Flightline UK 2004 - RAF Waddington International Airshow 2004 = 26th-27th June = REVIEW

RAF Waddington International Airshow 2004 - 26th-27th June 2004

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Part Three : The Flying Displays

This years flying display fell a long way short of the standard of variety that Waddington has provided in previous years. That said, everything in it performed to a high standard allowing some different acts to share the limelight than maybe in previous years would have been overlooked. In metioning the flying display we should commend the organisers and pilots for soping admirably with some interesting weather conditions. Neither days display was significantly affected though Saturday's winds meant the BBMF and Catalina remained on the ground and Sunday's display were temporarily suspended to allow a nasty shower to pass - though everything flew.

I've got a great idea......

You can just imagine the conversation the night before can't you? The departures day saw this unique formation over Waddington. So what was the point, well both the Austrian Air Force 3rd Squadron and Belgian Air Force's 31sqn are Tiger Squadrons. Just why didn't someone think of this for the actual flying display?

There's no doubt the RAF Typhoon T1 grabbed the headlines even though it couldn't display as well as we know it can. Winning the turning and burning stakes undoubtedly was the Belgian Air Force F-16AM Fighting Falcon closely followed by the RAF's own Tornado GR4 and F3 displays. However, the real star of the flying wasn't a fast jet routine which is a rare

occurance at shows like this. The star was the Royal New Zealand Air Force's Lockheed P-3K Orion which was put through a highly energetic routine for such a large aircraft. Winning the prize for best presented display however was the RAF's Chinook HC2 demo which is a star turn wherever it appears. Congratulatiosn to the crew for creating such a good display despite this being the first year of Chinook displays for some 11-12 years.

There were a few historic types on show too. The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight appeared in force with all four display types on Sunday while the Army Air Corps brought their Historic Aircraft Flight to remind us how these two air arms evolved. Also flying was Plane Sailing's Catalina and Hawker Hunter Aviations Hunter F58 along Kennet's Gnat T1.. There were also contributions from the civilian sports flying community in the form of the Honda Dream Team's Sukhoi Su-26M2 and Over The Top Aerobatics Walter Extra EA300L, the latter in need of sponsorship : http://www.ott-aeros.co.uk

However, the big shows stars for the public were the big display Teams. The Red Arrows were joined by the Italian Il Frecce Tricolore and Spain's Patrulla Aguila. There's no doubt the Reds were the crowd's favourite but as always loyalities were divided by the italian's flair.

Let's hope for better weather next year though!