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RAF Past and Present
The Alpha dispersal was filled with aircraft from the past 90 years of the RAF from the Meteor to the Hawk and the Chipmunk to the Typhoon. This was a fitting tribute to the roles the RAF has fulfilled over the years, with today's role being demonstrated in the Role Demonstration, which this year was based around the rescue of 2 hostages from enemy territory. The mixture of fast jets, stunning pyrotechnics and modern music not only makes for a stunning display of air power and the RAF Today but it also appeals to the younger generation who will hopefully be spurred on to joining the force. The inclusion in this year's display of the Apache showed the new and unique assets of air power that the RAF can work with the Army Air Corps [AAC]. Other new assets that were also shown included the Typhoon and the UAVs.
There were also solo displays from the Typhoon, Chinook, Hawk and Tutor with the Tucano winning second best display at the show and the King Air getting a special mention.
Gloster meteor WM167 |
Typhoon F2 ZJ939 |
Tornado F3 ZE288 |
Jet Provost T5 XW354 |
Hawk T1 XX199 |
Hawks |
Hunter XL577 |
Hurricane R4118 |
Deployment Support Display
Outside of Display Hangar 3 a Merlin helicopter from 78 Squadron formed the centre piece of a display that depicted a typical field deployment, of the type being utilised in Iraq and Afghanistan. This Deployment Support Display featured the range of non-flying units that are required for safe and efficient operation in theatres of conflict. These included:
. RAF Force Protection units like the RAF Regiment and RAF Police
. Tactical Communications Wing (TCW), to install, operate and maintain transportable tactical communications and information systems in support of RAF assets
. Motor transport units to maintain and service vehicles; and to provide fuel storage, testing and refuelling services to the deployment
. Plus the often overlooked cooks, medical personnel, intelligence, supply, airfield maintenance and meteorological personnel who are vital for a deployment to function correctly
Sadly this display might have been missed by those air show visitors that hugged the flight line to ensure they glimpsed the flying display, but the display represented a vitally important part of the 'full deployment package'.
RAF Merlin HC3 |
RAF Merlin HC3 |
RAF Merlin HC3 |
RAF Merlin HC3 |
Support Display |
Support Display |
Support Display |
Support Display |
The show was also supported by several foreign display teams. The Sarang Helicopter team arrived in early June from India and displayed with their beautifully decorated Dhruv helicopters on both days of the show.
The Patrulla Aguila visited the show from Spain, displaying with their seven EADS CASA C.101 aircraft. There were also 2 Spanish F.18's on the static line-up, with one of the two displaying anniversary markings.
The Los Halcones team also visited the show with their Extra 300 aircraft from the Chilean Air Force along with a C.130 Hercules, which was the runner up in Best Presented static display.
All these foreign participants boosted the line-up and put on great displays despite the changeable weather conditions which like last year, plagued a large part of the weekend. Even so, the organisers made sure that there was not a repeat of last year's cancellation and the show continued throughout the weekend.
The Americans also brought along a B.52 bomber which was not able to display but did add to the slightly reduced static line-up, as well as bringing a KC.135 and an E.3A AWACS. It was also good to see one of the last displays on British soil from a Mirage 2000, which gave an agile and exciting display, winning 1st prize for its efforts.
F-16 J-869 |
F-18 12-27 |
F-18 12-50 |
USAF E-3C 0560 |
Displays were also put on in one of the Hangars to celebrate Youth in the Community, which was sponsored by Edmund Nuttall Limited. This interactive exhibition aimed to show off the best of the regions youth with groups such as the Air Cadets, Prince's Trust and Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme putting on displays ranging from climbing walls, knot tying and applying camouflage paint. All these exhibits were very popular throughout the day and hopefully this will have generated enthusiasm for the Force and encouraged some of the young people to consider a career in the RAF.
Best Show Yet?
So, even though the weather tried to put a stop to proceedings for a second year running, the show continued on and was one that will be remembered for many years, mainly for the first Public display of the Vulcan in 15 years. There were other highlights for some such as the Spitfire and Typhoon synchronized display as well as the return of the Red Arrows to the UK, even though their display was cut short due to the weather on Saturday. However, the Vulcan brought back memories to many of those in the crowd and gave others new ones that will be cherished for years to come, as a consequence the 2008 show may be considered by many people to be one of the best there has been.
Many thanks go to the Media and Communications Advisor, Lindsey Harley and her team for their excellent assistance throughout the air show; the Station Commander at RAF Waddington Group Captain A D Fryer BA [Hons] RAF, all of his staff and the air show performers for an excellent Waddington International Airshow 2008.
All photograph copyright / credits:
Howard Heeley – Down To Earth Promotions, and Nick Heeley.