Eastbourne Apology continued…

Posted by Flightline UK on 28/02/2009 under Seaside Shows | Be the First to Comment

BBC South East Today Report

Tourism Councillor apologises over Airbourne 2008

Posted by Flightline UK on 27/02/2009 under Seaside Shows | Be the First to Comment

Cllr Steve Wallis, Eastbourne Borough Council’s spokesperson for tourism, said sorry to his fellow borough councillors and said he was regretful the £5 charge for Airbourne had not worked.

David Tutt had been asked to take responsibility for the decision, which led to a black hole in the council budget of £380,000. But Cllr Tutt was not there to hear the debate on the Conservative motion, having declared a prejudicial interest and left the council chamber. In his absence, Cllr Wallis said sorry but asked people to remember the economic climate surrounding the festival, saying a falling audience for airshows in general and high fuel prices had kept people away.

Cllr Troy Tester, deputy leader of the council, said Cllr Tutt had already apologised on behalf of the council.

But Cllr Colin Belsey, who proposed the motion, said an individual apology was needed, like those made by the chairmen of multinational banks for losing money.
The hundreds of thousands lost had been covered by the council but if not lost, he said, could have been spent on other benefits for the town.
Martin Reeves, a self-employed cab driver, spoke at the meeting. In previous years he had ferried a constant stream of visitors to the free airshow but last year, working over three days, he did just four trips.
Hindsight was a wonderful thing, claimed Liberal Democrat councillor John Harris. He and several other councillors partially blamed the lack of visitors on the decision of Eastbourne MP Nigel Waterson to stand on the seafront telling people not to go.
Cllr Tutt did not apologise again and Cllr Belsey, speaking after the meeting, said, “I was very disappointed that the leader of the council decided to withdraw for this motion.  “I suppose sorry really does seem to be the hardest word.”

Air Tattoo to mark NATO Anniversary

Posted by Flightline UK on 23/02/2009 under Military Airshows | Read the First Comment

NATO 60th Anniversary

Organisers of this summer’s Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire are planning to continue their strong links with NATO by staging celebrations marking the organisation’s 60th anniversary.

Among the member states and partner nations already committed to demonstrating the Alliance’s air power on July 18-19 are Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, the US and the UK. They, along with many others, will send aircraft representing the wide variety of tasks NATO performs. Since it was established in the early 1970s, the Air Tattoo has prided itself on being a meeting place for NATO countries, giving visiting aircrew and military chiefs the opportunity to come together and exchange ideas.

In recognition of the valuable role that the Air Tattoo performs in developing this spirit of co-operation, friendship and integration, member states and aspiring member states have been keen to participate in the airshow’s thrilling tributes marking the Alliance’s key anniversaries. Indeed, in 1999, all 19 NATO member countries were represented at RAF Fairford for the Alliance’s 50th anniversary.

The NATO link is strengthened further by the fact that in 1999, the United States Air Force operated from the Cotswolds’ base during Operation Allied Force – the NATO air campaign in Kosovo. Among aircraft from NATO countries already confirmed for July are B-52 and B-1 bombers from the US Air Force and heavylift transporters including the C-17, C-5 and C-130. Fast jet displays will include the Typhoon (RAF), JAS-C39 Gripen (Swedish Air Force) and the F-18 Hornet (Spanish Air Force).

Joining them will be two of the world’s most exciting aerobatic display teams: the legendary Red Arrows and the Italian Frecce Tricolori.

Special cut-price tickets for the Air Tattoo are available until March 31, priced £30.95. Under-16s go free. For more details and for regular updates on participating aircraft, visit airtattoo.com

RAF Airshows share knowledge

Posted by Flightline UK on 17/02/2009 under Military Airshows | Be the First to Comment

