Top Ten Airshow Moments of 2010

[UK Airshow Review]

In reference to our latest feature article - Top Ten Airshow Moments of 2010 - what do you consider to be the most memorable points of last season? Do you agree with us? What else would you recommend?

Fire away!

[TYPHOON3]

From the shows i attended 1.Raptor at RIAT 2.Belgian F16 at RIAT 3.Spitfire/Typhoon at RIAT 4.Warbirds flypast at RIAT.5.A400M at RIAT 6.Harrier at Cosford 7.Tornado GR4 at RIAT 8.Dutch F16 at Cosford.9.Super Hornet at RIAT 10.Czech Grippen at Waddington.

[Bronco]

1 - Jet Man at Jersey
2 - A400M at RIAT
3 - 16 Spitfire Formation at Duxford
4 - Spitfire / Typhoon Display at RIAT
5 - Vulcan / Red Arrows at Jersey
6 - Dutch F - 16 at Cosford
7 - Brendan O'Brien Truck Top Landing at Kemble
8 - A380 at Farnborough
9 - Vulcan missed approach at Waddington
10 - Swordfish returns at Duxford

[timuss]

For me in no particular order:

VC-10 arrival at Biggin.
The Harrier display at Dunsfold in the late evening light.
The Typhoon and Spitfire sychro display.
The A380 thrown around at Farnborough.
The C130 display at Farnborough.
C-27 at Farnborough.
Beachy Head for Eastbourne as Mitch Beulen brought the belgian F-16 along for us with a nice topside.
In challenging conditions the scramble set piece at Shoreham this year.
The Vulcan missed approach pass.
The Sea Furies at Flying Legends.

[Finningley Boy]

1. Sunset Ceremony Flypast at Leuchars F3/Typhoon!
2. Belgian F16 at Waddington
3. Team Viper at Culdrose
4. Vulcan at Culdrose
5. BAE Systems Typhoon at Farnborough
6. Spitfire and Hurricane Formations at Duxford in September!
7. GR4 Pair
8. Dutch F16 at Leuchars
9. Team Viper at Leuchars
10.Super Hornet at RIAT/Tunnan at Leuchars (Tied for 10th Place )

FB

[Kieran]

1. Battle of Britain Salute at Duxford. Including the Hurricanes, Buchon, Gladiator and the infamous Spitfire flypast/tailchase.
2. Battle of Britain Salute at Biggin Hill.
3. Belgian F-16 at Biggin, RIAT, Duxford.
4. F-22 Raptor at RIAT.
5. Battle of Britain Salute at RIAT.
6. Harrier at Cosford.
7. Typhoon and Spitfire at Cosford. They did their display at the start of the rain, and they completed it!
8. MH434 at Biggin Hill.
9. Miss Demeanour at Cosford, Biggin Hill and Southport.
10. A-400M arriving on Friday for RIAT.

[A40-BP]

10- F-22 at RIAT
9- KC-135R and C-17 at RIAT
8- Miss Demeanor at Cosford,hadnt seen her for a few years until she stopped over at Hurghada on the way to Abu Dhabi so seeing a display a few months later was the icing on the cake!
7- Weather at Kemble, made it quite a day, certainly enhancing the Seafire, Spitfire Ia and C-47 display's.
6- Tornado role demo. Was good to see them return let alone as a pair, only problem being so far from the crowdline.
5- Sea King/A109 (German and Belgian) flypast at Weston Super Sludge helidays. What a superb way to end a long line of classic fly-in's on the lawns.
4- Vulcan, only saw her display the once this year, but seeing departure at Bournemouth and the spirited appearance at Coventry was a welcome addition.
3- 41Sqn at Coventry fly-in. To get the V-bird was a catch but a tonka as well! Also how i seemed to be the only one who noticed the run and break whlist everyone else was watching the Vulcan on base leg
2- Typhoon in general, Always loved its display. This year doesnt really stand out amongst the others, but that negative dive towards the end, WOW!
1- Finally the top slot has to be the return, and what turned out to be the departure of the Harrier GR.9. Shame it wasnt a full display but as long as it was in the air, who cares! Sadly no more.

7

[Trevsy]

For me the number one airshow moment of 2010 was without doubt, the F-22 at RIAT. It was not only the greatest airshow performance of 2010, but I think you could argue of all time at a British airshow. Why?...

