SOUTHPORT SEAFRONT AIR DISPLAY
SUNDAY, 24th JULY
Static on beach and in the 'Air Show Village'G-BSVH/N87702 Piper J-3c-65 Cub, all yellow
G-CBLW Raj Hamsa X'Air Major
G-CBNJ Raj Hamsa X'Air 912
G-CCDD Mainair Pegasus Quik
G-CCJM Mainair Pegasus Quik
G-CFTJ Aerotechnik EV-97 Eurostar
G-GTSO P&M Quik GT450
G-MVBK Mainair Gemini/Flash IIA
"BS435"/F-FY Spitfire 9, full scale metal replica, very realistic.
"IR206"/IR trailer mounted fibreglass Typhoon, 29 Sqdn marks
"XX308" full scale fibreglass Hawk T.1, Red Arrows colours
Operating from the BeachG-BDPJ PA-25 Pawnee 235, banner and glider tug
G-IIFX MDM-1 Fox sailplane, "GliderFX.com"
G-HILZ Van's RV-8 'RV8tors Team' "Fly2Help"
G-RVMZ Van's RV-8
G-SWIP Wells Silencer Twister, maroon trim 'Swip Team', "Scottish Widows"
G-ZWIP Wells Silencer Twister, blue trim
ZJ257/57 Squirrel HT.1, DHFS, on beach, dep 1205 to BLK
ZJ276/76 Squirrel HT.1, DHFS, on beach, dep 1205 to BLK, then returned to beach 1244-1436 with 'Red 10' commentator.
Flying Display ParticipantsG-BYWL Grob G.115E Tutor, RAF Cranwell
G-IIFM Edge 360, Sbach aerobatics, no sponsor name displayed
PL965/R (G-MKIX) Spitfire PR.9, all PR blue, Hangar 11
G-PSST Hunter F.58A, "Miss Demeanour"
472035 (G-SIJJ) NA P-51D Mustang, "Jumpin'-Jacques", Hangar 11.
G-ZEXL Extra EA.300 'The Blades' Team, "RAFA"
G-ZXCL Extra EA.300
G-ZXEL Extra EA.300
G-ZXLL Extra EA.300
N5057V/1 Super Stearman, "Breitling" wing walking team
N74189/2 Super Stearman, "Breitling" wing walking team
(AB910)/RF-D Spitfire Vb, BBMF
LF363/YB-W H.Hurricane II, BBMF
PA474/BQ-B & HW-R Avro Lancaster B.1, BBMF "Phantom of the Ruhr"
LS326/L2 Fairey Swordfish, RNHF "City of Liverpool"
XX244 BAe Hawk T.1, 208 Sqd, 70th Anniversary special markings
XZ722/645 Westland Lynx HMA.8, RN 'Blackcats Team' special black Puma scheme
ZD257/642 Westland Lynx HMA.8, RN 'Blackcats' standard scheme
ZA410/016:XV Tornado GR.4, 31 Sqdn flash on nose
ZD743/091 Tornado GR.4, no unit flash
ZF379/379 Shorts Tucano T.1, standard RAF black scheme
ZH852/68 Merlin HM.1, RN standard grey scheme, code on nose only
ZK450/J Beech King Air B200, 45(R) Sqdn, 3 FTS
plus 9 x "Red Arrows" BAe.Hawk T.1
The only 'no show' was Hangar 11's P-40 Kittyhawk, which had been replaced by their Spitfire PR.9 after the programme printed.
Parachutists, the "Tiger FFT" formed by the Royal Artilliary, unusuallly jumped from the two RN Lynx.
In patchy sunshine for much of the afternoon, and a constant cooling stiff on-shore breeze, an entertaining display. Some slight gaps, but that is in the nature of a beachfront air display. Nice to see three participant duos operating off the beach. Also good to see a small collection of aircraft that had landed on the beach during the morning.
Apart from some great flying, the only innovative item was a formation formed by the two Lynx led by the Swordfish. The BBMF seemed to have refined their display since I last properly watched them a year or so ago, with the Spitfire and Hurricane flying together before solo slots. The 'Alien' Tornado GR.4 pair at the end were terrific, don't think I've seen a Tornado demonstration with so many wings swept-back fast passes before. Great spectacle, an increasing difficult feature for display organisers to find.
With serious traffic jams developing after the display on the Saturday, the Sunday programme was brought forward, the first item being the Spitfire PR.9 at 1210 (40 minutes early), the last item, the Tornados 1630-1638 (again 40 minutes early), the sequence of the programme was considerably different to that published. The PA system on beach and prom was loud and clear without echo, but a real problem when trying to take an urgent mobile phone message!
I really enjoyed the afternoon, well done to the organising team. Apparently it is back to September in 2012, I for one, rather hope not as I enjoyed not getting freezing cold and wet!