Top 10 Airshow Moments of 2018

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UK Airshow Review
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Top 10 Airshow Moments of 2018

Post by UK Airshow Review »

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Top 10 Airshow Moments of 2018 - The UKAR Staff team countdown our Top 10 'Airshow Moments' of a scorching 2018 season.

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Do you agree with our choices? Have your say in this thread, and let us know what your airshow highlights from the summer of 2017 were.

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Dan O'Hagan
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Re: Top 10 Airshow Moments of 2018

Post by Dan O'Hagan »

Agree 100% with top spot and the praise for the BBMF on Milikin’s watch. Dynamic, thoughtful, exciting flying still well within safe parameters. Finally the penny dropped.

AR501’s sublime “debut” should have been in there though. RAF100 was neither an airshow nor any good.

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CJS
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Re: Top 10 Airshow Moments of 2018

Post by CJS »

Seconded. The Trenchard+ display is perhaps in my top 3 airshow moments ever.

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The Baron
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Re: Top 10 Airshow Moments of 2018

Post by The Baron »

Some good moments in that list. I'm glad the Sycamore was included.
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Paul_Reflex
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Re: Top 10 Airshow Moments of 2018

Post by Paul_Reflex »

There really has been some fantastic moments this year and this list reflects the season that I'll remember. Really glad the Sea Fury / Mig-15 was included :up:

Other special moments that stood out for me were the F-35 Heritage Flight at RIAT which was very well flown and a nice touch to include a Spitfire and also the French Navy at Yeovilton with the Rafales, vintage jets and the rather splendid Falcon.

With the weather too it was a cracking year really, one to be remembered even if not for the reason we thought it would be.

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Tommy
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Re: Top 10 Airshow Moments of 2018

Post by Tommy »

Dan O'Hagan wrote:
AR501’s sublime “debut” should have been in there though. RAF100 was neither an airshow nor any good.


Why wasn't the flypast over London any good?

I think it's splitting hairs not to call it an airshow - it was a display of aircraft for the benefit of the public. I don't know what else you could call it?

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Abbo46
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Re: Top 10 Airshow Moments of 2018

Post by Abbo46 »

Can't really fault that. :clap:

Although, as Dan said, would have been good to see the return of AR501 included.

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Wissam24
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Re: Top 10 Airshow Moments of 2018

Post by Wissam24 »

Tommy wrote:
Dan O'Hagan wrote:
AR501’s sublime “debut” should have been in there though. RAF100 was neither an airshow nor any good.


Why wasn't the flypast over London any good?

I think it's splitting hairs not to call it an airshow - it was a display of aircraft for the benefit of the public. I don't know what else you could call it?


As a moment it absolutely justifies itself. I don't think there's many other things where people round the country tune in to watch it. The buzz it created among the regular members of the public was enormous, every person at work and every other person in London I know was talking about it, so many travelled to a spot where they could see it, I had so many photos sent to me that day by people who haven't the slightest interest in aeroplanes. And those of us at Fairford even gathered round Dan L's work iPad to watch it and the general feeling was very positive! The Typhoon 100 formation was cracking. I'd say it was a tremendous moment.
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jalfrezi
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Re: Top 10 Airshow Moments of 2018

Post by jalfrezi »

AR501's return to the skies was great, but I was far happier to see the return of JG891, personally.

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LN Strike Eagle
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Re: Top 10 Airshow Moments of 2018

Post by LN Strike Eagle »

Dan O'Hagan wrote:Agree 100% with top spot and the praise for the BBMF on Milikin’s watch. Dynamic, thoughtful, exciting flying still well within safe parameters. Finally the penny dropped.

AR501’s sublime “debut” should have been in there though. RAF100 was neither an airshow nor any good.

It's one of the curiosities of the voting method. I think we'd end up with more rounded lists if we had a discussion about these things and arrived at a ranking based on argument and justification rather than simply tallying up numbers, but it's still done by blind ballot as it was when you were staff and that's why you can end up with surprising omissions.

AR501 was very high up my personal list and should be on there really - it was an excellent debut and of all the displays that I saw from it this year, by far and away the best.
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jalfrezi
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Re: Top 10 Airshow Moments of 2018

Post by jalfrezi »

When you think of all the other highlights we've had this year: P-47, Cocardes Marine, Couteau Delta, Mustang pair at Cosby, Spitfire PR.XI pair, 4 Buchons at Legends, etc. Any of these would normally have made the cut, but with the great weather this year we've had so many highlights, it makes choosing ten very difficult.