In terms of airshow it performance it simply out outperforms any design before or since. The display gave the punters everything they could wish for from a fast jet display; mouth watering take off, close views of the aircraft in a dedication pass, incredible manoeuvres which almost defied belief, fast passes and zoom climbs. Some may well say we have seen this in the past - SU-37/Mig-29OVT etc, not like this you haven't, yes it do some of the same manoeuvres as the Mig OVT, however they were accentuated and made so much more extreme, falling further, climbing quicker, pulling away faster. But for me the real difference was absolute tremendous power of the Raptor. This was evident from the first moments of the display, where "Zeke" kept the aircraft very low after a ridiculously short (I would say 'take off' but I somehow feel "blast off" is more applicable), then the large airframe swung 90 degrees almost instantly and just carried on the accelerating vertically as if unaffected my the manoeuvre. The acceleration, again in stark contrast to other T/V aircraft we have seen, was quite simply breathtaking. Just staggering, what a machine!

Like many who would consider them aircraft enthusiasts one thing that we tend to like is the rib-cage rattling roar of a powerful jet, this one was the daddy here too, the sound is best described as biblical, not your sandal wearing new testament stuff, this is old testament 'fire and brimstone', 'wrath of god' loud. Has there ever been such a dynamic design? The aircraft does not possess smooth elegant curves of a Spitfire or Hunter this is a a very different type of good looking aircraft. It looks mean, every bit the 21st century fighter. Was it a first in the UK? Is one reason some may argue why it wasn't number 1, for most of the public who didn't see any of the cut back rehearsals in the rain, at the RIAT that never was, it most definitely was.

The F-22 was a watershed event at UK airshows, the other fast jet displays just seemed tame and pedestrian after seeing the Raptor. Will there ever be an aircraft which can perform like the Raptor? In a world of dwindling defence budgets, moves to smaller, lower cost small UAV's, I very much doubt it. The Raptor quite simply is the pinnacle, as some may say "nothing else comes close"

[TYPHOON3]

For me the number one airshow moment of 2010 was without doubt, the F-22 at RIAT. It was not only the greatest airshow performance of 2010, but I think you could argue of all time at a British airshow. Why?...

In terms of airshow it performance it simply out outperforms any design before or since. The display gave the punters everything they could wish for from a fast jet display; mouth watering take off, close views of the aircraft in a dedication pass, incredible manoeuvres which almost defied belief, fast passes and zoom climbs. Some may well say we have seen this in the past - SU-37/Mig-29OVT etc, not like this you haven't, yes it do some of the same manoeuvres as the Mig OVT, however they were accentuated and made so much more extreme, falling further, climbing quicker, pulling away faster. But for me the real difference was absolute tremendous power of the Raptor. This was evident from the first moments of the display, where "Zeke" kept the aircraft very low after a ridiculously short (I would say 'take off' but I somehow feel "blast off" is more applicable), then the large airframe swung 90 degrees almost instantly and just carried on the accelerating vertically as if unaffected my the manoeuvre. The acceleration, again in stark contrast to other T/V aircraft we have seen, was quite simply breathtaking. Just staggering, what a machine!

Like many who would consider them aircraft enthusiasts one thing that we tend to like is the rib-cage rattling roar of a powerful jet, this one was the daddy here too, the sound is best described as biblical, not your sandal wearing new testament stuff, this is old testament 'fire and brimstone', 'wrath of god' loud. Has there ever been such a dynamic design? The aircraft does not possess smooth elegant curves of a Spitfire or Hunter this is a a very different type of good looking aircraft. It looks mean, every bit the 21st century fighter. Was it a first in the UK? Is one reason some may argue why it wasn't number 1, for most of the public who didn't see any of the cut back rehearsals in the rain, at the RIAT that never was, it most definitely was.

The F-22 was a watershed event at UK airshows, the other fast jet displays just seemed tame and pedestrian after seeing the Raptor. Will there ever be an aircraft which can perform like the Raptor? In a world of dwindling defence budgets, moves to smaller, lower cost small UAV's, I very much doubt it. The Raptor quite simply is the pinnacle, as some may say "nothing else comes close"

Excellently summed up.I would probably agree with every word you have said although some people wouldn't.I said in an earlier post about what would better the F22 display at RIAT this year and i got mixed answers.

