The RAFA Shoreham Airshow has long been a favourite of mine on the British air display calendar. The winning combination of modern military, classic jets, vintage warbirds, aerobatics and display teams has served Shoreham and similar displays of its ilk well, providing a balanced, crowd-pleasing programme of perennial airshow favourites, exciting new acts and dramatic set-pieces.
2011 was no exception in that regard, with a layered and very varied six or so hours of flying staged, at times, under stunning blue skies and sweeping cloudscapes; a welcome return to the traditional good weather that Shoreham has enjoyed for much of the last decade after last year’s partial washout.
Indeed, the flying programme had a little something of everything. To take probably the most clear cut contrast, Shoreham 2011 went from a microlight formating with a flock of geese to the tremendous de Havilland Sea Vixen D3 from Bournemouth. It’s clearly a popular blend, judging by the heaving crowds on both days (yet it’s worth noting that I arrived unusually late to the dance on both days and experienced no notable problems getting in).
The two clear highlights in the flying display for me were the now annual Battle of Britain ‘scramble’ and the aforementioned Sea Vixen, the latter replacing the unserviceable Avro Vulcan at the last minute. All credit to both the organisers and operators for facilitating the ‘Vixen’s appearance; the twin-boom beast’s display combined the type of grace one associates with a de Havilland design with the bruising, raw power of an aircraft that almost feels like it’s tugging ferociously at the shackles, begging to be unleashed. A UK show-stealer, if ever there was one.
Simon Hargreaves’ superb display in the Sea Vixen had the crowds on their feet and was clearly a star attraction at a show lacking modern fast jet participation, with Sunday’s performance seeing plenty of vapour streaming from the wingtips and, in one absolutely cracking moment, a cloud of vapour bursting over the top wing and fuselage as the aircraft screamed through at low level, topside. Scintillating stuff, and an aircraft I’d happily travel long distances and pay good money to see again.
While the Shoreham Airshow’s original, strong line-up of classic jets had diminished somewhat in the absence of the Vampire and Strikemaster, the paraffin burning quota was more than adequately filled by Jonathon Whaley in his striking Hawker Hunter F58 ‘Miss Demeanour’ and a nicely choreographed and very photogenic Gnat duet from North Weald, the latter in particular having tightened up their routine a lot since they first appeared at Shoreham in 2009.
The Shoreham Airshow’s big centrepiece each year is its Battle of Britain airfield attack, ‘scramble’ and formation/tailchase scenario, put together by John Romain and the Aircraft Restoration Company utilising Spitfires, Hurricanes and Messerschmitts to render a very effective Luftwaffe raid on Shoreham airfield, circa August 1940.
I seem to say this each year, but 2011’s battle really did top the previous year’s efforts in more ways than one. The choreography and timing was pretty much spot on, with constant movement in front of the audience for near on 40 minutes. Starting with a pyrotechnic-filled assault by the Hispano HA-1112 Buchon and Messerschmitt 108 Taifun (Messrs Romain and Denney playing the Hun on this occasion), a pair of Hurricanes then launched straight off the bat to intercept the invaders, getting airborne amidst explosions and strafing effects.
This all developed at a fair pace, albeit one that was not rushed – each segment was given plenty of time to develop – with the Hurricanes and Messerschmitts wheeling around the sky in a mock dogfight as a brace of Spitfires scrambled beneath, before the Germans ‘headed for home’ and the Hurricanes flew a lengthy celebratory tailchase. This year, Dave Harvey led Carl Schofield in a close and highly photogenic sequence, a fitting prelude to the more popular Spitfires.
The aerial theatre concluded with a terrific Spitfire three-ship formation and tailchase set-piece that only the soulless would fail to be moved by. Cliff Spink, flying the Historic Aircraft Collection’s MkV, led Rod Dean and Dan Griffith in what I thought was the best of the Shoreham Spitfire sequences, with close and low ‘photo’ passes and sweeping barrel rolls aplenty proving that sometimes, numbers aren’t everything.
This was a stirring tribute to ‘The Few’ that will likely be overlooked by many in favour of the high-profile Flying Legends warbird displays come the end of the season, but for my money, it was up there with the best of them; a simply brilliant combination of evocative sights and sounds, and the sheer drama of emotive warbird flying.
Turning the clock back a couple of decades were the terrific Great War Display Team, which brought eight aircraft to Shoreham in a superbly choreographed aerial ballet. With SE5as, Junkers CL1s and Triplanes from both sides of No Man’s Land wheeling about the place in a constantly moving historical carousel, the Team give the very effective illusion of the sky being chaotically filled with aeroplanes engaged in combat.
Warbird aficionados were well catered for at Shoreham; in addition to the Battle of Britain forces, Peter Teichman’s Hangar 11 Collection contributed the Spitfire PRXI and Hawker Hurricane MkIIB, flying for what may be the first time together at an airshow as a duo.
Peter tailed Stuart Goldspink, who led in the ‘Hurribomber’ for formation passes and a break before each aircraft performed a beautifully flown solo that demonstrated the aircrafts’ capabilities whilst offering plenty of photographic opportunities for the photographers in the crowd.
On the American front, Maurice Hammond’s P-51D Mustang pair provided excellent value for money, with Maurice and Dave Evans flying ‘Marinell’ and ‘Janie’ in a lengthy slot that included formation passes, a brief tailchase, a formation with B-17 ‘Sally B’ and individual displays.
Dave Evans’ ‘Janie’ solo was particularly spritely, with one low plan-form pass bringing the Mustang directly in front of Lancing College at low altitude. Further North American aircraft representation could be found in the form of the locally-based T-6 Texan, with John Drake producing a fine account of this raucous trainer.
