Well I was introduced to aviation by my dad in 1963. It was a Tiger Club display at Fairoaks and included Turbs flying tied together, Turbs and Tiger Moths flour bombing a moving Commer van, Crazy Flying of the 'oh no he's never flown before! Someone Stop that aeroplane!!' variety, and a superb handicapped air race with a rich variety of machines taking part. There might also have been a White Mustang with an American registration, or was that in subsequent years? At the end of the show I had my first flight, in an Auster. Terrific fun!!!
Subsequently I have been to Farnboroughs since 1964, Biggin Hill up until the 80's, Upper Heyford, etc etc up to the RIAT and Farnborough of this year.
The biggest difference is that new aircraft are few and far between, and common re-equipment programmes mean each Air Force is likely to fly the same type and the variety is therefore very limited. The F16 display is still excellent to watch, and the Harrier is as agile as ever .....................but it's very old hat. I've seen a similar display for going on 30 years!!! I got very little thrill in watching straight line fly bys by the B1B and B52. Are they really so lacking in agility that they cannot do more?
Shoreham is my local airfield and I will go along and support the airshow because I think it's important to back the efforts of the management who are doing a good job of growing the airfield. The display last year was pretty much the same as the last few years only minus a lot of the RAF aircraft such as the Nimrod. The highlight for me was the microlight and geese for goodness sake!!! Oh and the glider and Dennis Kenyons display. So I started to watch the crowd. The kids were still excited by the display which has to be a good thing, and the fast jets were appreciated as were the display by Denny Dobson amongst others, but the 'wow' factor was not constant.
At Kemble the best display was the Chinook which was terrific, and the Red Bull Air Race idea was interesting, but the rest was pretty bland.
What is going to make me, a 40 year airshow veteran, gasp? New and different aircraft will always excite, particularly fast jets. The Sukhoi 26 and Yak 52 turning inside out amaze me, as much for the ability of the pilot to stay conscious. I am looking forward to seeing the A380 take to the skies, the Boeing Dreamliner, JSf and a few other designs. The Russian types, the new Indian Indiginous designs. Something other than the 30 year old designs that currently fill the spaces.
Old Warden is tremendous and I try to go there a couple of times a year. You know what you will get at Old Warden and it is a smaller show which can achieve success on far smaller numbers than RIAT or even Kemble.
Not sure how much sense this makes as it is late and I am rambling! I might cringe when I read it tomorrow