[Danny]

10. Vampire at Seething. A fantastic catch by the Seething team, great to hear jet noise over the historic airfield.

9. Super Hornet at RIAT. A very aggressive and differant display. Plus the return to Fairford from Farnborough on Saturday in the evening sun.

8. Vulcan at Lowestoft. Spirited display in awful weather with a nice climb out and wingover!

7. A400 at RIAT and Farnborough. First time seeing this aircraft and it certainly didn't disappoint.

6. Belgian F-16. Visited the UK on numerous occasions, really putting the aircraft through it's paces.

5. C-17 at RIAT. The crew really threw the thing around, including that very low 360 degree turn.

4. Patrouille de France. A flowing and dynamic display accompanied by some excellent music.

3. Friday Evening Typhoon at Airbourne. With light fading and a storm brewing, the afterburners really stood out against the backdrop.

2. Typhoon and Spitfire Duo. Just seeing the two aircraft flying together at RIAT and Waddo was brilliant.

1. Raptor. Simply the best solo display I have ever witnessed, as Trevsy stated it's the pinnacle of fast jet demonstrations.

[Mictheslik]

For me the number one airshow moment of 2010 was without doubt, the F-22 at RIAT. It was not only the greatest airshow performance of 2010, but I think you could argue of all time at a British airshow. Why?...

In terms of airshow it performance it simply out outperforms any design before or since. The display gave the punters everything they could wish for from a fast jet display; mouth watering take off, close views of the aircraft in a dedication pass, incredible manoeuvres which almost defied belief, fast passes and zoom climbs. Some may well say we have seen this in the past - SU-37/Mig-29OVT etc, not like this you haven't, yes it do some of the same manoeuvres as the Mig OVT, however they were accentuated and made so much more extreme, falling further, climbing quicker, pulling away faster. But for me the real difference was absolute tremendous power of the Raptor. This was evident from the first moments of the display, where "Zeke" kept the aircraft very low after a ridiculously short (I would say 'take off' but I somehow feel "blast off" is more applicable), then the large airframe swung 90 degrees almost instantly and just carried on the accelerating vertically as if unaffected my the manoeuvre. The acceleration, again in stark contrast to other T/V aircraft we have seen, was quite simply breathtaking. Just staggering, what a machine!

Like many who would consider them aircraft enthusiasts one thing that we tend to like is the rib-cage rattling roar of a powerful jet, this one was the daddy here too, the sound is best described as biblical, not your sandal wearing new testament stuff, this is old testament 'fire and brimstone', 'wrath of god' loud. Has there ever been such a dynamic design? The aircraft does not possess smooth elegant curves of a Spitfire or Hunter this is a a very different type of good looking aircraft. It looks mean, every bit the 21st century fighter. Was it a first in the UK? Is one reason some may argue why it wasn't number 1, for most of the public who didn't see any of the cut back rehearsals in the rain, at the RIAT that never was, it most definitely was.

The F-22 was a watershed event at UK airshows, the other fast jet displays just seemed tame and pedestrian after seeing the Raptor. Will there ever be an aircraft which can perform like the Raptor? In a world of dwindling defence budgets, moves to smaller, lower cost small UAV's, I very much doubt it. The Raptor quite simply is the pinnacle, as some may say "nothing else comes close"

Completely agree about everything apart from the second sentence. To me, the raptor will always be second in 2010 to the Duxford 16 spitfire tailchase....nothing else this year has made all my hairs stand on end and brought a tear to my eye like that did. The whole sky filled with spitfires and the constant purr of Rolls Royce's finest.

.mic

[phreakf4]

Due to a combination of circumstances I was only able to attend 5 shows and view the Odiham Families day from outside, so it would be difficult to choose 10 top moments, especially since one of the shows I missed was the Duxford Battle of Britain show (though I was able to comfort myself with memories of the 21 Spitfire flypast from the 1996 "Spitfire Air Show" at the same venue).

I have to agree that the Raptor was the highlight of the year for me, having not before seen a full display from the beast, even at RIAT '08. I definitely thought the RIAT display was better than that given at Farnborough, but that may be because I saw the Farnborough display from outside the airfield (I live close to Farnborough).

I thought the A380 at Farnborough was amazingly spectacular, as always, and greatly enjoyed the Hangar 11 Hurri-bomber display at Dunsfold along with the Vulcan missed approach on the Saturday at Waddington.