The B-17 put in an elegant individual showing, with Saturday’s display seeming longer and closer than many of the ‘Sally B’ displays of late, with the pilot bringing the ‘Belle’ in for some of those illusive topside passes that many photographers crave.
The soulful sonata of the B-17’s four Wright Cyclone engines is enough to stir something deep within us all, and the part that ‘Sally B’ plays in reminding this generation of the sacrifices of the allied forces during World War Two should never be underestimated. She’s a national treasure, as far as I’m concerned, and long may she remain so.
Further ‘heavies’ on show included the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’s Avro Lancaster and the Catalina Preservation Society’s Duxford-based Catalina, the latter appearing in salute of 70 years of Search & Rescue, one of the show’s primary themes.
Bringing the theme right up to date was a welcome and relatively rare SAR demo by a 22 Squadron Sea King HAR3 from RAF Wattisham. Joining the Sea King in the RAF camp were the 22 Group trainer solos of Tutor, Tucano and Hawk, all of whom had a busy weekend commuting to and from Bournemouth - albeit the last named only did so on the Saturday due to the grounding order placed on the aircraft following the tragic loss of "Red 4", Flt Lt Jon Egging, on recovery to Hurn post-display.
The Shoreham Airshow has always featured a strong smattering of civilian aerobatic types, and 2011 followed suit with some commanding displays from both display teams – the ever-dependable Yakovlevs; the slick Blades; the high-octane Pitts Pair; perennial crowd-pleasers the Breitling Wingwalkers and airshow-favourites the SWIP Team – and solo aerial artists – local man Justyn Gorman in the Extra 300 and Super Decathlon; the inimitable Guy Westgate with gliderFX, and Brendan O’Brien’s trailer-top landing in his Piper Cub.
Justyn Gorman’s contributions over the weekend are particularly worthy of comment, I feel: he has really stepped up his Extra display to the next level, with a stunning succession of gyroscopic manoeuvres that seemingly draws influence from the likes of aero-maestro Xavier de Lapparent.
Equally, his Decathlon display is mightily impressive in its own right, albeit cut from an entirely different stylistic cloth. His series of negative-G half-cubans, stall turns, hesitation rolls and knife-edge passes in the unassuming Decathlon rivalled any of the regular aerobatic acts in attendance; with all due respect, if there’s a display pilot deserving of being seen by a wider audience, it’s this man.
Brendan O’Brien’s Flying Circus provided something of a contentious debate amongst some of us in attendance over the weekend. Naturally, it goes without saying that it is a first class (if bonkers!) bit of flying that, in that respect, is a true winner in that it provides a unique alternative to the other individual and team acts. However, I must confess that I find the current incarnation of the accompanying story to be something of a step in the wrong direction.
The ‘ancient pilot struggles to land aircraft’ angle is a valid take on the Flying Circus gimmick, but the real grating point is the commentary. Some of it works quite well, but the endless stream of clichés – the elderly aviator dropping his toffee, the dinner-based telephone conversation with ‘the wife’ and, most embarrassingly, the desperate cries of “I need a wee!” – detract from what is in itself a bloody good display act.
Personally speaking, I’d prefer to see the commentary toned down significantly, though the families and general public seemed to be lapping it up, so perhaps it’s the cynical enthusiast in me talking here!
On the subject of airshow commentary, Shoreham’s resident commentator, Terence Henderson, did a fine job of commentating for several hours, drawing on many of his own experiences and anecdotes to guide the crowd through the flying.
While he was generally very knowledgeable and easy on the ear, some of his repeated name-dropping was a little tough to stomach after the sixth hour. I don’t mean that to sound like a knock on the man by any means – he’s obviously done an awful lot, and I’m somewhat envious of the aircraft he’s flown and flown in! – but it grew tiresome as the day went on.
Closing the Shoreham Airshow on Saturday (and unfortunately grounded on Sunday due to higher winds) was the remarkable, if a little overlong, microlight and geese formation display, led by Christian Moullec.
The sight of a microlight leading – or being led by! – a flock of geese is one which is utterly unique to the airshow world as far as I’m aware, and at Shoreham Christian’s flight was hugely popular with the large crowds, drawing a rapturous, spontaneous round of applause over the weekend.
At a very competitive £20 per adult, the Shoreham Airshow offers tremendous value for money when compared to other smaller events that have heftier entry fees. Indeed, considering the fact that the spectators get a near six hour flying programme coupled with a large static of 30-40 civilian-operated aircraft from Ryan PT-22 Recruit to C-47 Skytrain and RAF Chinook HC3, a gamut of vintage gliders, and access to both the art deco terminal building and the Shoreham flying club (both of which offered refreshments), it’s hard to find fault in the pricing structure. Even the programme, despite its glaring typos and the occasional questionable photograph, is a well-produced, decent £5.
The Shoreham Airshow 2011 has every right to be lauded as a success – the crowds seemed to be back to their usual size after a slight dip last year, and the flying seemed more impactful than it has done at some larger venues with plenty of close passes and dramatic, but ultimately safe, flying.
As a family day out, encompassing the many ground attractions and an extensive, varied flying display, Shoreham is hard to beat. For the enthusiast, the blend of jets, warbirds and aerobatic aircraft was one that offered satisfying diversity as something of a “catch all” programme.
2011-08-26 - Ian Gallacher
Outstanding review of what was an excellent two days. Did Terence Henderson fly Concorde whilst flying for BA? not sure whether he mentioned it at all.
If you would like to discuss using any of our imagery or feature content please contact us.