Airshow - Lancaster Bombers

Having tried to see the two Lancaster bombers flying together at the Bournemouth Air Festival earlier this year when I was disappointed to find the Canadian bomber VeRA had suffered an engine failure.
My dad and I were determined to see it but could not make it to any of the other air shows it was meant to be visiting but found out it would be flying over Collingham, Nottinghamshire on the 20th September. Having moved a few things around we decided to go up and have a look and were not disappointed.

The venue turned out to be a village show which seemed to have a lot more attendees that they normally would of had, as the Lancaster's were running late we decide to have a look around the show and grab a bite to eat which was a pleasant enough way to pass the time. When they finally arrived there was no warning over the PA that they were about pass over. Hearing he sound of the eight Merlin engines was the first I knew and with in a few seconds they broke into sight over the trees and within a minute they were gone again, luckily I had my camera at the ready, but with so little notice it was difficult to frame a shot.

Whilst I did not get any great pictures I will always remember seeing and hearing them go over head and I am so glad we made the effort to go and see them.

Airshow - Bournemouth Air Festival

As the Vulcan was not at the Royal International Air Tattoo this year and we wanted to see it fly we had a look around at the options.  As we were going to Weymouth anyway we opted for the Bournemouth Air Festival a show we had never been to before.

Later we found out that the Canadian Lancaster bomber would be flying there also which would of been an amazing bonus but unfortunately it was cancelled due to engine problems.  Hopefully we will  be able to see it for it goes back to the other side of the pond most likely never to return.

So what about the show?  Well its a very different show from the ones we normally go to such as RIAT or Cosford and was in fact the first seaside show we had been to.  This has some plus points and some negatives, on the plus side you are much closer to the flight line so you get a great view, the only real negative is that you miss the take off and landings, oh and its a bit sandy!

Once again we opted for the hospitality which made the rush to find some space on the beach not a problem.  I would however say this is probably the ideal family air show as even if you have no interested in planes (and naval ships) you can still have a nice day on the beach.  The only other suggestion I would have is go by train if at all possible it sounded as though parking was a nightmare!

Below is a link to a few more pictures I took although I was having camera / operator problems so unfortunately they are not great!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/125404669@N05/sets/72157647067524872/

The highlight of the show for me was rather predictably the Vulcan which did an amazing howl.  My dad agreed but added that the Typhoon was a very close second for him.  So would we go again, yes, yes I would.

Airshows - Royal International Air Tattoo

Airbus A400M

My dad and I made our annual trip to the Royal International Air Tattoo the other weekend, we have been going each year since 2007 with the exception of the 2008 cancelation and 2012. As always we opted for aviation club tickets for which the private route to the air field and parking on the apron are a big plus.  Add to that, a nice lunch, tea & coffee, toilets you would be willing to use and private seating I can almost convince myself its good value.


So what did I think of the show itself? Well lets get the bad points over with first. We were both, along with many others, very disappointed to see the Vulcan would not be appearing at this years tattoo.  You can read for yourself the "reasons" on the web but what ever the reason many people purchased tickets months in advance on the basis it would be attending. The other big disappointment was that the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II which was meant to be the highlight of the show was unable to attend due to an engine failure and a subsequent grounding, needless to say this was out of the Air Tattoo's hands and regardless safety must come first.  The final couple of negative points; I do wonder whether there were a few to many display team this year, I understand this was to celebrate the Red Arrows 50th anniversary but a bit more variety in the types of aircraft would of been nice.  I could not help but think these long displays may of pushed the Vulcan off the program.  The only other negative and this is more of a personal thing but for the money we spent on enclosure tickets it would of been nice of had wifi access.

Sukhoi Su-22 'Fitter'

Now we have issues out the way let have a look at some of the highlight of the show.  I thought the Polish Air Force Sukhoi Su-22 'Fitter' display was excellent and could well be the last time I will get to see this relic of the cold war smoking up the sky.  When it came to the fast jets I think the RAF Typhoon display takes it for me but the Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet's display gets an honourable mention.  Where the transport planes are concerned whilst I love the Airbus A400M as an aircraft the Italian C-27J Spartan display was as always something else, I am still amazed to see an aircraft of that type loop the loop.  The RAF Chinook display was by far my favourite of the rotary wing displays although the Army Air Core Apache display was entertaining. The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight's Lancaster and Spitfire both gave impressive displays and it was nice to see the Dakota flying again.  Finally the Red Arrows were back to the usual high quality display and it was nice that they had a reasonable high cloud level to work with.

To wrap up this article, will I be going next year?  I would like to say if they have the Vulcan etc, but who am I kidding I will most likely go regardless.  Below is a link to a few more of the pictures I took on the day, if you read this far they might be of interest.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/125404669@N05/sets/72157645723728565/