roscoriaFarnborough SAAB VIGGEN
Memorable because of the SAAB VIGGEN. I can remember that nearly everytime I visited Farnborough the weather was generally cloudy, which was great for seeing the Reheat, especially of the viggen. Towards the end of the show, the Viggen would taxi ( spelt it right this time) towards the end of the runway, then it would continue and stop nearly midway along the runway. This demonstration of its short take off and landing capabilities will stick in my mind forever because it was so unusual. So, those of you who were also there, will know exactly what an experience it was. The commentator explained that this aircraft was designed too operate off of Motorways, as I am sure you all know. After some delay, which increased the tension somewhat, the Viggen started its short take off. The flying display was all reheat , with some pretty neat aerobatics. The best bit was when it landed with its reversed thrust system, and came to an abrupt stop. Then the pilot decided to go for another take off, which really surprised me, and probably everyone else. I must hand it too SAAB, great display ,great plane, ( it used canards at the front) truly quite remarkable for its time. From an air display point of view, I prefer the Viggen too the latest Grippen. Sorry guys, but the difference is noticable. One thing that surprised me about Farnboroughs runway was how close it was too the crowd line, its the closest I have come too experiencing the shockwave of reheat at take off, right across my chest . I often used too think what the police thought of all that, because they were standing much nearer in front of the crowdline. Yes, Farnborough was a great experience, I guess things are different now though.
roscoriaRoscoria
Yes, it was always exciting to see an F111 display, I remember seeing a formation come over Mildenhall once and each one had their wings set at a different angle.
I was also lucky enough to have been at RIAT when the Aussie F-111 did his display and burn all to the music of Rolf Harris!
Another interesting experience I had at Alconbury was being allowed to scramble to the back of a KC-135, which I recall was full of huge fuel tanks, where I was met by the refuelling boom operator who got me to lie down in the operating position and patiently gave me a lecture on how the thing worked, pity we were’nt in the air at the time as all I could see out the window was concrete and people peering up at me.
Pete
That F111 at RIAT I understand flew from Australia just to participate in the show. I have it on VHS tape, but it dosn’t show the whole display,which is a great pity really, that’s another one I missed. Also missed the last F111 display at Mildenhall, commemorating its last year as an operational plane. Now I only have myself to blame because I didn’t keep up with the Airshow news. As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I was getting bored with Airshows, so lost interest for a few years. Timed that well didn’t I.
as I said earlier the collour scheme was nice too look at,forgot too mention the underneath was painted Black, that really made it stand out from the rest.
One last word on the F111. I visited Upper Heyford once on a non Airshow day and had a rather scary experience with Security which I won’t go into details about. But it did teach me a lesson , thankfully this is Britain so the situation was resolved without too much difficulty. I guess my next post wil be Farnboroughs Saab Viggen displays, catch you all later.
roscoriaI too was at the airshow that day and, yes, it was a fantastic airshow for all the wrong reasons.
We took lots of groundsheets and a windbreak and built a shelter on the fenceline which actually kept us dry, apart from the odd drip, it was very strange to be sitting there with no-one for miles on either side, I’ve never seen the place so empty, most people were lurking under the shelters round the barbecues, I made sure I wasn’t far from one so I could make a dash in my cape to top up with that heavenly grub.
I seem to recall that it was the first time that a B2 had landed in Britain and it was positioned up the far end surrounded by dripping guards.
I was even more impressed when it took off in the rain, the sight of the water shooting over those wings was amazing.
As far as I remember most of the flying display did take place, despite the weather, I did manage to get some good video footage which makes interesting viewing.
With regard to Alconbury, we were once allowed in to Famillies Day, the day before the actual public show itself, I just phoned up and they told me I was quite welcome to go in.
It was the first show after the First Gulf War and the resident Warthogs were resplendant in all their artwork, there were no barriers around the a/c and you were actively encouraged to sit in the cockpits, which I gleefully took full advantage of, the one that surprised me was being allowed to clamber all over an EC-111 Raven and I recall being surprised at the lack of sophistication of the cockpit layout.
While all this was happening the airshow practices were being carried out and TFC/OFMC arrived with their Warbirds, I was in the cockpit of a C-141 at the time and all the aircrew ran out to watch Ray Hannah perform a routine in MH434, they were very impressed.
That was probably the most unusual and unexpected airshow that I ever went to.
HI Pete.
You were certainly lucky to have visited Alconbury,and been able to sit in the aircraft cockpits. Your’e making me feel jealous.
