Posted by Flightline UK on January 19, 2009 under Aerobatics and Competitions | 
The live broadcast comes as part of a celebration of the centenary of air racing and the Aero GP’s debut in the Middle East. The Aero GP will be the first competitive multiple airplane race of it’s kind in the region and the main event of the prestigious Al Ain Aerobatic Show. Both spectacular events will be broadcast LIVE on 30 – 31 January 2009 on the new online TV channel, Airsports.tv.
Airsports.tv broadcasts features of top-level air sports competitions worldwide and is fast becoming a focal point for the air sports community.
Jeff Zaltman, Managing Director of Aero GP, said “We want to share the excitement and enthusiasm of this amazing sport with as many people as possible and get competitive air racing noticed by the wider sporting community. The online broadcast with Airsports.tv is an essential part of the process. ”
Viewers who tune in on 30-31 January (12:00pm – 18:00pm GMT) will see all aspects of the Aero GP events with live commentary including:
1. Pylon Air Race – Five aircraft racing simultaneously around a tight circuit, 20 feet off the ground at at speeds of up to 500kph.
2. Dog Fighting – Two pilots compete head-to-head in a battle for air supremacy in an air combat round
3. Target Bombing – As part of the ‘Barnstorming’ round pilots will perform various aerobatic stunts and compete in a real target bombing competition.
The impressive line up of world-class pilots has an international flavour, which includes: Richard ‘Smokey’ Young, Andy Bickmore, Zoltan Veres, Gerald Cooper and Mark Jefferies.
Posted by Flightline UK on under Display Team News and Dates, Royal Air Force |
The RAF WILL NOT present it’s Role Demonstration in 2009 due to the lack of available particpants for the Role Demonstration. The Tornado GR4 force is preparing to take over operations in Afganistan from the Harrier force and is no longer able to commit aircraft or aircrews to the demonstration.
The more encouraging news is that the RAF Display Teams and solo display will all be back in 2009:-
- Red Arrows
- Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
- RAF Falcons Parachute Display Team (the team will be making more use of civilian aircraft as the C-130 force is still kept busy supporting forces overseas
- Typhoon solo
- Hawk solo
- Tucano solo
- King Air solo
- Tutor solo
With the exception of the King Air, all solo displays will perform a similar number of displays to 2008. The King AIr had a very successful first year on the circuit, and the team will be committed to more events in 2009
Posted by Mark Broadbent on January 13, 2009 under Civilian Organised Airshows and Trade Events |
Tickets have gone on sale for the Abingdon Air & Country Show, the first major display of the 2009 UK airshow season.
The show will be held on May 3rd at Abingdon Airfield (Dalton Barracks), adjacent to the A34.
Air displays already confirmed include the Dukes of Cassutt air racing team, a newly restored Hawker Hurricane and a T-28 Fennec. Other air displays will be announced over the coming weeks. There will also be static aircraft, an aircraft fly-in and pleasure flights.
The 2009 event marks the 10th anniversary of this popular event, whose reputation has grown in recent years. Many airshow enthusiasts now begin their season with a visit to Abingdon.
However, the show is also a great family day out with numerous attractions on the ground. New features this year include a farmers’ market and live musical performances by Fiona Harrison, who will be performing a medley of 1940s numbers.
Other highlights include an RBS Williams Formula 1 Grand Prix Show Car, classic cars, a mobile farm, vintage military vehicles, Doctor Who Daleks, tank rides, trade stalls and a craft fair.
Tickets prices are as follows:
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In advance
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On the day
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Adults (16 and over)
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£8.00
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£10.00
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Family (2 adults + 2 kids)
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£22.00
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N/A
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OAPs
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£4.00
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£5.00
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Children (aged 5 to 15)
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£4.00
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£5.00
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Children (under 5s)
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Free
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Free
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Car parking
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Free
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Organiser Neil Porter commented: “With people watching their money due to the credit crunch, we are working hard to present a show that will provide a great family day out but at an affordable cost.”