The organisers of the Royal Air Force’s four most prestigious airshows met recently to discuss ways in which they can work more closely together.
Senior representatives from RAF Waddington, RAF Leuchars and RAF Cosford airshows met at the headquarters of the Royal International Air Tattoo in Fairford, Gloucestershire, for two days of talks covering everything from aircraft participation and logistics to ticketing and incident response.
They were able to share their experiences and also discuss ideas on how best to support the Royal Air Force’s ‘Engagement Strategy’ – which sets out the framework for communicating with its various audiences.
Among those present was Air Tattoo Director Tim Prince, RAF Waddington Airshow Director Colin Reeves, RAF Cosford Airshow co-ordinator Norman Branagh and RAF Leuchars’ Airshow Director Wg Cdr Mike Ainsworth.
Although it was the first such meeting of its kind there are now plans to make it an annual event.
Air Tattoo Director Tim Prince said everyone valued the opportunity to discuss their airshows in an open forum and to look at ways in which they could help each other in the future.
He said: “I was delighted that we all felt we could be quite open with each other and, as a consequence, we learned a lot. The consensus was that our four airshows had a lot to offer the Royal Air Force in terms of engaging with the public, promoting recruitment and delivering key messages. What better opportunity is there to do this than in the context of a thrilling air display?”

2009 Red Bull Air Race World Championship ready for take off – No UK round!

Posted by Flightline UK on 03/02/2009 under Red Bull Air Race | Be the First to Comment

Fifteen of the world’s top race pilots, including four rookies from four corners of the globe, will compete in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship in 2009, which will touch down in six spectacular locations beginning with the traditional season opener in Abu Dhabi on 17 and 18 April.

The world’s most exciting motorsport will then move to North America for races in San Diego, USA and Windsor in Ontario, Canada, before returning back across the Atlantic to Europe for stops in Budapest, Porto and Barcelona, marking a much-anticipated return to the enchanting Spanish city on the Mediterranean.

In 2006 one million spectators packed the beachfront of the Catalonian capital to witness this breathtaking sport and Barcelona will host the final race of the season where the 2009 World Champion will be crowned.

“We’re really excited to be returning to Barcelona after such a successful race there three years ago with an absolutely fantastic crowd,” said Bernd Loidl, CEO of Red Bull Air Race. “The Red Bull Air Race has advanced considerably since then and thanks to some of the changes we’ve introduced, this season will be the most exciting yet. We’re also delighted to have our first Canadian race in the province of Ontario and to welcome four new pilots on board.”

Flying at speeds reaching 370 km/hr (230 mph) and pulling up to 12 gs, the pilots will navigate unique and demanding race tracks, negotiating their way through 20 metre high inflatable air gates in their bid to become the 2009 Red Bull Air Race World Champion. Austrian Hannes Arch, who became the first European to win the championship last year, will be seeking to defend his title against a talented crop of pilots who have all been busy honing their skills in the off-season and working on improvements to their planes.

They will all be up against four new pilots from four continents who join the elite field this year. At age 25, Canada’s Pete McLeod will be the youngest ever pilot in the high-speed, precision flying race and he will be joined by three other rookies – Japan’s Yoshihide Muroya, Australia’s Matt Hall and Germany’s Matthias Dolderer.

The expanded field of fifteen pilots has led to the creation of a slick new race format that includes a ‘wild card’ session to open race day. The day will provide constant race action and four pilots going up against each other in an all-out final for victory and spots on the podium.

With the dazzling race format, ambitious new talent to shake up the hierarchy and the top veteran pilots from 2008 returning to battle it out for dominance, 2009 promises to be another year of thrills, upsets and nail-biting tension.

* 2009 Red Bull Air Race World Championship – RACE CALENDAR

Abu Dhabi (UAE ) 17/18 April

San Diego (USA ) 9/10 May

Windsor, Ontario (Canada) 13/14 June

Budapest (Hungary) 19/20 August

Porto (Portugal) 12/13 September

Barcelona (Spain) 3/4 October

2009 Red Bull Air Race World Championship – PILOTS

Hannes Arch (AUT) (2008 World Champion)

Paul Bonhomme (GBR) (2nd in 2008)

Kirby Chambliss (USA) (3rd in 2008)

Mike Mangold (USA)

Peter Besenyei (HUN)

Nigel Lamb (GBR)

Alejandro Maclean (ESP)

Nicolas Ivanoff (FRA)

Michael Goulian (USA)

Sergey Rakhmanin (RUS)

Glen Dell (RSA)

Matthias Dolderer (GER)

Matt Hall (AUS)

Pete McLeod (CAN)

Yoshihide Muroya (JPN)

*subject to change