The 2022 edition of the Eastbourne International Airshow saw the four-day event return to the airshow calendar following a covid-induced hiatus since its last running in 2019. The Airbourne airshow has long been an event which has drawn large crowds with its variety and ingenuity of displays, however in recent years that has been watered down somewhat; for the 2022 show, some of that was brought back, not quite to the extend some would like, but given the financial pressures faced by the show organisers, they did a stellar job, and the show could well be remembered as the event which saved Airbourne for years to come. The weather was mostly wonderful, the flying was top notch, and the crowds were massive – all culminating in one of the airshow highlights of the year.
From the outset it was clear that this year’s show could and would be the last if financial support wasn’t garnered, and even following the event there were doubts and questions about the future of the show, with a two-pronged attack from various councillors and a small group of vocal locals arguing the case both for its financial worth, and its environmental impact. Its since been deemed that a tentative approach going forward, with emphasis on the environmental impact is the way to go, with the show this year earning an overall profit for the town, both in direct income and wider business support – proving the airshows worth for the local area. However, it would be wrong to highlight this, and not the flaws that emerged from this year; being a combination of overpromising and underdelivering on several key displays, and a very flat Thursday event, raising the question of whether it is needed.
Firstly the displays which didn’t turn up, those being the Ultimate Warbirds Hawker Tempest, which was long promised by the organisers, and advertised on social media as making its debut display at Eastbourne (contrary to warbird experts stating the direct opposite), the replacement Republic P-47D Thunderbolt which never put in an appearance for unknown reasons, and the prospective star of the show, the Belgian Air Force F-16 Solo Display – this cancelling days before the event due to “logistical reasons”, which we are led to believe was due to there not being an available airfield for it to operate from. The big question is how it was left so late for something as important as that to be arranged? Any logistical issue like that not being resolved mere days before the airshow seems incredibly strange for an event which is no stranger to hosting big international display teams. Losing the F-16 solo was a big hit for Airbourne, and it did put off some from attending as a result, however hopefully with some planning, the Belgian Air Force may return in 2023 with things all sorted far in advance!
The second big issue for me was the Thursday, which was always penned as the quietest of the four-day show, but with the loss of the aforementioned F-16, it was a mere six flying displays spread out over a 3-hour period – to me, that isn’t an acceptable practice at any airshow, to expect crowds to wait around an hour between seeing one display to the next. The Thursday programme did have both the Red Arrows and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight listed, and indeed they were the highlights of the day – the Red Arrows especially given their late 4:30pm display slot, giving a late afternoon glow off of the 7 red jets, making for some lovely photographs for those with cameras. The Royal Air Force Chinook was set to display but had a technical snag and was stuck at Shoreham, as was one of the Aerosuperbatics Wingwalkers at their home base of Rendcomb – it was not a good start to the weekend! I wonder if that continues to be a theme next year, if the Thursday is needed at all, and a better field of displays could be obtained for the following three days instead?
The flying list for the whole weekend was a different story though, with plenty of flying entertainment fit for a very busy seafront airshow. The Royal Air Force sent plenty of noise and nostalgia with the Red Arrows performing all four days of the event, given the crowds plenty to enjoy with their smaller 7-ship, 20-minute routine. The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight based at RAF Coningsby, brought their iconic trio of the Avro Lancaster BI, Supermarine Spitfire MK.II and Hawker Hurricane MK.IIc for the four days, with only the final day having more technical snags grounding the Hurricane and the Lancaster at their operating base at Southend. The RAF Chinook Display Team replaced their “cab” for the weekend and managed to display over a couple of the days, whilst the RAF Typhoon Display Team brought the only fast jet noise from the Friday to the Sunday with Flt.Lt. Adam “Paddy” O’Hare at the helm. The added bonus was that Airbourne was selected as one of very few venues to feature the joint formation passes of the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4 with the BBMF’s Spitfire – the Saturday show being the best of those formations with the special scheme “Blackjack” Typhoon putting in its only appearance of the weekend with the Spitfire.
Another unique and rare formation came with the RAF Chinook joining with The Blades for a special flypast and crowd break in support of their joint sponsors of the RAF Benevolent Fund. Whilst only a solitary flypast, it was great to see some innovation and creativity at work with display teams, instead of the usual cut and dry options – more of those will always be welcome next year! The Blades flew three displays over the weekend, missing their pre-Reds slot on the Thursday as most regulars know them to do. The Aerosuperbatics Wingwalkers flew all four days, despite having yet more technical snags, and eventually even got a second airframe down to Shoreham to take part. Further aerobatics came in the from of Rich Goodwin in his ‘Jet Pitts’ – there must have been something in the avgas though, as the new airframe went tech as well, causing Rich to bring out his Union Flag “old” aircraft for the Sunday show. One of the treats to the enthusiasts was seeing Rod Dean displaying the bright yellow Slingsby Firefly over all four of the days at Eastbourne – one of the veteran display pilots who’s flown everything from Hawker Hunters to warbirds, and aerobatic aircraft, he was celebrating his 50th display season. Congratulations to him on an incredible career.
