sharksandwich #193
I was at Bournemouth yesterday too. I didn't see the Red Arrows "flying over residential areas and crowds ... at about 300 knots 100meters above your head." I did see a superb performance by highly skilled pilots - their exact formation flying is wonderful and their nine-ship formation roll, as one aircraft, is a joy to behold. I saw singletons at about 300 knots [maybe slower really] and 100 metres over the sea, not over my head – in fact sometimes they seemed about level with my head, where I was standing! Their display, and the other displays, were over the sea, not over the crowded foreshore and the built-up area.
After the Shoreham crash people are calling for that air show to be over the sea too. Safety-wise that sounds to make sense, but anyway I think the sea, and the sky over the sea, are a much better backdrop for displaying aircraft than an inland airfield.