Virginia Airshow
Great Airshow! Virginia does have the finest location for an airshow in the world. Full program and yes the 407 was looped and rolled much to the amazement of everyone present and on completion to the disbelief of the guys at Bell who were contacted.
They obviously cannot give the OK to such a display as it would set a huge precedent and open them to massive potential claims. The pilot on the day apparently did not exceed 60% tq, speeds were calculated and the manouvres were all done at 1 G. If this was in fact the case then there should be no stresses to the machine, however the possibility of things going wrong could have led to a mess.
I think that we can all see that if Bell were to give this a nod, then we would have many barely qualified people starting to do aerobatics and the resulting potential liability for Bell would be huge.
Airliners in the form of 1-Time (DC-9) and Nationwide performed some great flypasts. SAA were missed especially since they have gained a reputation worldwide for fantastic displays yet are unable to perform at a local event.
Silver Falcons had only one member present as the others have flu?! In days gone by, I am almost certail the show would have continued but the new generation....Bleat!
Sasol Tigers in their L-29's had bit of a touch on Saturday brining their display to an early end. Earlier they had given a very good formation display.
All in all a great day. The best thing about Virginia is the great weather in the middle of winter and the fact that it draws people for all over the world for the day and it is a great venue to sit back and meet old buddies, toss back a few cans of neck oil and revel with other genuine aviation junkies. (Like 4holerpoler who came half way accross the world for the show) I never miss the show!