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Just got back in from Southport Airshow and what a good day it was. The day looked duboius early as there was heavy rain on the way down especially on the M6 but luckily it brightened up and there were only a couple of showers during the rest of the day.
The display started at 12.00 with the Red Arrows with another polished performance before an hour gap till the display started properly, this was meant to be with the RAF Falcons but high winds put pay to this so we were treated to a couple of fly-by’s by the C-130 Jumpship. Next up came a demo by the Netherlands navy Bell 412, then came Anthony Hodgesons Spitfire presumably to replace the solo Harrier which never materialised. The T-33 gave a smoth and graceful display as always this was followed by the Extreme team who were very impressive as i have not seen them before and IMHO were better than the Microlease Team. The Sea vixen was up next and seemed to be thrown about more than last year in a very impressive demo. The RAF Tucano and RNHF Swordfish were up next but this was break time for me. The utterley Butterley team were next and i found them very enjoyable and low and very easy to get photos of. Also impressive were the lynx pair from the RN top marks to them. Smooth displays came from the Canberra WK163 and the BBMF Spitfire II and Hurricane { no lanc, obviously still got probs !! }. My personal fave the Alpine Sukhoi was up next and Mr Curtiss did not dissapoint with an extra 60hp this year there were a couple of extra cobra’s thrown into the routine for good measure, well impressive ! The RAF hawk was last to display before the set piece beach attack.
The beach assault was well executed with help from the RN Lynx duo, Chinook, 4 x Harrier GR7 and Tornado GR4. It was nice to see the Chinook whose demo included lifting a jeep and the backwards wheelie and as for the Harriers well, wow, there was not the formation display by four as there was last year but it was still worth the entrance fee alone. The beach was rocked by explosions and there was again the cannon straffing run. Two of the GR7’s then came and hovered in front of the crowd while the other two crept up low and fast to pull vertical from behind them, absolutly bloody brilliant, the RAF Tornado GR4 rounded off the display and on it’s last low and fast pass there was another BIG dettonation on the beach. Another great display at Southport despite the showers and a rather damp beach !
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