The F111 was a favourite plane ,so I would have loved to have sat in its cockpit. I guess life is full of missed oppurtunites, and I had my fare share of those.
That F111 was designed back in the 60’s so the technology was relevant to that era. However it was built to withstand the Electro Magnetic Pulse of a Nuclear blast, which means Vacuum Tube Valve technology would have been used throughout.
What in my mind made the F111 different from other planes, were its Dart like features and unique nose cone. Also the painted camoflage looked impressive with its light and dark green, light brown colours. Another feature which I found amusing was the large air brake underneath the Fuselage which were part of the main undercarriage system.During take off the plane had to fight the drag effect of that airbrake, which made those F111 takeoffs something special to see. With its wings swept back for a high speed pass with reheat, the F111 was an awesome sight . Unfortunately I never saw its burning fuel display ,which the australian airforce would perform….
roscoriaYou should watch the anime “801 TTS Airbats” F-18 There you’d have a field day oogling JASDF Aircraft and babes all day long
OOgling those nice young Ladies at Airshows,now thats a great idea.
roscoriaNice young Lady
JASDF F-4EJ Kai 67-8384
Dosn’t she look just great, wish I had been there.
roscoriaGirls,Girls,Girls.
Blue Impulse Junior and F-2.
Take note British Airshows, this is the way to go.
roscoriaGirls,Girls,Girls.
Can I include a F-4EJ?
Now thats quite something, RIAT, take note.
roscoriaMy worst airshow
Must have been Farnborough back in the 70’s, it rained all day . I got soaked to the skin in my Duffle coat,and didn’t see anything flying. Dark grey clouds, but I did see the runway lights and they looked great.
roscoriaAlbatross, its a pleasure to hear from you, its been rather quiet on here lately.I don’t do Pylons because they are not quite antennas, are they. Look up QRZ.com and you’ll see where I am coming from.
roscoriaRAF ALCONBURY
Alconbury was another airshow I went to visit on occasions. What made Alconbury different though were the huge shortwave antennas, dotted around the base. As I am a Radio Amateur, holding the callsign G4ZZB, seeing those antennas was something special. There was no way I could ever hope of using antennas like those at home, with my Amateur Radio hobby. So always enjoyed looking at that particular static display. One particular antenna stands out from the rest, in that it looked rather like a huge Birdcage. There was a sign within the perimeter fence warning people to keep out. I thought that was quite interesting,those of you that understand Radiated power will realise, that Antenna must have radiated some serious power.
Fortunately Health and safety hadn’t caught up with the aviation world back then, so the flying displays were exciting too watch . Unfortunately the cold war was about too come too an end which had far reaching implications for the west. Those good old days, sadly, will never return. Credit where its due must go to those USAF personnel that made our day out so pleasurable. Thanks .
roscoriaNext years RIAT
I will be attending next years RIAT, may I make a few suggestions that may make it a special occasion for us jet buffs.
would it be possible for the organisers to include the following aircraft, to fly around the airfield (no aerobatics, just a few circuits).
F104 (ITALIAN AIR FORCE)
VIGILANTIE (US NAVY)
F14 (US NAVY)
MIRAGE F1 (FRENCH AIRFORCE)
F111 (AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE) AARDVARK
RAF HUNTERS
Crusader ( US NAVY)
RAF VULCAN
Corsair ( US NAVY)
RAF LIGHTNING
Sabre (US AIR FORCE)
SAAB Draken (Swedish Airforce)
Phantom ( TURKISH AIR FORCE)
SAAB VIGGEN( SWedish Airforce)
Voodoo (US AIR FORCE)
SR71 BLACKBIRD *3 :diablo:
F106A Delta Dart (US AIR FORCE)
How about the BLUE ANGELS aerobatic display team F18 Hornets, only the Blue Angels can really demonstrate the F18’s full capabilities.
Mig 25 Foxbat
Mig 23
Mig 21
Tupolev Backfire
:diablo: :diablo: :diablo: 😎 😎 😎 🙂 🙂 🙂
ok then, did you enjoy my dream and hows your ears. :dev2:
If you managed to beat the HUGE traffic jams trying to get in, you would be in for a real treat. I think Gloucester would come to a standstill. Look out for the late arrivals.
