Witchcraft24 wrote:So, what do you want?
For there not to be hundreds of comments on Facebook, Twitter, and forums from UK enthusiasts expecting UK airshow participation from foreign air arms. And for people not to be getting annoyed because "China should attend, they owe us for the Red Arrows tour". For said enthusiasts to view foreign aircraft participation at UK airshows as it really is, a gift and a pleasure, not a right or an obligation.
And yeah, it would be really nice if we could actually see the RAF have time to attend foreign airshows (the individual assets' commitment to airshows is second to none, the BBMF, Reds, & Typhoon demo perform at vast numbers of different airshows) in the US, and Canada, or, heck why not, South America? Africa? Why not?.
A controversial opinion I've said before, but I think the UK has too many air events (and not enough airshows). Every bloke and his dog during the summer wants the BBMF, Reds, and Typhoon, plus whatever else might be on offer at their airshow/fly-in/regatta/festival/gala/sports tournament/village fete/history festival/outdoor proms, and what have you. Send that stuff to a foreign airshow on a weekend and "snub" a British event and social media and sensationalist-seeking journalists can go nuts.
Yeah, European countries have less airshows, so more time to commit to foreign events, but take the French each year, for instance. Oft times they're missing out on their huge Bastille Day celebrations, and perform at RIAT year on year, so it's not a completely clean sheet.
So, personally, I don't want a less vibrant scene, but saturation by definition doesn't create vibrancy.