For the third successive year, the show is being held in support of the Thames Valley & Chiltern Air Ambulance Trust.
Advance tickets can be purchased online from the official show website at www.abingdonfayre.com. They are also available at the Abingdon Information Centre (within the Old Abbey House building), The Warehouse (near Coxeters), Clothes 4 Work in Didcot (opposite the Broadways Pub) and Didcot First Office (by the Next Shop).
For more information please visit www.abingdonfayre.com.
Posted by Flightline UK on January 12, 2009 under Display Team News and Dates |
This month’s Al Ain Aerobatic Show 2009, the Garden City of the United Arab Emirates’ annual aviation spectacle, will be the first outside of Europe to host the Swift Aerobatic Display Team – a record-breaking glider outfit that performs amazing feats using just the power of gravity.
Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), which organises the event in conjunction with the UAE Air Force, believes the inclusion of new-to-the region displays are critical in reinforcing the Al Ain spectacle as one of the world’s most prominent aerobatics events.
“The addition of fresh to the region displays keeps our offering dynamic and is important in maintaining the show’s world-class standing,” said Ahmed Hussein, Deputy Director General Tourism Operations, ADTA.
“This event is not just about sheer power; it incorporates all elements of aviation from the early prop planes of the 1940s to the engine-free grace of gliders. It really has something for everyone.”
The six-member UK-based Swift Team is led by renowned glider pilot, Guy Westgate, who began developing manoeuvres for their dazzling performance more than a decade ago.
“We are the only team to perform the roll-on-tow manoeuvre, where the glider flies upside down while being pulled by the towplane,” said Westgate.
Swift Team pilots have vowed to perform a special cameo
for the 130,000 spectators expected at Al Ain Aerobatic Show 2009, which will run from January 28-31st at Al Ain International Airport.
“Spectators should expect to be surprised,” said Westgate, a former record-breaking, glider display champion. “If they have seen glider displays before, they need to wipe the slate clean; we do things differently!
“We found the traditional glider display format far too limiting, so we now have a three-part display. First, we have the takeoff and low-level display where the gliders begin manoeuvres while still on the towplane, and then we go into a set of formations from the Twister aircraft on only 80 horse power. Finally, at release altitude, the glider will combine grace and aggression to show the very best of unlimited aerobatics using only the power of gravity.”
Westgate added that he and the five other Swift Team members are looking forward to exploring Al Ain after researching the area.
“Part of the excitement for us is that we do not know what to expect from Al Ain,” he said. “We have studied the airfield and surrounding terrain on Google Earth and it looks very different from flying above England’s leafy green meadows. When you are performing you don’t have any spare concentration to admire the surroundings so we’ll have to take time out of our schedule to discover Abu Dhabi.”
Swift Team joins a host of pilots and display outfits from more than 15 countries for Al Ain Aerobatic Show 2009. One of the highlights of the four days of action will be the regional debut of Aero GP Al Ain – the multi-discipline aerobatics event and the only international air racing series with multiple airplanes simultaneously competing against each other (a sport called ‘pylon racing’).
Nicknamed aviation’s ‘Formula One’, Aero GP Al Ain will see five world-class pilots battle it out in a straight air race, as well as testing their skills in aerial combat and their aim in a ‘barnstorming’ targeting competition.
Posted by Flightline UK on January 10, 2009 under Seaside Shows |
From the Bexhill Observer
TOURISM chiefs have revealed Airbourne will take place this summer — and it will be free.
The four-day airshow will be on August 13 to 16. There had been uncertainty as to whether the air spectacular would take place after last year’s disaster when Eastbourne Borough Council tried to charge spectators to watch displays from a seafront enclosure.
Only a small number of people did pay and the exercise left a £360,000 hole in the council’s budget as well as red faces among tourism chiefs and councillors who made the misguided decision to charge.