Other than those I thought all the other displays at all the shows I attended were enjoyable, even those by "spam cans" as I just like to see any aircraft displayed.

[capercaillie]

For me the number one airshow moment of 2010 was without doubt, the F-22 at RIAT. It was not only the greatest airshow performance of 2010, but I think you could argue of all time at a British airshow. Why?...

In terms of airshow it performance it simply out outperforms any design before or since. The display gave the punters everything they could wish for from a fast jet display; mouth watering take off, close views of the aircraft in a dedication pass, incredible manoeuvres which almost defied belief, fast passes and zoom climbs. Some may well say we have seen this in the past - SU-37/Mig-29OVT etc, not like this you haven't, yes it do some of the same manoeuvres as the Mig OVT, however they were accentuated and made so much more extreme, falling further, climbing quicker, pulling away faster. But for me the real difference was absolute tremendous power of the Raptor. This was evident from the first moments of the display, where "Zeke" kept the aircraft very low after a ridiculously short (I would say 'take off' but I somehow feel "blast off" is more applicable), then the large airframe swung 90 degrees almost instantly and just carried on the accelerating vertically as if unaffected my the manoeuvre. The acceleration, again in stark contrast to other T/V aircraft we have seen, was quite simply breathtaking. Just staggering, what a machine!

Like many who would consider them aircraft enthusiasts one thing that we tend to like is the rib-cage rattling roar of a powerful jet, this one was the daddy here too, the sound is best described as biblical, not your sandal wearing new testament stuff, this is old testament 'fire and brimstone', 'wrath of god' loud. Has there ever been such a dynamic design? The aircraft does not possess smooth elegant curves of a Spitfire or Hunter this is a a very different type of good looking aircraft. It looks mean, every bit the 21st century fighter. Was it a first in the UK? Is one reason some may argue why it wasn't number 1, for most of the public who didn't see any of the cut back rehearsals in the rain, at the RIAT that never was, it most definitely was.

The F-22 was a watershed event at UK airshows, the other fast jet displays just seemed tame and pedestrian after seeing the Raptor. Will there ever be an aircraft which can perform like the Raptor? In a world of dwindling defence budgets, moves to smaller, lower cost small UAV's, I very much doubt it. The Raptor quite simply is the pinnacle, as some may say "nothing else comes close"

No double back flip, no lengthy vertical "hover", no flying out of a seriously long and scary flat spin, the Raptor is a great display but the usual "I love you Mr Lockheed" rose-tinted spectacles have come out again. The Raptor should be better, its an all new design off the drawing board with more thrust than a rampant chimp. The MiG29 OVT is an update of a 1970s design, OK with 3D TV, but still flew some manouevres the Raptor didn't show. The Friday rehearsal at RIAT 2008 was a full display, not cut back, the cloudbase luckily remained just high enough, despite the closing thunderstorm.

Having said all that and evened the argument up for the Ruskies, the Raptor was undoubtedly the display of 2010. A full RSV C-27J display somewhere might have swung the vote however.

[st24]

this is a a very different type of good looking aircraft. "

There is nothing, absolutely nothing good looking about the F22 and you deserve to be stoned (bricks not "special" cigarettes) to mention it in the same sentence as the Hunter & Spit...

[Liveforriat]

this is a a very different type of good looking aircraft. "

There is nothing, absolutely nothing good looking about the F22 and you deserve to be stoned (bricks not "special" cigarettes) to mention it in the same sentence as the Hunter & Spit...

I think the Raptor looks infinitly better than the hunter

[capercaillie]

this is a a very different type of good looking aircraft. "

There is nothing, absolutely nothing good looking about the F22 and you deserve to be stoned (bricks not "special" cigarettes) to mention it in the same sentence as the Hunter & Spit...

I think the Raptor looks infinitly better than the hunter

Stone him!

[st24]

this is a a very different type of good looking aircraft. "

There is nothing, absolutely nothing good looking about the F22 and you deserve to be stoned (bricks not "special" cigarettes) to mention it in the same sentence as the Hunter & Spit...

I think the Raptor looks infinitly better than the hunter

Only if the Hunter in question has crashed.

[Liveforriat]

haha take it im in the minority on this one

[McG]

Seeing the B-29 flying.

[phreakf4]

... no flying out of a seriously long and scary flat spin....

