incorporating UKAirshows

Airbourne - Eastbourne International Airshow 2007

This is a review of the 2007 show. Although not the most recent, it is typical of Eastbourne's airshows. There are links to reviews of other Eastbourne airshows in the box on the right.

Eastbourne has a reputation for innovation. In past years the B1 bomber has made a rare appearance and in 2005 Eastbourne was the venue for the first outing of the Eurofighter at a family show.

In 2007, Eastbourne scooped the only family show appearance for the Royal Jordanian Falcons, conducting a European tour during which the only other British showing in 2007 was at the Royal International Tattoo at Fairford, a military airshow.

Other unusual additions to Airbourne's display in 2007 were two craft from the US, the MH-53 heavy-lift helicopter and the MC-130 which demonstrated in-flight refueling on Friday.

The Messerschmitt ME-108 also made a rare Eastbourne appearance. Two were programmed to be in a dogfight with two Hurricanes on Saturday and Sunday. In practice, on Sunday the Hurricanes displayed separately and only one Messerschmitt made it for a display later in the afternoon. On Saturday it was more of an aerial procession than a dogfight. Nevertheless it was good to see all four aircraft in the skies at the same time.

A DHL cargo 747 displayed at Airbourne in 2005. In 2007 a passenger 747-400 from Oasis Hong Kong made several passes on Saturday.

As well as these innovations, the 800,000 crowd enjoyed the more traditional teams.

The Red Arrows, always amongst the most popular crowd pleasers at Airbourne, displayed on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday their programme was interrupted when a possible intruder was spotted and the display was curtailed when the weather closed in.

Although the sun didn't shine to bring out the bright red of the Arrows, the murky cloud showed off the coloured smoke trails. On Sunday the team performed a full rolling display despite the weather.

Airbourne has a focus on recruitment for the RAF and there is invariably a demonstration by the sequence of aircraft recruits would expect to experience in their training and service careers.

At Airbourne 2007 this range was represented by the trainers, the Grob 115e (known as the Tutor T1), the Tucano T1 and the Hawk T1 advanced trainer. From Friday to Sunday the newest aircraft, and the target of all that training, the Eurofighter Typhoon, showed how the effort is all worthwhile, accompanied by an enthusiastic commentary from Team Manager, Flight Lieutenant James Bolton.

Lighter aircraft were represented by the Extra, which featured in a solo display by John Taylor from Ultimate High and formation displays by the Royal Jordanian Falcons and the Blades, and the king of the aerobatics, Will Curtis performing his amazing display in a Sukhoi Su-26.

Will, the holder of the Guinness Book of Records for flying upside down between twelve sets of poles just one metre above the ground, hovers the Sukhoi like helicopter, flicks, loops and tumbles like a falling sycamore seed.

The plane has been further modified and in 2007 sported with a 9 cylinder 525hp radial engine and massive specially designed 2.7metre diameter propeller.

With two propellers, four arms and four legs, the Stearman Wingwalker pair have dropped their blue and yellow for the livery of new sponsors, Guinot.

As well as the Blue Eagles, displaying in their Lynx and four Gazelles, rotaries included the USAF MH-53, which displayed on Friday, and the Belgian Air Force Sea King, which simulated a rescue on the last three of their scheduled four days. The Chinook, a regular at Eastbourne, flew Friday-Sunday.

Wartime planes were well represented with a novel (for Eastbourne) appearance by the Kitty Hawk and the welcome return of the Mustang to support the more traditional displays of the Hurricanes and Spitfires, including the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

John Romain wanted to make sure that everyone got a close look at the Mk IX Spitfire, bringing it very close to the crowd on Thursday but flying a more normal line on the other show days.

The RAF Falcons jumped on two of the scheduled four days, but not without incident (see box), whereas the smaller army Tigers team also managed a jump onto the beach on Thursday.