Well, I've not been to an airshow since I was 13 (which was quite some while ago...) so the #Southport #Airshow, on the doorstep, seemed a good time to resolve the situation. Today, we were fortunate with the weather – cool (later, becoming cold!) and mostly cloudy with just a few spatters of rain. The sun even popped out briefly.

I arrived early for a quick look about the stalls, though they didn't hold much interest for me, so I made my way down across the very muddy beach to the front fence to claim my spot. Approximately 25,000 other people came along to see what turned out to be an excellent event.
The #Catalina flying boat kicked off the proceedings, followed quickly by the #Vampire, a light attack jet and trainer which was retired in 1993, as it jetted through the skies. A group display consisting of the Fairey #Swordfish, two Lynx helicopters and a Wasp helicopter then split to have individual flypasts from the Swordfish, and displays from the Black Cat (Lynx) helicopters.



The #Starlings #Aerobatic team gave a fine display as the pair of them demonstrated close, and individual, loops rolls and stall turns, intermittently producing thick white smoke. The #RAF Tutor was next, producing a thrilling display – these planes can be heard regularly over North Wales as the pilots learn advanced #flying techniques.

Then came the #Aerosuperbatics #Wingwalkers – two #biplanes, each topped by a young lady undertaking a variety of poses, headstands and the like, whilst the pilots twisted and turned, looped and came perilously close as they crossed over. Another biplane followed, this one fitted with two extra jet engines, to allow it to hover vertically – quite a bizarre feat to witness (as well as being very noisy). The pilot had adapted the plane himself, in between his day job as a commercial pilot for a well known British airline!



The show continued with a #WWII display, with a #Mustang P-51 and a #Spitfire flying together and performing some of the manoeuvres which would have been used in the dogfights of the second world war. The WWII theme continued with the only remaining #Bristol #Blenheim bomber to be flying. A beautiful aircraft, whose nose had actually been cut off a wrecked plane and used as part of a car: it was united with the rest of the aeroplane to produce the display craft. Continuing the display was the deHavilland Vampire – a twin tailed jet fighter brought in to service in 1945. It was used by the RAF for ground attack and training until 1966, when it was replaced by the Gnat.


We then moved to the modern era for the closing part of the show, with the RAF #Typhoon roaring across the display arena: the noise as it came across was quite something! A series of rolls, steep climbs and loops showed off the qualities of the aircraft, emphasised by the mist forming over the wings with the pressure drop during the tight turns and climbs, and the vivid colours of the jets at the rear of the craft.

Finally, the #Red #Arrows took us to the conclusion of the show with a breathtaking 25 minute display, demonstrating the amazing skills of each of the 9 pilots, as their close manoeuvring at closing speeds of around 800miles per hour brought gasps and squeals from the crowd. The various stunts were accentuated by red, white and blue smoke, and as this was their 60 year anniversary, a smoke filled 60 was entirely apt.



댓글