one I'll never forget, Kings Cup Air Race at Tollerton, Nottingham, would have been mid-late 60's. Got stung by a wasp, which meant I didn't see until too late the Red Arrows howling in over the car park so low I could see the rivets.

But mostly for the race itself, a mottley collection of planes must have been around 40-50 and one Mustang. The biplanes started off first, doing 6 laps of a course around beacons all visible from the airfield. Then the single engine Cessnas, then the twins, then as the first plane to take off was on the final leg on his fifth lap, the Mustang. He shot down the runway, undercarriage up as soon as it left the tarmac, and the thing just about did the entire lap as a circle. The first plane off was just starting the last leg towards the line as the Mustang passed it on it's fifth lap. As the plane neared the line, there must have been about thirty planes all going flat out for the line, which the Mustang crossed first. IIRC the entire field crossed the line within about four or five minutes, so the handicappers got it pretty good.

[Eric Mc]

aeropilot said:

Eric Mc said:

The Wroughton Air Show was held in 1993.

There were 3 x Great Warbirds airshows at Wroughton.

1992 was the first and 1993 in it's traditional Aug BH slot and the final GW at Wroughton and the last ever, in 1994 moved to a June slot for the 50th Anniversary of D-Day.

I was at the 1993 event. I wonder why they stopped. It was a good venue.

[yellowjack]

Eric Mc said:

aeropilot said:

Eric Mc said:

The Wroughton Air Show was held in 1993.

There were 3 x Great Warbirds airshows at Wroughton.

1992 was the first and 1993 in it's traditional Aug BH slot and the final GW at Wroughton and the last ever, in 1994 moved to a June slot for the 50th Anniversary of D-Day.

I was at the 1993 event. I wonder why they stopped. It was a good venue.

Eric's right. It's almost certainly the 1993 show I'm remembering. The first Wroughton Great Warbirds show was close to a washout, so I'd certainly not have driven a FWD Escort up a chalk downland byway to get there. '93 was the year 'Pink Lady' joined with 'Sally B' and a lot of lovely 'merican radial-engined goodness, including, I think, a couple of Mitchells. I missed the last show in 1994, because I was too busy at the other end of Salisbury Plain, on 1 Mechanised Brigade's attempt to destroy the Plain and surrounding towns and villages (it was the year of Ex First Crusade).

[Yertis]

Eric Mc said:

I remember watch one of the early A-10s (flown by a Fairchild test pilot) perform at low level (due to really murky conditions) at Greenham Common in 1977. That was truly spectacular - with tons of vapour poring off the wings accompanied by thuds and bangs as he reefed the aircraft around in high G turns within the confines of the airfield.

I remember that too.

[aeropilot]

yellowjack said:

Eric Mc said:

aeropilot said:

Eric Mc said:

The Wroughton Air Show was held in 1993.

There were 3 x Great Warbirds airshows at Wroughton.

1992 was the first and 1993 in it's traditional Aug BH slot and the final GW at Wroughton and the last ever, in 1994 moved to a June slot for the 50th Anniversary of D-Day.

I was at the 1993 event. I wonder why they stopped. It was a good venue.

Eric's right. It's almost certainly the 1993 show I'm remembering. The first Wroughton Great Warbirds show was close to a washout, so I'd certainly not have driven a FWD Escort up a chalk downland byway to get there. '93 was the year 'Pink Lady' joined with 'Sally B' and a lot of lovely 'merican radial-engined goodness, including, I think, a couple of Mitchells. I missed the last show in 1994, because I was too busy at the other end of Salisbury Plain, on 1 Mechanised Brigade's attempt to destroy the Plain and surrounding towns and villages (it was the year of Ex First Crusade).

Yes, '93 was the one with the two B-17's.

It also turned out to be the last time I ever went to an airshow with my father.

The first in '92 wasn't an entire washout. It was on the Sunday, but I went on the Monday, and it turned out a fine nice day. I remember the Buccaneer giving tremendous display in it's farewell season, and of course '558's last appearance at a GW display.

[fatboy b]

Being at the fence by the runway at Fairford watching Concorde take off while the captain was piped through to the PA.

[DamienB]

aeropilot said:

1992.

It was the penultimate RAF Vulcan display, the last ever one being the next day at Cranfield.
That weekend also marked the final RAF Buccaneer displays as well.

The weather was crap at that '92 Finningley BoB display, low cloud and rain most of the day.

