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25th ANNIVERSARY OF VIRGIN ATLANTIC: Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Atlantic and the Red Arrows, all happening! The Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747-400 came in very low and slow creating some real 'airspeed problems' for the Red Arrows to keep pace (slowly). A tremendous salute to Virgin commemorating their 25th year of passenger services across the Atlantic Ocean to the USA. Once the Red Arrows had separated off, the Jumbo came back low, slow and dirty, (undercarriage down) for an even slower pass!
THE RED ARROWS: The crack Royal Air Force Aerobatics Team needed no introduction, the Team Pilots had been on a meet and greet through the spectator ranks, the Red Arrows Simulator Ride was in full swing, a new book on the Red Arrows was released at the Air Fair, you get the idea. Hugely popular and rightly so, precision flying at its best with the obligatory 'starburst' at the end! The Team was formed on 1st March 1965, they fly BAE Systems Hawk Aircraft with a total personnel commitment of over 100 Officers and Airmen drawn from RAF ranks.
BOMBERS: As if the 'AVRO' LANCASTER BOMBER wasn't enough, a certain 'AVRO' VULCAN BOMBER made it's presence felt, firstly flying low over the 'landing' Lancaster, (see pic) and then proceeding to set some rather loud decibel readings and a huge shadow over Biggin Hill. AVRO LANCASTER: The Lancaster forms part of the 'Battle of Britain Memorial Flight' (BBMF) and remains one of only two airworthy Lancs. in the world today. The other aircraft is located in Canada. The BBMF Lanc. was built too late to see active flying duties in the Second World War, was used for photographic work in East Africa and ultimately the Lanc. ended up in the capable hands of a dedicated team at RAF Coningsby where the BBMF team also maintain five Spitfires, two Hurricanes, two Chipmunks and a Douglas Dakota. AVRO VULCAN: Following a Seven Million Pounds!! investment in restoration and a fourteen year gap since she was last in the air, Avro Vulcan B.2 XH558 made its Air Show debut at RAF Waddington in 2008. This was her first visit to Biggin Hill. The 'Vulcan to the Sky' team undertook a total rebuild of the aircraft and it now presents as the only airworthy Vulcan in existence. One Hundred and thirty four Vulcan's were flown by the Royal Air Force between 1953 and 1984. The Vulcan did not land at Biggin Hill and is apparently certified to fly return flights to Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome in Leicestershire.
MORE BIGGIN HILL INTERNATIONAL AIR FAIR COVERAGE: Please continue my 'Air Fair coverage' by selecting from the following pages...
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I LOVE NEW TECHNOLOGY, TABLETS, LAPTOPS, DIGITAL CAMERAS, MOBILE PHONES/WIRELESS BROADBAND, GPS, ETC. ALL SO COOL AND 'PORTABLE'......
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