Good luck to the Vulcan restoration project; apparently they’re
not far off getting the mighty V-bomber back into the sky. To witness the might and majesty of
an Avro Vulcan taking off and performing a routine at an air-show would be superb and certainly something to savour.
Whether this will actually happen is still in doubt due to lack of funding, they need pots of cash to get the old girl fully
airworthy so if you’re a multi-millionaire get your hand in your pocket for a worthy cause. Funny though, there used
to be airshows throughout the summer, proper airshows that is, not these sanitised ‘air-days’ that take place
at coastal resorts. You know, the ones where a feeble stunt plane does a death-defying routine at the end of the pier while
onlookers guzzle candyfloss and feed chips to the seagulls.
The whole airshow season used to last from spring to autumn.
I remember going to Mildenhall in May to witness the United States Air Force put on a feast of heavy metal (fast and noisy
jets) for the delighted crowds. We munched burgers and fries as F15’s shrieked across the skies and quaffed Budweiser
to the accompaniment of the incredible B1 bomber. The last show of the season always used to be Finningley near Doncaster
in September. One year the entire county was covered in a blanket of fog but we still went, the sound of a Sea King helicopter
somewhere in the mist was about the most memorable flying element of that day but of course the static display was still there
to enjoy.
The number of proper air-shows nowadays can be counted on
one hand. Not good enough, they’re the nations aircraft and we want to see them. Having said that, there isn’t
as much variety in the aircraft on display. Back in the seventies and eighties even our good old RAF could muster a wide range
of jets: Provost, Hawk, Hunter, Canberra, Buccaneer, Phantom, Jaguar, Harrier, Nimrod, Victor, Vulcan, VC10. A fine line up,
guaranteed to make the earth tremble and get the eardrums singing. Then there were the helicopters: Gazelle, Lynx, Wessex,
and Sea King, always good for an interlude between the fast and the furious. What have we got now? Hawk, Harrrier, Tornado,
and the new Typhoon. If we see a Nimrod flying maybe it would be best to keep some distance from it until someone decides
whether it is or isn’t airworthy. Nevertheless, with some co-operation from our continental cousins and the USAF we
could still produce a spectacle for the senses. Whilst we all know these machines are highly complex and dangerous there’s
definitely a thrill to be had from being near them, not that there’s much chance of that either. The poor old paying
punters are usually segregated well apart from the aircraft, another aspect of our nannying, over-protected society. What’s
the point of laying on these fantastic machines if we can’t get near them? There’s nothing like being ‘toasted’
by the jet-wash of an F-18 as it turns onto the runway, you ask my brother. There we were enjoying a fine day out at Church
Fenton air show, admiring a Canadian F-18 when activity increased around the aircraft, a pilot appeared, climbed into the
cockpit and started the engines. The aircraft had previously been part of the static display so we were still pretty close
after the barriers had been re-arranged, so when the aircraft nudged gently forward the sound was terrific, then the jet turned.
We were right in it’s wake and a hot hurricane blasted into our faces; what an experience, see, hear and feel the aircraft.
There’d be no chance of that today. Risk assessments and insurance policies combine to keep the paying public away from
anything mildly exciting, some loony would probably complain the jet engines were far too loud for their precious toddlers
sensitive ears. Well take them to a butterfly house instead then.
