Southport 2019

[MattGarner]

As this is the closest air show I can get to, I pretty enjoyed today. Last year only went to the Friday night show. For sure the Red Arrows are always missed and does feel like something is missing but it can't be helped at the best of times. Enjoyed the different acts and some I haven't seen before which was great. Would have loved to seen the Chinook again but I suppose you have to go to different shows for that these days.

Hope it continues though and 2020 is even better!

[chrisward123]

I went today for the first time in 3 years.

Overall very enjoyable day. Beach very wet this year, very hard today pushing pram round but hey ho.
Military village very impressive this year with RAF presence very good. Loads of aviation tat today from Typhoon, Tucano, BBMF and Black Cat stands.

On to the flying fairly underwhelming performances from the Swedes, very high - BUT still amazing to see a flying Viggen at Southport. Going to Blackpool airport tomorrow to catch it taking off twice, 1st for display and secondly takeoff back home at 4pm.
Also first time I have seen a flying T-33 and P-47 for which both were flown beautifully.
Overall highlight surprisingly was the Strikemaster Pair team, how great is the pairs display.

Also great to see Tucano for final time, nice fly past with Blades!
Speaking to Tucano display guys, glad to hear Tucano will be having a 2 day farewell tour in the format similar to Tonka farewell
Set over 2 days (North & South). North will include Northwest, Belfast and Valley...

[PanaviaTornado]

On to the flying fairly underwhelming performances from the Swedes, very high - BUT still amazing to see a flying Viggen at Southport. Going to Blackpool airport tomorrow to catch it taking off twice, 1st for display and secondly takeoff back home at 4pm.

I would like to do this too, how close can you get to the Viggen taking off at Blackpool? I have never been to Blackpool airport before. I went to the show yesterday, it was great to see the Viggen again but I agree it was a tad distant. If I can get close for some takeoff shots I'd love to.

[jules48]

Viggen and Tunnan are going to Jersey after todays displays.

[Pat Murphy]

Cracking day out at Southport today. Took the train in from Hooton on Wrexham Mackem's advice, worked a treat. Looking at the lineup, it would be fair to say that it's a typical seaside lineup apart from the last hour which was just pure noise! As for that last hour, let's just pause, think for a minute and remember that if you were there, you saw a T33, A J29 Tunnan (not many firsts in my 50's, after 40 plus years of aircraft but this was a bucket lister for me!!) J37 Viggen (distant?? Not from the crowd line it wasn't and as for high, that's just the altitude it needs and the sky was clear, what's not to like?? )
P47 was a delight in the sun and credit where it's due, The RAF Typhoon, which has come in for some stick on here, was excellent. The two biggest surprises for me were the Strikey Pair...They really work as a pair, hats off to Mark Petrie and Ollie Suckling and Otto the helicopter piloted by airshow veteran Brendan O'Brien Just Crazy!!

Yes a show like this does miss the Reds but the organizers can't help a US tour. So it's a 9 from me, just no diamond one.

If there's a Top 10 Airshow moments thing this year, then collectively, The Swedes have it for me.

I'll get round to some pics later in the week.

Pat

[HeyfordDave111]

Went myself yesterday, for the Swedes and nothing else.

However, i was pleased with what i saw and despite what i'm about to say, i enjoyed it.
The Swedes.... Thanks for the Tunnan, what a sprightly and charismatic aircraft, and i appreciated a couple of dropped wing passes. I felt the aircraft could have done some lower passes but it is what it is.

The Viggen, great to see back, and delightful in that colour scheme, although, where were the top sides, the noise, heck even the use of burners (yeah i probably do know the answer to that last one)

The Jug....terrific, but again displayed in the upper atmosphere seemed a little perverse, although the display was smooooooooth as silk, and the sun hit those surfaces beautifully, especially if you had a 1000mm lens, or dont mind huge crops.

BBMF, no Lanc? this i wasn't aware of until i saw the Dakota holding over the Fylde. shame, otherwise a typically polished display.

Gazelle pair.... excellent. great display, nice positioning, and the sun reflecting off those airframes made for a great set of photographs.

Strikemaster pair. Well, these 2 impressed the heck out of me with their display, which although i was shooting it, i took lots of time (for the first time i must add) to sit back and enjoy the display, and enjoy it i did.

Typhoon turned out to be a great display, lots of noise, and burner, and even some fluff which was nice. As a show closer? Not sure it's a good choice but when the reds aren't there, you don't have many other options available to keep the crowd.

Black cat? ummmmmmm (nuff said) a single helicopter smaller than a Chinook, despite pyrotechnics wasn't a crowd attention grabber especially at distance.

I think the show was perfectly adequate for a seaside show, with a couple of great, but not truly excellent stars, and some nice surprises thrown in, and of course sunshine.

