Discussion
spitfire-ian said:
Planes TV are doing a live stream again today of the arrivals https://youtu.be/RrKfRrbnW4I
Thanks for that!wolfie28 said:
RobGT81 said:
It's not a 1990s Mildenhall Air Fete that's for sure, can't compete with the BBQ for starters.
The Americans sure knew how to put on a show that’s for sure. I have fond memories of Mildenhall, Upper Heyford, Alconbury and Lakenheath air shows back in the day. Todays air shows are sadly a mere shadow of what they were 
Very fond childhood memories. I remember the ground shaking as the Vulcan banked overhead.
I was an avid air show goer back in the 70s and 80s. Before 1986 I lived in Ireland so I used to make special trips to the UK just for airshows. I was a teen and in my early 20s in those days so was full of enthusiasm and energy for long overnight ferry and train rides followed by long days at Mildenhall or Greenham Common - sometimes in the hot sun (the 1976 Air Tattoo was a killer).
I'm a lot older and more sensible now and am not too bothered with expending that kind of energy any more. I still love my planes but much prefer relaxed and intimate shows - such as fly-ins at small airfields or Shuttleworth type shows.
I'm a lot older and more sensible now and am not too bothered with expending that kind of energy any more. I still love my planes but much prefer relaxed and intimate shows - such as fly-ins at small airfields or Shuttleworth type shows.
In the late 70's / early 80's I too used to make the long drives (not that long) from Leeds to Mildenhall, Greenham Common, Alconbury, Upper Heyford, Yeovilton and later Fairford, a friend was an exhibitor so we could set up on the Friday i.e. the Arrivals day - we didn't have to pay for the privilege (he did as a retailer so we did in a round about way.
Some were days trips but others were turned into multi day expeditions (Yeovilton especially).
All fabulous days out and even though there are some rarer aircraft we still didn't do too bad - I do remember when some Jordanian AF F-5's turned at Church Fenton one year confounding all the rumours.
I still wouldn't mind doing a RIAT one year in their VIP package
Some were days trips but others were turned into multi day expeditions (Yeovilton especially).
All fabulous days out and even though there are some rarer aircraft we still didn't do too bad - I do remember when some Jordanian AF F-5's turned at Church Fenton one year confounding all the rumours.
I still wouldn't mind doing a RIAT one year in their VIP package
Thursday arrival day looks like a lovely way to do RIAT, virtually non-stop arrivals, validation displays etc. I've had Planes TV on in the background and apart from a lull over lunch it's pretty full on (and apparently going to be very, very busy from 3pm).
You get to see so much more stuff in the air (i.e. all the stuff on static) that you're never likely to see displaying anywhere.
You get to see so much more stuff in the air (i.e. all the stuff on static) that you're never likely to see displaying anywhere.
ch37 said:
Thursday arrival day looks like a lovely way to do RIAT, virtually non-stop arrivals, validation displays etc. I've had Planes TV on in the background and apart from a lull over lunch it's pretty full on (and apparently going to be very, very busy from 3pm).
You get to see so much more stuff in the air (i.e. all the stuff on static) that you're never likely to see displaying anywhere.
100% agree - most agreeable You get to see so much more stuff in the air (i.e. all the stuff on static) that you're never likely to see displaying anywhere.
The chaps ( and ladies ) in the photographer area look to be of a certain age / stature pretty similar to myself so I am sure I would fit it in well although I am not sure my lenses would hold muster
- I did chuckle when there was a synchronised shoot on the Gripen earlier.Used to love going to Fairford - I'd forgotten about it (thanks covid) it was back on this year.
Never mind, for a couple hours been sat in the garden enjoying our own private display in the warm sunshine and clear high cloud Oxfordshire sky - perfect for watching.
All begun when I heard a couple of noisy Typhoons go over, they must have done a circle around this area about a dozen times at least, breaking the 'quiet' late afternoon before being joined by The Black Eagles and Red Arrows - they looked very impressive going round together countless times. One of our granddaughters was so impressed she was videoing them and asking 'How do you get to do that, can girls get to fly them?' She's 12 and I've never seen her so excited!
Never mind, for a couple hours been sat in the garden enjoying our own private display in the warm sunshine and clear high cloud Oxfordshire sky - perfect for watching.
All begun when I heard a couple of noisy Typhoons go over, they must have done a circle around this area about a dozen times at least, breaking the 'quiet' late afternoon before being joined by The Black Eagles and Red Arrows - they looked very impressive going round together countless times. One of our granddaughters was so impressed she was videoing them and asking 'How do you get to do that, can girls get to fly them?' She's 12 and I've never seen her so excited!
Also used to go Mildenhall, Greenham etc. in the 70's, back when you could go in some of the aircraft, Galaxy, Starlifter, C-130 etc.
Most memorable was an AFRES Constellation from Reykjavik at Mildenhall, it was a rough old thing inside with a lot of the headlining held together with tank tape.
Also the US Navy would have a good assortment if a carrier was in port, the Skywarrior being a favorite.
Most memorable was an AFRES Constellation from Reykjavik at Mildenhall, it was a rough old thing inside with a lot of the headlining held together with tank tape.
Also the US Navy would have a good assortment if a carrier was in port, the Skywarrior being a favorite.
QuadCamCapri said:
Also used to go Mildenhall, Greenham etc. in the 70's, back when you could go in some of the aircraft, Galaxy, Starlifter, C-130 etc.
Last time I saw that kind of "lets show you onboard" at a proper airshow was more by accident than by design when a very fast moving and very heavy weather front moved through the Mildenhall airshow in '93 or '94 and the crew of the AC-130 I was looking at let people (inc myself) onboard for a few minutes to escape the torrential downpour.After that I worked on the Harrier display team in '97-98 and worked airside twice for the Waddo airshow in '04-'05 and haven't seen that public access since, other than 1-2 very small PR events on Merlins (school visit in Kenya etc).
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