When I was a lad aged 13, the first air show I attended was the 50th Anniversary Golden Jubilee of the RAF at Abingdon which was open to the public on Saturday 15 June 1968, the day after the Royal Review.
I was enthralled by it - particularly due to the vast variety of aircraft which included many rare items from the early days, including those retired within the previous 10 years that were interesting, unique British designs, along with every single then current inventory item. For instance it was possible to see a Valiant, Javelin, Swift, Beverley, Belvedere, Sycamore, Twin Pioneer, Anson and a Bloodhound site.
This shows the scale of the event:
RAF Golden Jubilee Air Display
eg flypasts by 24 x V-bombers and 28 x Lightnings and an air / land demo with Belfast, Hercules, Andover and 24 x Wessex ! There was also a display by the first production Harrier.
Immediately thereafter, I decided that I wanted to join the RAF rather than the Army. Summers for the next few years were filled with wall-to-wall military airshows which for me typically comprised attending RAF BoB Open Day at RAF Abingdon and all the USAF bases Upper Heyford, Alconbury, Mildenhall, and Woodbridge / Bentwaters, all within 10-100 miles.
Within 8 years I was a JEngO on a front-line squadron in RAFG and the rest is, as they say, history !