Nice to see the Tucano with the blades, and it's penultimate public display. It will be missed.

What could have improved the show?

Well, with the Huey and Loach based so close to Blackpool, you have to wonder if they might have been an ideal display act on 'home turf'?

Maybe also the Chinook could have been a welcome addition, however with the above 2 comments i realise that operational commitments may they may not have been able to book them.

Ramblings
Well as mentioned the Reds being away had a huge impact. I went on the train from Liverpool, and i have never seen so many empty seats on airshow days, in fact i've had to stand most times i've been to Southport.

The hour of 'noise' could have been more evenly spread out as could the black cats, gazelles, and Otto. Not sure why we never really got any topside passes at the show as they aren't too difficult to achieve especially with a fixed crowd line and unlimited airspace.

Quite a few people didn't realise the lancaster wasn't going to appear and seemed a little disappointed (as was i), that it didn't.

One major complaint, for me, was the commentators. Often so tied up in their own 'jokey banter' that they missed cues for displays, miss identified display items, and even in one case went on talking about 1 display act that was due, that was already overhead at crowd central.
The Tunnan apparently returning for a final pass after it was visibly on approach to Blackpool 8 miles away, and only when the aircraft they were seeing turned to display, they recognised it as a Viggen.

I didn't get my advanced ticket for the show, which at £8.00 for the days entertainment, would have been extremely good value, deciding to see what the weather had in store for the show before finally comitting. However even at an 'on the day' entrance of £10.50 (why not round the 50p up) was extremely good value for what turned out to be a really good Southport airshow.

[Skylinerworld]

J37 Viggen (distant?? Not from the crowd line it wasn't and as for high, that's just the altitude it needs and the sky was clear, what's not to like?? )

I was on the crowd line but still found it distant, great to see anyway, but just hoped for a few closer passes which I suppose you'd get on an airfield when it does the ground display!

[StevieS]

Unlike most seafront show sites, because the display at Southport takes place over the sand rather than the water, the organisers can accuratly measure and mark the display lines, as on an airfield. So, if a display was distant, it was because the pilot was being cautious and not flying to the line, rather than the layout of the site. https://twitter.com/SouthportAir/status ... 50/photo/1

[Wrexham Mackem]

There was a significant on crowd wind yesterday, and so it was understandable that there was some caution being exercised with distances at times, however, the Viggen couldn't have got any closer.. Its passes were down the marked display line, and I had to zoom back from 400mm as it was overfilling the frame at its nearest point. It did use a lot of sky during its display, with some big sweeping manoeuvres, but that is totally understandable with a historic airframe.. and what a great big stage that Southport skyscape provided yesterday.

I was taken aback by the Tunnan, just how fast a little machine it is. It was nothing like how I imagined it would be, and I loved it.

All in all, I had a great time. Some of the acts that some might consider 'filler' were top value entertainment. The vintage jet complement were sublime one and all. And once again, naturally, that Southport light was ace.

[bigfatron]

Not long back from the Sunday offering. I agree with the observations of others that it seemed quieter than some years i've been. Arrived an hour before flying and I didn't even have to queue for the ticket booth. Even securing a seat on the first post-event train into Liverpool was easy enough. Weather was pretty good, just a shame the cloud cover filled in later on in the display, even if it did stay high.

Like others it was mainly the Swedes that got me out the door this morning. Never seen a Tunnan before and it was a lovely display. Great to see the Viggen out, and whilst its not a super-dynamic display it did turn a few heads of the non-enthusiast public who'd clearly never seen one before. Shooting Star was also a good performer, even if the colour scheme seems rather contemporary (i.e. boring grey and low-viz markings).

I'm going to be in a minority of 1 to say I didn't mind seeing the Dak instead of the Lanc. I haven't seen it that many times before and it flew a nice display and I enjoyed the variety. And if I remember rightly, they advertised the composition that turned up.

Gazelle pair were a nice splash of colour and a tight display and made up for the lack of the other frontline helo displays. I can only echo the comments of others by saying the Strikemaster pair was excellent, even if the guy on the ground on the pyro button didn't synchronise at all well with the display.

Add the Reds and a Chinook back into the mix, find another Blackcat and you can't really grumble if its the same again next year.

[JJC]

Great couple of days. Just got home from my first Southport and I’d definitely make a return in future, if the lineups continue to deliver.

George Bacon mentioned something about the Swedish jets being required to be 4000ft away to use their afterburner?

[bigfatron]

George Bacon mentioned something about the Swedish jets being required to be 4000ft away to use their afterburner?

Seems a weird requirement when the Typhoon is spanking past with the fires fully lit.

[JJC]

George Bacon mentioned something about the Swedish jets being required to be 4000ft away to use their afterburner?

Seems a weird requirement when the Typhoon is spanking past with the fires fully lit.

