Often referred to as the “Sunshine Capital of the South”, Eastbourne struggled to live up to its moniker for this year’s Airbourne airshow. However, as the event is run over four days, from Thursday to Sunday, this allowed ample opportunities for its “star” performer, that rarely seen orange ball, to put in an appearance and, after two grey days, the sun did appear briefly on day three before surprising many and performing a full routine on the last day!
So what of the other “stars” of the show? Airbourne attracts a mix of performers, some of which take part every day, some of which don’t; but this doesn’t prevent a full programme of displays each day. As it’s a seaside location this obviously means that the display aircraft have to operate from airfields elsewhere, with the majority operating from Shoreham to the west and the jets predominantly from Manston to the east. As is common these days, a few of the items were shared with other events, with a number also taking part in the Invicta Military Vehicle Preservation Society Combined Ops show at Headcorn.
The main viewpoint for watching the action is the beach and seafront near the town centre, which is also where the arena displays take place. But other viewpoints are available and the most popular of these is up on the cliffs at nearby Beachy Head which offers spectacular views, not only over the town and the bay, but also of any aircraft that fly under the cliffs. This is also the location for a helicopter landing site, with pleasure flights being operated for visitors to the show. For a very different, and quite unique perspective, a few hardy souls took to the water in their boats.
Whilst Airbourne is a free airshow, there were plenty of people out shaking buckets and trying to persuade the audience to part with their hard earned cash with any monies raised being split between funding the event and the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI). The town’s own lifeboats were on hand and highly visible throughout which hopefully encouraged people to donate to what is a hugely worthy cause.
The programme varied between the days but the following participants featured at one time or another: Aerobatic routines were performed by the SWIP Team of Pete Wells and Guy Westgate in their Silence Twisters, the RV8tors of Andy Hill and Alister Kay in their RV8s and the Matadors, Paul Bonhomme and Steve Jones of course, in their brand new Sbach 300s.
For warbird fans Jon Drake was on hand in the Real Aeroplane Company’s T-6G Texan (painted as a US Navy SNJ) whilst Peter Teichman had most of his collection at Shoreham, providing two displays a day in different aircraft. John Romain brought the Aircraft Restoration Company’s two seat Spitfire TR9 whilst for jet warbird fans Mark Linney was on hand in the Golden Apple F-86A Sabre whilst Jonathon “Flapjack” Whaley wowed the crowds in his beautifully painted Hunter “Miss Demeanour”.
Eastbourne is always well supported by the UK military and, as well as arena displays, there were a selection of airborne items. On show from the RAF were the usual suspects of Flt Lt Shaun Kimberley in the Tutor, Flt Lt Dan Hayes in the Tucano and Flt Lt Jules Fleming in the Hawk. A welcome addition this year was the Tornado Role Demo, with the sight and sound of a pair of XV(R) Squadron GR4s tearing up the bay proving quite memorable!
As real air combat action raged in the skies over Eastbourne during the Battle of Britain, the sight of the RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) is always a powerful reminder of the past, and the price paid for the freedoms we enjoy today. This was perhaps more poignant this year, given the events in England’s cities over the previous weekend.
The Royal Navy’s contribution to the air display came from the Black Cats, but unfortunately one aircraft became unserviceable so they were reduced to a solo performer, and it was announced on Sunday that the pilot’s wives had been dispatched to Yeovilton to pick up a spare part for the broken aircraft! The Lynx also provided the airlift for the two parachute display teams on show. Ironically, and rather bizarrely, the Tigers from the Army’s Prince of Wales Royal Regiment jumped in to the water, whilst the Royal Navy’s Raiders preferred the dry option and landed on the beach!
The only other military display was by Michel “Mitch” Beulen in the Belgian Air Force F-16AM. Mitch started his display with a formation flypast alongside a warbird, very much in the style of the USAF Heritage Flights; on Saturday it was with Peter Teichman in his P-40 and on Sunday it was John Romain in the Spitfire. While the RAF’s Tornado GR4 Role Demo didn’t feature its usual pyrotechnics, Mitch more than made up for that by pumping out plenty of flares during his routine; which looked particularly good against Sunday afternoon’s blue sky.
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