Puma Upgrade Delay
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Odiham
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Fareastdriver - might be worth thinking before you open your mouth and let your belly rumble. The CH47 is going through a huge amount of turmoil and still working incredibly hard, Air Shows are an expensive luxury, which , while great for PR and morale, are not operationally essential. The CH47 has displayed at several air shows around the country this year, as best they could fit into another busy year (and won most of the display awards too - well done Piggy and the boys!) but they can't be everywhere so dry your eyes and stop being rude - please. 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: United Kingdom
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There are only three Air Force Board sponsored air shows, and next year it is probable there will be only two. In 2013 the displays of Hawk, King Air, Tutor, and Tornado role demo were all withdrawn. It is not unreasonable to expect the RAF air shows to have 100% primacy over the remaining display assets. No-one would argue that Leuchars is a fair slog for a helicopter, however the transit flights could easily have included training inclusive of Spadeadam EW range and some fighter evasion with the abundance of Typhoon flying that took place this weekend. To have not a single JHC asset at Leuchars is a reflection of who pulls the helicopter force strings these days, and there is more to JHC than Chinook alone.
"Where was the Typhoon on Odihams familys Day". Is not the way it works, neither does 'mates rates'. I appreciate though that one would like to think it could work that way, as indeed it once did. There is evidence that such a system influences international participation at UK air shows but that is compromised by a lack of appetite for public displays across the board. Thankfully is is yet to be as bad as in the USA these days.
"Where was the Typhoon on Odihams familys Day". Is not the way it works, neither does 'mates rates'. I appreciate though that one would like to think it could work that way, as indeed it once did. There is evidence that such a system influences international participation at UK air shows but that is compromised by a lack of appetite for public displays across the board. Thankfully is is yet to be as bad as in the USA these days.
Join Date: Aug 2001
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AL1. I am told that Apache was scheduled but Cx due Wx. Which of course is entirely reasonable as the rain on friday was far from nice, and TAF poor for Saturday, although CAVOK prevailed for much of the day.
TM,
ET at weekends? Might upset the locals and make an interesting phone call to LF Ops....though I did arrange an affil sortie for the RTB with a Jag at the airshow party at Waddington one year...should have been a pair but someone had flattened the battery on his jet cranking the canopy to show 'interested tax payers' the cockpit . It was like clubbing a seal though....
Perhaps after events in the past, the Typhoon force has 'there be dragons' marked on their maps re the Odiham MATZ...
ET at weekends? Might upset the locals and make an interesting phone call to LF Ops....though I did arrange an affil sortie for the RTB with a Jag at the airshow party at Waddington one year...should have been a pair but someone had flattened the battery on his jet cranking the canopy to show 'interested tax payers' the cockpit . It was like clubbing a seal though....
Perhaps after events in the past, the Typhoon force has 'there be dragons' marked on their maps re the Odiham MATZ...
Last edited by Evalu8ter; 9th Sep 2013 at 00:20.
