Sorry lads but its true. This is an era that's probably, after this, coming to an end.
And I'm sorry but I for one will be glad.
There are so many crashes I can think of involving these old planes and their crews, that my former colleagues attended some of them/witnessed them.
The country has been very fortunate that people on the ground were generally usually missed - that ended yesterday.
I mean going back, I can think of both Sea Fury's in the 80's or 90's. The Firefly. The Mosquito. The Jetstream. The Blenheim. The Beaver..several Hurricanes and Spitfires. The Gnat and now the Hunter. Its a long list...The recent Lancaster fire - incredibly fortunate no one was killed. The Victor near take off thing..it just goes on and on.
You've been (or we have been-the non flying ground living people that is) getting away with it, every Summer for years.
Do some of you seriously think this sort of risk is still acceptable in the modern age?
You've got to weigh up the money generated and the joy derived against the risk to the general public overhead a small highly populated little island.
The planes are getting older, the money to maintain them harder to find, the skill base of the experts who flew and maintained them disappearing.
I've seen this close hand, seen the pressures they worked under to keep them flying.
Well, I've said it for years on Prune, this is an industry that needs closer and harder scrutiny from people outside of the club.
Or even call time on it?
It presently doesn't add up in favour of the safety of the public.
The lad above who said I make outrageous posts...I like being a contrarian and thinking against the herd. I spout probably as much but no more bollocks that many others on here. Who was right here? Me.
There will be millions sitting over their cornflakes this morning only asking the same basic question - why has this been allowed to happen?
Again.. the thing is I watched Air shows and was involved with them for 30 years....military ones as a grunt.. It made me progressively more and more uneasy...no going to go into that on here.
My feeling is this sort of thing will simply happen again and again until the public or print media get fed up. Its a big money generating industry and anyone who ever puts their head over the parapet generally gets sneered at (like me). Not an easy task to bring it down -money acts for its defence.
Anyway, I will go on avoiding air shows (as far as I am allowed to) like the plague.
And my true condolences to the families of the people on that road.
HS.