The Tigers Parachute display team dropped in across the weekend, giving one of the best drops I have seen for years. Something about their display this year seemed more energetic, perhaps due to the larger crowds than anticipated who were cheering them on as each member of the team touched down successfully on the beach. Two classic jets made appearances, with the first being the BAC Strikemaster MK.82a from The Strikemaster Display Team based in Wales, and the second coming from the ever-popular Norwegian Air Force Historical Squadron, bringing their newly painted Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15UTI, carrying a USAF scheme this year. It’s a slight shame that there was not more support for the classic jets, given there is still a determined group of owners and pilots keeping various airframes flying. The Sunday display of the MiG was slightly more menacing with the grey and gloomy skies making the small but aggressive post-war jet design look the epitome of evil compared to the piston powered machines which came before it. With their being Jet Provosts, Vampires, L-29s, L-39s and even the Folland Gnats still dotted around, it would be great to see an organiser take the plunge and book some next year – airshows are all the better for having the variety of those great classic jets many people remember.
The Sunday of the show featured a further special flypast when the Royal Air Force provided a single pass by one of their RAF Benson based Puma HC.2s, enroute to a deployment location elsewhere, the Puma isn’t a common sight at any flying display, so having one drop down over the cliffs of Beachy Head was cool to see. Warbirds are always a feature of seaside shows, and with Eastbourne and Sussex’s links to World War Two during both the Battle of Britain and it being one of the first and sadly last sights allied aircrews would see before heading off to or back from missions in occupied Europe, it is always well supported. This year featured the usual suspects with Spitfire solos from the Rolls Royce Heritage Flight, with their Supermarine Spitfire PR.XIX (another airframe which apparently sprung an oil leak and went tech for two of the three days it was due to display), and a very special display on the Saturday courtesy of John Romain in Spitfire PL983, aka the “NHS Spitfire” who was requested and funded by local, Seaford residents Anne Lambert-Beeson and her friend Jayne Howard as a memorial display for Anne’s Husband and long-time supporter and Airbourne volunteer, transport driver and general enthusiast, Clive Lambert-Beeson. It was a moving and poignant display which was wonderful to witness – John threw in a couple more passes it seemed, just for the occasion.
Further warbird action came from the Rolls Royce Heritage Flight with their North American P-51D Mustang which flew three of the days of the show. The Mustang is always a popular addition with that synonymous gun port whistle as it rattles around the skies. The final warbird was something new for both Eastbourne, and for seaside shows in general, perhaps marking a change for warbird operators which have long been homebirds at locations such as Duxford, Shuttleworth and Sywell – this warbird being the Ultimate Warbirds Hawker Fury FB.11. The Fury came in from above, flying from its weekend seaside retreat at Lydd, giving the pier-goers a scare as the large fighter growled across the skies of Eastbourne. As mentioned earlier, it was meant to be joined firstly by its shiny new stablemate and sibling, the Hawker Tempest, and later the P-47D Thunderbolt – this too not showing at all over the weekend for some reason. The Fury was one of the highlights of the weekend though, flown by Andy Durston, the fighter was put through its paces in what would have been a new environment for the type, making its debut over the Sussex coastline, venturing away from the relative commonality of Sywell or Duxford. It was a great addition and hopefully in the future more of these illusive warbirds will venture out for shows away from the warbird stomping grounds.
Overall Eastbourne Airshow was a resounding success, the crowds on Thursday were the biggest for any airshow held in Eastbourne for over a decade for that relatively quiet day, and they only grew over the wonderful summertime weekend – it is a shame that there was so little flying for them to enjoy that day. There did appear to be some rust from the organisation side, with the issues with the Belgian F-16, as well as some foibles from their social media team, and the vast array of technical hiccups certainly didn’t help, but that can hardly be blamed on the organisers. I still get the same feeling now, attending Airbourne, as I did as a 7-year-old kid, 20 years ago, it’s an airshow set in one of the most beautiful settings, with a heritage many show organisers could only dream of having. There is still an excitement to seeing the Lancaster round Beachy Head, to the Red Arrows coming in over the hotel behind the crowds, and to hearing George Bacon telling us all to wave our hats, our coats and our umbrellas – in the true British seaside way. I hope that whatever logistical reasoning stopped the Belgian Air Force attending this year, spurs both sides on next year to make it happen, because if they can take some of the great stuff that was on show this year, throw in some innovative ideas and get the most popular fast jet for any Airbourne fan back, they will be on to a winner. I cannot wait to see what Airbourne 2023 holds in store.
Words and Photos by Matt Silvaire.
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