Although too young to have seen the airshows of the 50s and 60s where huge formations would take to the skies, I still feel fortunate to have seen what was around in the 80s and up to the 90s (where family took priority over airshow attendance)
North Weald Fighter Meet was usually the first attendance on the calendar with a healthy mixture of old and new (a spirited performance by a fairly newish Tornado F2 in 86)
Next was the legendary Mildenhall Air Fete which was in a league of its own with its infamous hospitality (Bud and a wet burger)
This was back when the Cold War (original one) was still full on and the skies of East Anglia were almost solid aluminium.
Those days are gone and with numbers of aircraft very much down, the airshows of the past are just that. The only exception maybe RIAT but even that is a shadow of its former self.
Just my take.