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Wrexham Mackem
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Re: Top 10 Airshow Moments of 2018

Post by Wrexham Mackem »

It is very difficult indeed, its subjective after all. The biggest influence over what you vote for is obvious, as its drawn from what you witness first hand. Sometimes, often in fact, that extra magic where something really stands out as a classic moment is only felt by those there in person. I think that principle applies to a lot of those items that made it into the top ten, and also those that didn't.. and I'm sure the specialness of that AR501 moment was felt only by those that witnessed it.

As I say most years, you could argue the positions within the ten (and those just bubbling under of which AR501 was one) but that ten would be the same for many of us in one order or another.

For me, its telling how big a showing the BBMF have in the RAF centenary year. We were all looking forward to one of a kind spectacular happenings and its the organisation that commemorates air force heritage year in year out that dominate the charts. Who'd have thought that? :smile:

EDIT: for what its worth, my number one was the Hurricane bringing in the Polish MiG-29 at Cosford. Can't argue with that Lanc at Old Warden though, I wish I'd been there :biggrin:

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Re: Top 10 Airshow Moments of 2018

Post by stuart n »

As has been said it's subjective and if we all liked the same things life would be very boring!
For me the RAF 100 flypast wasn't an airshow and as has DanO has said AR501 should be on the list. The two PR.XI's together at Shuttleworth was another moment for me, although Duxford had the mass Spitfire flypast it's been seen in before. Not detracting from it in anyway, 18 Spitfires will always be an awesome sight but for me a moment has to be something that is a first off or is unlikely to be repeated again.

The BBMF deserve the top 3 places in my opinion. The Lancaster at Old Warden will live long in the memory, perfectly presented in perfect lighting. I doubt I'll get any better photos of her even if she flies for the next 50 years.

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Re: Top 10 Airshow Moments of 2018

Post by UKTopgun »

Did the organiser of Cosford write this Top 10?!
My number one, and something very personal, was saying farewell to the awesome Tornado at DX.
A fast pass to bow out was very fitting and quite emotional. Enjoy your retirement old girl!

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The Baron
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Re: Top 10 Airshow Moments of 2018

Post by The Baron »

UKTopgun wrote:Did the organiser of Cosford write this Top 10?!
My number one, and something very personal, was saying farewell to the awesome Tornado at DX.
A fast pass to bow out was very fitting and quite emotional. Enjoy your retirement old girl!


Cosford can justifiably claim to be 'the' RAF 100 airshow. The flying was brilliantly choreographed and the static line up was exemplary. In my opinion it put the RIAT celebration to shame.
Loafer for Mr. Da Vinci.

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Tommy
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Re: Top 10 Airshow Moments of 2018

Post by Tommy »

UKTopgun wrote:Did the organiser of Cosford write this Top 10?!
My number one, and something very personal, was saying farewell to the awesome Tornado at DX.
A fast pass to bow out was very fitting and quite emotional. Enjoy your retirement old girl!


RAF Cosford just put on a really decent show this year. TBH, it's nice to see other shows taking the list, rather than 6 or 7 RIATs moments, and it sort of reflects (personally) the "nearly but not quite" feel about RIAT this year.

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Re: Top 10 Airshow Moments of 2018

Post by scudpilot »

Excellent article, and I hate to be picky, but RIAT was not the final static display for the Sycamore, this is it positioning to land at Farnborough 2018 the following week

ImageBristol Sycamore by Jim Pritchard, on Flickr

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Re: Top 10 Airshow Moments of 2018

Post by Wbirdnut »

I know it says ten up there going with one, for an Antipodean and probably
one time visitor to Legends those four Buchons take the cake!

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Last edited by Wbirdnut on Mon 14 Jan 2019, 2:31 am, edited 1 time in total.

phantom6
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Re: Top 10 Airshow Moments of 2018

Post by phantom6 »

Not strickly an airshow but for me it has to be the D-DAY celebrations at Yeovilton where else could you see 6 F14 Tomcats plus all the rest that was there

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Abbo46
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Re: Top 10 Airshow Moments of 2018

Post by Abbo46 »

1994, not 2018. :grin:

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Re: Top 10 Airshow Moments of 2018

Post by Tmyers123 »

phantom6 wrote:Not strickly an airshow but for me it has to be the D-DAY celebrations at Yeovilton where else could you see 6 F-14 Tomcats plus all the rest that was there


Did you mean to post that here?

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