Not sure I heard what he said correctly, but afterburners and 4000ft was mentioned at least twice when the Swedes were on. Maybe that was the max height for the display box?

Couldn’t say. Maybe I’m barking up the wrong tree, but there wasn’t much use of the A/B at all from the Swede pair.

[bigfatron]

George Bacon mentioned something about the Swedish jets being required to be 4000ft away to use their afterburner?

Seems a weird requirement when the Typhoon is spanking past with the fires fully lit.

Not sure I heard what he said correctly, but afterburners and 4000ft was mentioned at least twice when the Swedes were on. Maybe that was the max height for the display box?

Couldn’t say. Maybe I’m barking up the wrong tree, but there wasn’t much use of the A/B at all from the Swede pair.

There's only the Viggen that has reheat out of the two anyway? Just flicking through my pics and its showing at least some reheat in a fair few pics as it turns away. I'm not sure how much the thrust reversers hide of it from a visibility PoV when its on passes etc.

One small observation from today was did the Viggen get a bit out of position? It did a vertical climb up through the cloudbase and seemed to come back in from behind the crowd on the way down.

[Roger_Over]

My first time at Southport, drawn in by the strong historic jet participation, I bought two early bird tickets intending to do both days but skipped today and did Cosby instead. They didn’t check my ticket on the way in yesterday so I gave both to a retired couple taking photos outside the wire as my good deed for the day.

Access was ok, I drove into the middle of Southport and parked at the NCP car park on the promenade which was slightly cheaper than event parking, no traffic issues on the way in at 0900 but very congested after the show.

Favourite things – definitely the Tunnan, the BBMF flypasts with the Dakota, the Strikemaster pair, the P-47 and the Typhoon were all excellent. I enjoyed the Tutor and Tucano displays and the Gazelles looked great and the venue suited them, less so today at Cosby where they didn’t seem to work so well with the site layout.

The Wildcat and T-33 looked a bit lost in the airspace, re the Viggen I thought it was high and distant from my place on the southern end of the crowdline, I don’t think the display was drastically different to what I saw at Gdynia a few weeks ago apart from the STOL party trick in the middle removed but it seemed a bit pedestrian by comparison. Still great to see one of my all-time favourite aircraft display though.

I liked the venue, something different, relaxed feel, I’d certainly go again.

[JJC]

George Bacon mentioned something about the Swedish jets being required to be 4000ft away to use their afterburner?

Seems a weird requirement when the Typhoon is spanking past with the fires fully lit.

Not sure I heard what he said correctly, but afterburners and 4000ft was mentioned at least twice when the Swedes were on. Maybe that was the max height for the display box?

Couldn’t say. Maybe I’m barking up the wrong tree, but there wasn’t much use of the A/B at all from the Swede pair.

There's only the Viggen that has reheat out of the two anyway? Just flicking through my pics and its showing at least some reheat in a fair few pics as it turns away. I'm not sure how much the thrust reversers hide of it from a visibility PoV when its on passes etc.

One small observation from today was did the Viggen get a bit out of position? It did a vertical climb up through the cloudbase and seemed to come back in from behind the crowd on the way down.

The Tunnan also has an afterburner, it certainly did at Waddington in 2013!

[bigfatron]

George Bacon mentioned something about the Swedish jets being required to be 4000ft away to use their afterburner?

Seems a weird requirement when the Typhoon is spanking past with the fires fully lit.

Not sure I heard what he said correctly, but afterburners and 4000ft was mentioned at least twice when the Swedes were on. Maybe that was the max height for the display box?

Couldn’t say. Maybe I’m barking up the wrong tree, but there wasn’t much use of the A/B at all from the Swede pair.

There's only the Viggen that has reheat out of the two anyway? Just flicking through my pics and its showing at least some reheat in a fair few pics as it turns away. I'm not sure how much the thrust reversers hide of it from a visibility PoV when its on passes etc.

One small observation from today was did the Viggen get a bit out of position? It did a vertical climb up through the cloudbase and seemed to come back in from behind the crowd on the way down.

The Tunnan also has an afterburner, it certainly did at Waddington in 2013!

You're quite right, I stand corrected. Seems to be the only example of plane with a Ghost/rebadge that had reheat.

[Chris G]

I'm another who ventured down to Southport today, firstly how good were the models, the nutcase with the Extra looking thing and that Italian Savoia Marchetti looking model were great to see. Onto the display and some great topsides from the T-33, nice and close too. P-47 was ok if you like things disappearing into the stars, would have been better if he threw in a couple more topsides though but the last pass was a good one. Tunnan was very distant, Viggen was OK ish though i'd of liked to hear what was said by atc after the pull out of the cloud and looking way out of position, was half expecting a stop for that. Nice to see the BBMF 3 ship with the Dakota for a change. Overall a decent enough display with some good stuff but the stars were nice to see but decidedly underwhelming.