The point I am trying to make here is that the past 50 years has been a remarkable time for our technological development, especially Military aircraft. We have been very fortunate to experience this exciting age in our development as an intelligent species. And as we all know it won’t stop there.
roscoriaLast Mildenhall Airshow
The last Mildenhall Airshow I went to see turned out to be memorable for all the wrong reasons. On the way to the show it was raining heavily,and it didn’t stop until the afternoon. It was tricky getting into the base because it was very muddy, USAF personnel guided us towards the parking area in heavy rain, and there was a cold wind blowing, as well. Never experienced conditions like this before. Anyhow eventually we (my son and I) managed to park the car. We were fortunate to be able to park on a concrete area. Felt sorry for those that parked on the grass, because there was mud everywhere. In fact we saw one car which was completely covered in mud ,and the driver and passenger were sitting in there to keep out of that rain.I can only assume that a car in front of them had got stuck in the mud and sprayed their car with mud, what a sight that was.
Now being Mildenhall, and not RIAT, the show had to go on,which really impressed me. Cloud level was below 1000ft which would make flying difficult, and I would have thought impossible. But no, amazingly an F16 roared along the runway in that rain and once airbourne flew around the base.It was raining heavily and by now we had left the car and ran towards the crowd barrier.Watching that F16 was brilliant, never seen an F16 flying in the rain before. The pilot even managed a barrol roll, that really surprised me.
Then it was the B1 Lancers turn,this wet flying demonstration I will remember forever because it was so aggresive. One pass was very fast, wow the B1 was surrounded by a cloud, it looked just like a ghost, truly the most amazing sight I have ever seen. Congratulations to the pilot for that one,fantastic display. As the day progressed the rain stopped ,and the clouds cleared. The rest of the show was fabulous,even saw my first SAAB DRAKEN flying display, which never having seen one flying before , was truly memorable. Incidently , during the afternoon we noticed that there were some Thunderstorms a few miles away ,and there were dark clouds on both sides of the base,and yet above us there was blue sky for the rest of the day, most peculiar.
Mildenhall will go down as one of the best shows ever.
On the way out joining the traffic queue, USAF personnel were waving goodby to us .They sure know how to entertain us Brits.
roscoriaCould well be. The F-111 has a strange reputation in Australia. It is both a “wonder plane” and a “deathtrap.”
It’s also interesting that the RAAF has lost 8 out of 43 F-111’s in the course of some 30 years of operation, but has only lost 4 out of 75 F/A-18’s in about 20 years of service.
And God made the most dangerous animal on the Planet, a legacy we will have to live with. 😡 Or die for.
roscoria[QUOTE=Dubya]And given that the F-111 is approaching it’s retirement date in 2010 or even possibly 2008, I don’t think this one will be repaired.[/QUOT
roscoriaF104G Vikings
That would have been August Bank Holiday weekend 1987.
1987 was a great year for the IAT, last Vikings (or was the last Vikings at IAT in 1986?) and of course the last IAT Lightning displays. The Vikings nudged the sound barrier (an audible slight bang was picked up on my video camera at the same time as I nearly fell off the stepladder) on their pairs one slow – one fast flyby….ah happy days. I also remember 1987 had a stunning solo display by a Aeronavale F-8 Crusader 😀
Other memorable displays that didn’t feature Lightnings was the first Duxford display of Black 6…..never forget that sight and sound.
The 50th Anniversay Battle of Britain displays at Boscombe Down and Abingdon in 1990.
Oh and the memorable Lightning displays 🙂
Well obviously the Last, Last Lightning show at Binbrook in 1987, Fighter Meet North Weald in 1986, Pete Chapman’s solo at Biggin Hill in 1974 and especially the awsome solo by Mark Thompson in XP753 (see my avatar) at the BAe Hatfield familes day in July 1983. Sadly of course Mark was killed the following month in this aircraft doing an unauthorised aero’s display off Scarborough 🙁
JUST HAD TO REPLY TO THIS ONE. I would like to use this oppotunity too pay tribute to the F104( this plane really was the Ferrari of the aviation world) As we all know , of American design going back to the 60’s. It had a history of problems, and disasters, especially the F104G version. However it could fly on the edge of space, and its sheer acceleration made it a Star. For me anyway it was a legend of the jet age. Back then it was possible to get quite close to the F104 on the ground at airshows and listen to the engine as the pilot checked it out. My ears suffered, but the sound of that engine was something special, a hard too describe metallic sound. I believe NASA have one for testing purposes.Great plane of a great jet age. “The Lockheed Starfighter” Another great Lockheed design was the SR71 . Mega engines and massive Reheat. I remember when that roared along the runway at Mildenhall, breathtaking . :diablo:
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