I spent just the one day at the show this year... Saturday. I was planning to go to the departures tomorrow but a long drive coupled with the high temps and I've decided against it.
Thoughts on the show.....
It was the first year that i decided to ignore the pre show comments, social media etc as i wanted to be 'surprised' on the day, and not disappointed when things cancel or don't turn up, so apart from the Black Eagles i had no idea what was appearing (like the good old days!) Despite the current situation in Ukraine plus the fallout from Covid and not holding a show for 3 years i was amazed how good the show was. A great participation list, with some gems here and there, a packed flying programme, and a static that was really full and well laid out. I was particularly pleased that the Western apron was almost fully used, and having some of the display aircraft there also made it feel 'full'.
My highlights in the static....E4B, Portugese Epsilons, Hungarian Hind, Swedish Historics, Romanian AN30, Japanese Kawasaki and of course the cracking A-4 - how nice was that! Can we have it flying next year please!
The flying seemed jam packed and highlights for me were the Black Eagles and the brilliant Austrian QRA demo (RAF take some notes on making a display interesting). The Belgian F16 was awesome, probably the best I've seen, and the Greek machine was also great to see. The Slovenian PC9 was very polished, as were the other Pilatus teams although i think the French routine works better with jet noise! The Czech Mil helo pair was very unique and great to see, and the Gripens and F-18s were as always very impressive. Nice to see the Beluga too.
Negatives....not much really, i thought the USAF anniversary was a bit tame, especially in the air, and could have been better. Shame the B52 cancelled as I was really looking forward to seeing one again. The off base parking was a pain at the red end as it's a bl##dy long walk back after 12 hours. There was obviously a reason for it? Oh yeh and it was 'ot!
Overall a really great Tattoo, that seemed to get back to basics. Sure there were no absolute jaw dropping rarities (unless you've not seen the Koreans before) but overall a cracking participation list. Let's hope for the same next year. Well done to all the team involved. Roll on 2023.
Ps. I'm pretty sure '89 was hotter!