Air Show

Some pictures.



The chap stood next to me had the most amazing camera set up. I don't think he took any pictures though, just hugged the camera



There wasn't a display by the Red Arrows this year but we did have a Hawk from 100 Sqn to look at.



And vintage bombers too.

Woosh

This time last year I went to an airshow at a families day at the local RAF base. I blogged about it and lamented that I was not able to get any photos because my camera had died.

I was able to go again this year and managed to get Bex a ticket as well. This time the camera didn't fail, I didn't get sunburnt but it was perhaps a tad too warm.

The Red Arrows were the highlight of the afternoon as they were going to give a full display and they got about a third of the way through it until suddenly they stopped. According to the RAF guy who was providing commentary two "intruders" had strayed into their exclusion zone one seems to have quickly bimbled out again but the other, a glider, wasn't contactable by radio and was ignoring the visual signals that the Arrows were giving him. They flew over to where he was and left trails of white smoke I'm guessing this is an agreed "bugger off signal" he didn't bugger off and they ran out of time/fuel so it was curtailed.

Grrrr

But I managed to get some photos which are here.

Atomic Glow Me

On Friday I went to a local airshow, it was really good, the weather was perfect, small children were running around screaming their heads off overdosed on e-numbers from dodgy burgers and blue coloured cola. The adults were boring each other with details of the specifications of the different aircraft on display. The local dignitaries were slowly melting in their formal dark suits and heavy chains of office.

I got caught by the sun, I am known by people who know me as bit of a sun screen bore "slap it on, you can't risk being burnt, skin cancer is serious yadda yadda yadda. But each bloody year I get caught out, the one day I expect to be overcast and me staying mostly indoors I end up being out for hours in the full sun. Friday was such a day.

I had taken my camera along so that I could capture the sights, if not the sounds, of an airshow but unfortunately the batteries failed on me before I could take any interesting photos. So I'm afraid to say that you have missed the sight of a Tucano zipping above the runway upside down at 100 feet, the excitement of seeing a Jaguar zoom vertically into the clouds only to tumble artfully down towards the ground before levelling out at a height that I don't think is allowed in the rule book. Also I can't show you the slow grace of 2 Tiger moths and a Chipmunk as they swooped over, in tight formation before landing. Or the massiveness of a C17 as it did a slow then fast fly past. Then we were stunned as the Red Arrows flew past in formation smoke streaming. A big impressive American helicopter swung by, then the venerable Canberra, the oldest aircraft in the RAF's arsenal, it first flew in the 1940's and I think that barring accidents it won't be retired until later this decade.

I once "flirted" with a Canberra pilot and there are not many women under the age of 50 that can say that. He was a lovely bloke, it was while I was still going out with my ex, I was waiting for him to turn up at a local pub and this suave debonair man started to talk to me. Eventually I was "rescued" by my then boyfriend who surprisingly enough knew Flo of old.

Flo said "Sam you bastard what are you doing here, I was just talking to this beautiful woman"

Sam "Yes I know, that's my girlfriend"

Flo "Right I'll get my coat" but fortunately he stayed and we all had a very good chat.

Tragically Flo was killed in an accident at RAF Marham last year. He was a really nice man, a family man, the sort of chap you wanted to have as a friend. And very very funny.