Yesterday (Thursday) Eastbourne Borough Council leader David Tutt confirmed Airbourne would take place and appealed to the public to support it.
Admission to the event will be free and a business plan drawn up will look to the event being self financing. It will be underwritten by the council’s contigency budget. But the Liberal Democrat warned if people did not support the various fundraising initiatives like a retiring collection, a question mark would certainly hang over its future.
“We will be meeting the cost from the contingency fund but we can only do that once,” said Councillor Tutt, “and if Airbourne 2009 doesn’t work and isn’t self financing, the following year’s event will be in doubt.”
This week’s announcement marks the end of the uncertainty surrounding the airshow. Earlier this week the council’s Conservatives said they were being kept in the dark over Airbourne. Sandie Howlett, the Tory spokesperson for tourism, said it was high time residents and hoteliers were told whether Airbourne would be taking place.
She said she had already had two conversations — the latest one on Monday afternoon — with tourism boss Norman Kinnish, who told her no firm decision had been made.
Councillor Howlett said, “The controlling LibDems have had ample time to make a decision and have given the impression of dithering over what to do. Council officers need to know — not least so the necessary planes can be definitely booked and with Bournemouth staging a free airshow in August as well, we run the risk of not getting a good display due to indecisiveness. Tourism is a vital part of Eastbourne’s economy and the LibDems have run the risk of spoiling our reputation as a premier resort by not being decisive when they need to be. The recently printed Eastbourne Guide, upon which hoteliers and guest house owners alike advertise, shows Airbourne ‘to be confirmed’. Only recently have other events been confirmed and one has to question, why? In an economic slowdown it is ridiculous that Airbourne and other events are shown as not confirmed which could cause holidaymakers to choose a different resort altogether. As an ex-hotelier I am acutely aware of the value of the guide to attract holidaymakers to Eastbourne. Airbourne itself has been a wonderful part of the events programme and last year’s disastrous decision by the LibDems to charge an entry fee may well yet have sounded the death knell for this fantastic showpiece airshow.”
Posted by Flightline UK on January 9, 2009 under Seaside Shows |
The dates of the World’s biggest FREE seafront airshow have been confirmed as Airbourne is set to return to Eastbourne seafront for four days from 13-16 August 2009.
Taking place for its 17th year in 2009, the seafront airshow regularly attracts a fast and furious mix of fast jets, aerobatics, helicopters, freefall parachutists, and old warbirds plus crowd-pleasing arena attractions.
From visitors meeting and speaking to pilots from across the world to watching adrenaline-fuelled arena displays ranging from the Royal Marines Unarmed Combat to a Jet Pack Man fuelled only by his engine-powered rucksack, Airbourne is renowned for putting on the biggest action-packed show on the south coast.
The Leader of Eastbourne Borough Council, Councillor David Tutt said “I am extremely pleased to announce the dates for this year’s Airbourne. It’s a highlight of Eastbourne’s summer and a favourite with visitors from across the world. Kids love watching the dynamic aerobatics in the skies while visitors return year on year to admire a glorious display from the beautiful setting of Eastbourne seafront.”
Every year, Eastbourne Borough Council work alongside the RAF to put on a dazzling show, which features top flying displays, flight simulators, full size replica aircraft and ground exhibits from the RAF careers team.
The seafront airshow based on the open landscape of the Western Lawns also features a wide range of trade stands to suit all pockets from children’s attractions to a diverse catering village with Eastbourne beaches providing a magnificent setting to watch all the action.
With evening entertainment also scheduled to take place, Airbourne makes the perfect day out for those long summer days; from Bandstand concerts to a breathtaking firework finale on the Sunday night.
The Council are currently working with the local Business Community on Airbourne so that it becomes a self-funding event.
For more information and the latest news airshow enthusiasts can sign up online to become a Friend of Airbourne and receive regular updates to their inbox. Visit www.eastbourneairshow.co.uk or telephone 0871 663 0031.
