Air shows of the future
Discussion
When I was growing up in the 1970s air shows had aircraft from pretty much all eras of powered flight, from WWI, interwar, WW2, post war jets and the latest fighters too. I went to an airshow in the summer and it made me depressed to realise that already half of the aircraft I used to enjoy watching eg Vulcan or Lightning will never fly again and that going forward the problem will only get worse as the latest aircraft get more complex and so impossible to keep flying once they are out of military service. In fifty years most likely you will still be able to see Spitfires fly (which is great) but probably not much else.
Esceptico said:
In fifty years most likely you will still be able to see Spitfires fly (which is great) but probably not much else.
50 years might be stretching it to say you will still be able to see Spitfires fly, as the stock of airworthy parts including engine castings etc., are starting to dry up through usage, plus the elephant in the room is continuing availability of 100LL Avgas for big piston engines.I think older aircraft (pre 1960ish) will keep flying as long as there are people willing to look after them and rebuild them on an ongoing basis. There are more World War 1 (mostly reproduction) and World War 2 (mix of genuine, restored and reproduced) aircraft flying now than at any time in 50 years. There are plenty of small engineering firms around that specialise in maintaining and manufacturing the parts to keep these aircraft in the air.
The number of vintage aircraft flying is actually growing, not declining.
The issue is the more sophisticated military aircraft that emerged from the early 1960s on. They require complex infrastructure and large teams of people to keep them flying. So, we don't (and we won't - increasingly) see these types of aircraft privately flown on the airshow circuit.
The number of vintage aircraft flying is actually growing, not declining.
The issue is the more sophisticated military aircraft that emerged from the early 1960s on. They require complex infrastructure and large teams of people to keep them flying. So, we don't (and we won't - increasingly) see these types of aircraft privately flown on the airshow circuit.
It depends on the sort of planes that turn you on.
The disappearance of icons like the Vulcan, Lightning, Harrier and Concorde makes watching aeroplanes less interesting than it was back in the 1980s.
I'm glad that I was a kid in the 1970s and 1980s to see all of the Cold War stuff when it was still around. Phantoms, Buccaneers, Canberras, Jaguars, Nimrods, Victors and even the Shackleton were common sights.
I'm more interested in the stuff from WW2.
Seeing the Blenheim return to flight makes up for the absence of the Cold War stuff.
Watching the two Lancasters flying together a couple of years ago was wonderful.
Maybe I'll live long enough to see something like a Wellington or a Hampden return to the air. Imagine that.
The disappearance of icons like the Vulcan, Lightning, Harrier and Concorde makes watching aeroplanes less interesting than it was back in the 1980s.
I'm glad that I was a kid in the 1970s and 1980s to see all of the Cold War stuff when it was still around. Phantoms, Buccaneers, Canberras, Jaguars, Nimrods, Victors and even the Shackleton were common sights.
I'm more interested in the stuff from WW2.
Seeing the Blenheim return to flight makes up for the absence of the Cold War stuff.
Watching the two Lancasters flying together a couple of years ago was wonderful.
Maybe I'll live long enough to see something like a Wellington or a Hampden return to the air. Imagine that.
Anything is possible, provided somebody is willing to throw enough money at it.
It won't be long before we see a Junkers Ju87 Stuka in the air again for the first time since 1945.
And the Duxford Beaufighter restoration project appears to be back up and running. This is a picture I took myself back in June.
It won't be long before we see a Junkers Ju87 Stuka in the air again for the first time since 1945.
And the Duxford Beaufighter restoration project appears to be back up and running. This is a picture I took myself back in June.
I haven’t paid to go to an air show for about six or seven years, and haven’t been to one at all in about four years.
Reasons? The decline in the variety of aircraft. The boring nature of most displays. The lack of speed. The total absence of jaw-dropping awe. The growing distance between displays and crowd.
I’m aware of the reasons, but I’m not willing to spend £30+ on a prebooked ticket to be bored.
Plenty of people I work with (in aviation) feel the same.
I might venture to an Old Warden display one day just for something different, but the rest can whistle.
Reasons? The decline in the variety of aircraft. The boring nature of most displays. The lack of speed. The total absence of jaw-dropping awe. The growing distance between displays and crowd.
I’m aware of the reasons, but I’m not willing to spend £30+ on a prebooked ticket to be bored.
Plenty of people I work with (in aviation) feel the same.
I might venture to an Old Warden display one day just for something different, but the rest can whistle.
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