When the Swedish Airforce Historic Flight were first listed on the Jersey Airshow website only the Tunnan and Draken were down to display. Having seen both at the previous Zeltweg show I was in two minds about booking a day trip to the island of Jersey as it was the Viggen I most wanted to see. Fortunately a couple of days prior to the show the Viggen appeared in the flying display listing. When booking my flight a 7am start from Gatwick seemed a good idea but getting up at 4am and finding part of M23 shut for roadworks made me a little less enthusiastic. The nearly two hour delay of the flight (due to poor weather at Jersey) didn't help. A fast walk to the static park at Jersey Airport led to the disappointment of being a few minutes late for the 10-30am last entry. Life then got better as I had an excellent lunch at the Jersey Aero Club and being at the arrivals end of the runway allowed excellent opportunities for photography.
That is a very nice selection of pictures from the airport. As I have family living in St Helier, I flew out from Gatwick to Jersey on Tuesday afternoon, with just a brief look at the static aircraft as we taxied by, and went back there on Wednesday to watch the late arrivals and walk round the static park. As I had been invited to use one of the seafront enclosures, I was more than happy, given the mix of weather conditions that we had. The Viggen was one of the main display items in the show, but this aircraft will be remembered by the spectators gathered on the seashore by the noise and vibration generated by its engine that set off the alarms of the cars in the seafront car parks. Other display items of note were the F86 and Mig 15 duo, the Noratlas disgorging its load of parachutists at a very low level into the green slime on the beach. I think that the Chinook is always a favorite at a seaside venue because it is relatively slow and noisy and is in front of the spectators for a long time, unlike its two smaller cousins, the 'Huey' and the 'Loach' which tend to race around trying to do aerobatics. The aerobatics were provided by the Pitts Special, which demonstrated what was possible from a small aircraft with a very large engine, even at times getting it to fly backwards. The real aerobatics were provided by the 'Breitling Jets', flying six L-39C Albatross jet trainers, they may not be as fast, noisy or as showy as the Red Arrows, but they provide a very sedate type of display. It was unfortunate that there were a number of items missing from the programme, however, the aircraft that did manage to attend, gave a very good account of themselves. On my way back to Gatwick yesterday, it was sad to note that the F86 Sabre was parked up in a hangar looking rather sorry for itself.
That is a very nice selection of pictures from the airport. As I have family living in St Helier, I flew out from Gatwick to Jersey on Tuesday afternoon, with just a brief look at the static aircraft as we taxied by, and went back there on Wednesday to watch the late arrivals and walk round the static park. As I had been invited to use one of the seafront enclosures, I was more than happy, given the mix of weather conditions that we had. The Viggen was one of the main display items in the show, but this aircraft will be remembered by the spectators gathered on the seashore by the noise and vibration generated by its engine that set off the alarms of the cars in the seafront car parks. Other display items of note were the F86 and Mig 15 duo, the Noratlas disgorging its load of parachutists at a very low level into the green slime on the beach. I think that the Chinook is always a favorite at a seaside venue because it is relatively slow and noisy and is in front of the spectators for a long time, unlike its two smaller cousins, the 'Huey' and the 'Loach' which tend to race around trying to do aerobatics. The aerobatics were provided by the Pitts Special, which demonstrated what was possible from a small aircraft with a very large engine, even at times getting it to fly backwards. The real aerobatics were provided by the 'Breitling Jets', flying six L-39C Albatross jet trainers, they may not be as fast, noisy or as showy as the Red Arrows, but they provide a very sedate type of display. It was unfortunate that there were a number of items missing from the programme, however, the aircraft that did manage to attend, gave a very good account of themselves. On my way back to Gatwick yesterday, it was sad to note that the F86 Sabre was parked up in a hangar looking rather sorry for itself.
Thank you Robin for your view on the airshow. I was fortunate with the weather for most of the day although due to drizzle I could hear the Noratlas arriving back long before I saw it!
_DSC3184 by Richard Digby, on Flickr
_DSC3227 by Richard Digby, on Flickr
_DSC3129 by Richard Digby, on Flickr
_DSC3211 by Richard Digby, on Flickr
_DSC3214 by Richard Digby, on Flickr
_DSC3198 by Richard Digby, on Flickr
_DSC3071 by Richard Digby, on Flickr
_DSC2793 by Richard Digby, on Flickr
_DSC2925 by Richard Digby, on Flickr
_DSC2950 by Richard Digby, on Flickr
_DSC2957 by Richard Digby, on Flickr
