Weston Air Festival 2015

[MRTT]

BBMF and Sally B CANX and the Reds only performed a small display.

[GVLCN]

How many aircraft at Bristol airport for tomorrow & any choppers at helicopter museum?

[MRTT]

How many aircraft at Bristol airport for tomorrow & any choppers at helicopter museum?

Catalina, BBMF Spitfire and Hurricane are at Bristol I believe and the RAF Chinook operated from the Museum today but not sure if that will be different tomorrow.

[seven]

BBMF never arrived, but the Catalina, Bronco, Strikemaster and Chinook were still present when i left around 1710ish.

7

[Blackcat1]

Thanks brize watcher

[grogresaurus77]

Is the Vulcan already down at Bristol or will it be flying down the Bristol Channel later on?

[MRTT]

Just got back from a brilliant day, well done to the organisers.

[GVLCN]

Great day, all that was missing was a fast jet display. Hope the typhoon makes it next year!

[SallyBjnr]

Very very good event. Well done & thanks to all that was involved in making the show happen.

[mark.alan.barnes]

I've just recovered from going yesterday!

We got to the South beach for 0815hrs following an uneventful trip from near Rugby down the Fosse.Bang on 2hrs but met by a small delay that I presume was the car park not being open. We were parked up in front of the statics near the edge of the car park that would later appear to be very close to the datum which would be fantastic if there weren't a couple of camper vans to the front right of where we were (as a thought to organisers, why not put campers and commercials in a separate area where possible).

Our nearest toilet seemed to be by The Bay. That was a bit of a trek and arduous as you got sand blasted on leaving or entering the beach!

Weather was that strange early/late Summer whereby you are not entirely warm enough to say you are enjoying yourself but strangely enough, get burnt to a crisp while doing it.

There was more than enough entertainment. Hats off to The Royal Marines and their team in the showground letting the public get up close and personal with various weapons and vehicles answering even the most banal questions with humour and enthusiasm. I'm wearing a green Royal Marines wristband as I type!

As it was the flying that we were attending for I'll comment on that: It is probably one of the best venues to allow eager aircraft enthusiasts to scan the horizon when waiting for the next 'act' and there certainly were periods that felt that we were waiting and waiting. That must, however, be balanced by remembering that it is a free airshow and that weather and cancellations go hand in hand.

For me the Vulcan was the absolute highlight with very high wingovers and noise. Who cares if we were momentarily given to believe that it was not only going to be escorted by TWO Hunters but with the Strike master too.....

Sally B looked fantastic. Has it been repainted with different nose art and code? I haven't had time for 'googling' that yet.

Catalina looked and sounded superb and the Chinook remains a crowd pleaser.

Red Arrows are still superb. Can there be a better job than being in the team?

Anyone else find themselves watching the Herc' flying off towards Wales at about 1350hrs?

BBMF put on an excellent display as did everyone else. I was particularly impressed with the Hunter and Bronco.

At shows end I took a wander up to the retail area but didn't feel enticed to buy anything. Maybe it would be an idea to have a list of retailers so that if you would like a book, optics or whatever, there is less chance of missing out. My 12 and 13yr olds found no such problem spending their tenners!

Being in no real hurry I meandered down to watch the statics become very much airborne! It was a real treat to watch the starts sequences and marshalling and being so close to these magnificent helicopters. 1830hrs and practically drive straight off the beach feeling smug until I reached the A370 (I think) and spend two hours travelling three miles! I got back home just after 2200hrs and all in all have had one of the best Father's Days I've had.

Will I be back next year? Absolutely! To be honest, some of the 'negatives' actually turned out to be positives: If the wind wasn't as bad and there were less gaps in the flying I wouldn't have had half an hour to quietly observing a family almost take flight while erecting a large windbreak! lol

On the way home around 2100hrs I think I saw an A400M flying East near Stonehouse. Could have been a C17 though. Any ideas?

[MRTT]

Agree with all of it, saw the Hercules as well, not sure where it was going

[seven]

The Herc was crew training at Cardiff.

7

[NotPennysBoat]

Decent show but nothing special. A week after cosford it was always going to be downhill though. I did enjoy the day though!

No wind next year please.