Nah, last display season for the Bucc was 1993 - and Finningley was sunny that year!

[aeropilot]

DamienB said:

aeropilot said:

1992.

It was the penultimate RAF Vulcan display, the last ever one being the next day at Cranfield.
That weekend also marked the final RAF Buccaneer displays as well.

The weather was crap at that '92 Finningley BoB display, low cloud and rain most of the day.

Nah, last display season for the Bucc was 1993 - and Finningley was sunny that year!

Yes, of course it was, of course it was thinking about it. '92 GW was last Vulcan, and '93 GW was last Bucc display. I think the GW Bucc display was the last time I saw a Bucc display?
When was the last Abingdon At Home BofB display, '91 or '92?

[williamp]

i remember west malling airshow, and as an air cadet a fair few biggin hills.

Best one was fairford in 199(2??). Many memories, the only time I have seen an F14 tomcat flying, and being in air cadet uniform I could go behind the scenes. So ate Italian chocolate with the aircrew in their G222 transport, sat in a Mig23 and mig 29, tornado, harrier and sat on the roof of a US Hercules to watch an airshow with their aircrew.

But as a teen, its me and quite a few others (boys and girls, including judy...) getting changed in the back of a sherpa which I remember the most. underwear everywhere!!

[tight5]

In 1972/73 when I was 5 or 6 , family holiday to south coast .
Day trip to Portsmouth for an open day . Me and my dad stood on top of a carrier ( we think Hermes ) and an RN Phantom comes belting along ( not much higher than us ) then pulls up close to vertical and we lose sight with him still going up .
Awesome .

[jjones]

persure (throckmorton) 2013. typhoon pilot doing his first public display (en route to another venue). giving it large for about 15 minutes in front of all of 500 people. made all the better by flying yourself to the airshow.

[Steve_D]

Can’t remember when but the venue was Fairoak airfield which has a line of Poplar trees along one of the field boundaries. There is one tree missing from the lineup.

Ray Hanna was to display the Spit at a given time in the afternoon and as many will know he always started his displays on time.

This display did start on time to the second with the Spit roaring into sight, banked knife edge, through the gap left by the missing tree. On passing across the runway he flicked onto the other knife edge and off into the distance. At no time was he higher than those Poplar trees.

Steve

[pete]

Eric Mc said:

I was there. He arrived alongside a Tu-134 and flew at slow speed alongside the airliner as the airliner landed and rolled down the runway. He then poured on the power and went straight into his routine.

Same season for me - I was an undergrad working at BAe Woodford, and we were all pressed into service helping with airshow prep, driving pilots back and forth to the flight sheds, etc. An advantage was that I got to watch the visiting Russian "Test Pilots" team arrive and do their CAA validation display. They brought the Tu134 and a pair of SU27/30s, flown by Anatoly Kvotchur (he of the Paris airshow Mig29 ejection) and Vladimir Loginovsky, and their rehearsal was the maddest thing I've ever seen anyone do in a fast jet. The manoeuvre that sticks in my mind was a *fast* (think 600kts, full gas) pass at 50 feet down the runway centreline, with one Sukhoi inverted above the other, so close it looked like the vertical stablisers were intertwined. Bear in mind the Su27 is over 60 feet long and you get a feel for how insane it looked. It set off almost every car alarm in the New Engineering Building car park too.

Needless to say the routine on the Saturday for the public was considerably tamer, with the manoeuvre done at about 200 feet and at half the speed! Unfortunately the1992 airshow was also memorable for David Moore's fatal Spitfire crash, but it was the Russians I prefer to remember. They kept up the tradition too, and I was lucky to be spending summers working at Woodford during its airshow heyday - the Beriev Mermaid in 1993 was another one that set off every car alarm with a somewhat sporty departure :-)

Pete

[Eric Mc]

Those craszy Russians.

[mybrainhurts]

yellowjack said:

4. Randomly happening upon a Duxford show, having been out on a cycle ride from Saffron Walden, and watching from the road at the 'back' of the airfield, sat on the verge. Then a collision between the Skyraider and Mustang. Very happy to find out that the pilot got out in time, but sad to see the fire brigade around the wreckage in the Rapeseed field. Police diverted a few of us cyclists through another field, where we found the jettisoned canopy, upright on a track through the field.

ETA: The canopy of the Mustang we found, having been directed through the field by a uniformed Police officer...

Same canopy intact a few years earlier at Rolls Royce Hucknall.