[chrisward123]

Went Airside to Blackpool Airport on Sunday - very enjoyable day.
Got to sit in most of the aircraft, will post pictures later.

Regarding the Swedes - spoke to the team yesterday, what a nice bunch.
Sat in the Viggen, Tunnan and there support Citation as well as getting a free cap, patch and sticker.
They stated they had to remain high and far from the crowd which they didn't enjoy, they were not allowed to start display in formation and they were only permitted to use A/B on Y axis while exiting manoeuvre.
They also confirmed they got offered to chance to display at RIAT this year but they refused due to the fact they were only permitted to conduct straight, high flypasts - which is there own words is not there style.

[Seamus]

Very interesting insight. I've read a lot of criticism of the Viggen display especially, all very unfair if they're having their hands tied by regulations. What on earth is that afterburner rule all about? Not sure it was the case for the Draken last weekend?

That said, it's amazing to see them returning to shows over here, hopefully a step in the right direction towards having them fly a more complete display in the future, and maybe even over land bases....

[JJC]

Went Airside to Blackpool Airport on Sunday - very enjoyable day.
Got to sit in most of the aircraft, will post pictures later.

Regarding the Swedes - spoke to the team yesterday, what a nice bunch.
Sat in the Viggen, Tunnan and there support Citation as well as getting a free cap, patch and sticker.
They stated they had to remain high and far from the crowd which they didn't enjoy, they were not allowed to start display in formation and they were only permitted to use A/B on Y axis while exiting manoeuvre.
They also confirmed they got offered to chance to display at RIAT this year but they refused due to the fact they were only permitted to conduct straight, high flypasts - which is there own words is not there style.

Very interesting. Thanks for that - great insight!

A real shame. I must add that I didn’t mean to come across as critical of the Swedish displays, was just interested to find out the reasons why the routines were flown the way they were.

[Skylinerworld]

Went Airside to Blackpool Airport on Sunday - very enjoyable day.
Got to sit in most of the aircraft, will post pictures later.

Regarding the Swedes - spoke to the team yesterday, what a nice bunch.
Sat in the Viggen, Tunnan and there support Citation as well as getting a free cap, patch and sticker.
They stated they had to remain high and far from the crowd which they didn't enjoy, they were not allowed to start display in formation and they were only permitted to use A/B on Y axis while exiting manoeuvre.
They also confirmed they got offered to chance to display at RIAT this year but they refused due to the fact they were only permitted to conduct straight, high flypasts - which is there own words is not there style.

Must be very frustrating for them, it was obvious the display was great but just distant, which was out of their hands.

[Big_Gareth]

I went to Southport yesterday and really enjoyed the show. Having been to Bournemouth the week before I thought the flying was much better yesterday from a photographic point of view. The T-33 for example seemed much closer and showed off its top surface a lot more. It's a shame that the Swedes had the worst of the light but the display was better and easier to shoot than the Draken (which was more fun to watch without a camera). The Viggen seemed to be flown quite sedately compared to the boom and zoom of the Draken. But it was certainly a relief to get some topside shots yesterday (rather than the endless belly shots from Bournemouth) and the aircraft were closer than I was expecting having read the comments here on Saturday night. We would all love the displays to be closer but it's not going to happen in the current airshow climate and I hope the Swedes return for more shows next year.

[DerekF]

My thoughts on what was a very enjoyable couple of days. We decided to go to the Friday show and got a room at the Premier inn which is very handily placed.
The Friday night show was a little blighted by a cold wind and some rain that blew through for a time but all in all, very good, enhanced by a spectacular sunset. The Typhoon in particular stood out with long reheat flames lighting up the dark clouds. Kudos to the organizers for bringing things forward a bit rather than keep folks hanging on in what , at times, was less than pleasant weather.
For the Saturday show I got a place on the promenade wall which in all honesty is a bit too far away. The beach looked a bit wet though. I struggled a little with the distance even on a Nikon D600 with Sigma 150-600mm lens. Fortunately the sun shone most the day so the light only became an issue later in the afternoon
The displays themselves were mostly very good within the usual limitations. Standout items were often those which tend to get ignored at other venues. The Tutor, the Blades and the Strikemaster pair etc. While the displays were a little distant and subdued, the Swedish pair were a joy to see, as was the T-33; I can’t recall ever seeing a T-33 flying display before.
I thought the commentary was entertaining and informative enough, although on Friday night we suffered from a PA delay and it became a bit inaudible.
As always getting out of Southport after the show was a challenge, but as I was parked in the Premier inn car park it was easier than being on the beach and but I was home in Cheshire only an hour and half after the show finished.

[UK Airshow Review]

• "Scandi Floss" - Nigel Watson travelled to the North West coast.