I'm quite sure that one of the the manoeuvres performed by the Raptor, at least on the Monday at Farnborough, (directly above me in that instance) was a flat spin, and so thought the several enthusiasts standing near me on Elles Road on that occasion.

Other points in favour of the Raptor are;-

The tail slide flown by the F-22 at Riat was much longer than any that I have seen flown by a MiG-29

The aircraft is not that new, the design has been around since the late Eighties, it was a very long time from when we first saw the early releases of the concept drawings to the entry into service of the machine. I can remember sitting at my bench during lunch breaks studying photos of the F-22 and YF-23 in the very early nineties, almost 20 years ago.

The MiG-29 OVT is certainly an impressive machine, but it is a prototype owned and operated by MiG-MAPO and as far as I am aware there are none in service with the Russian Air Force, (or any other air force), whilst the F-22 seen at Fairford and Farnborough was a normal production, in squadron service example which, in my opinion, makes it more impressive.

[Russ]

No double back flip, no lengthy vertical "hover", no flying out of a seriously long and scary flat spin, the Raptor is a great display but the usual "I love you Mr Lockheed" rose-tinted spectacles have come out again. The Raptor should be better, its an all new design off the drawing board with more thrust than a rampant chimp. The MiG29 OVT is an update of a 1970s design, OK with 3D TV, but still flew some manouevres the Raptor didn't show.

Just because the Raptor didn't some manoeuvres the OVT did, doesn't mean it's not capable of doing so. I'm sure if it's display was longer, move of those manoeuvres could have been incorporated. I've seen footage on Youtube of a Raptor "unofficial" display at Langley in 2005, doing a vertical "hover" for example.

With the same logic, the Belgian F-16 performed some manoeuvres the RAF Typhoon didn't last year, but it doesn't mean the Typhoon cannot do them, does it?

For me the big difference between the Raptor and OVT display was how long each took to regain energy, there's a reason why the OVT displayed at over 2,000ft the other side of Totterdown. Whereas the "rampant chimp" Raptor regained it's energy vastly quicker and was therefore, much closer and I think, a more impressive routine as a result.

[CH2]

Can't count that many moments however

1.Don't think I will ever forget the Sky full of Spitfires at Duxford
2.The Raptor, aside the SR71 is the most fantastic display I have seen to date, to the point I went to Farnborough to see it again.
3.Team Viper at Waddington
4. The Turkish Stars
5. Vulcan climb out at RIAT, and the missed approach at Waddington
6. F18F
7. The Spitfire/Typhoon formation is superb, they should do it ever year.
8. Sabre at Duxford in October
9. The Brunty opendays, are fantastic (they won't last forever)
10. The Venture departing Waddo on the Sunday....had to leave because of the forecast high winds, not that any of you lot noticed, rotten sods.

What I missed
Sea Vixen
Role Demo
The good weather day at Kemble!
Good summer weather in general

What I will miss
Harrier

[Sea King]

1. Italian Typhoon at Frecce Tricolori's 50th Anniversary
2. F22 at RIAT
3. Dutch F16 at Cosford
4. Supermaine Seafire and Sea Vixen at RNAS Yeovilton
5. Alenia Aermacchi M-346 at Farnborough
6. A400M at RIAT
7. GR4 Pair
8. Sabre/Hunter at Cosford
9. C-27J Spartan at Frecce Tricolori's 50th Anniversary
10. Chinook role demo at RIAT

[LN Strike Eagle]

List in the article pretty much covers everything IMO. Didn't see the A380 (haven't ever seen one actually) or the F3 finale, but the rest is all there.

I'd have had the Harrier much higher up my own personal list though - as I said in my description on the page, a Harrier makes such a difference to any airshow and it made a notable impact on the season as a whole in 2010 to have one back at events up and down the country. I'm really gonna miss them, much more than anything else that I've seen retired in recent years.

[Nielis]

1. Raptor at RIAT
2. My First BUFF at RIAT
3. Super Hornet at RIAT
4. Low Pass C-130J-30 USAFE at the Marget Garden Memorial Paradrop
5. Team Viper at Sanicole
6. 3 Skyraiders at the Flying Legends
7. C-17 Demo at Gilze Rijen
8. Return of the Dutch Spit at Gilze Rijen
9. A400 at RIAT
10. Role Demo at RIAT