FighterControl

Seaside airshows are commonplace now as they are a main attraction for many resorts e.g. Clacton, Eastbourne, Southport and Sunderland but it may surprise many to learn that sleepy Filey can claim to be one of the first with its annual Lifeboat Day airshows which began by accident in the mid '70s when a pair of USAF F111s after working the Cowden range decided to check out the Lifeboat Day activity and made several flybys for a look/see thrilling many in the crowd who thought it was part of the show. The organisers, knowing a good thing when it dropped out of the sky contacted the CO of nearby RAF Staxton Wold who was supportive to the idea of an airshow and worked the official (and unofficial) channels to ensure that an airshow became part of subsequent events. Staxton Wold would call in any aircraft which happened to be in the vicinity on the day whilst approaches to foreign air arms resulted in some spectacular sights such as the SR-71 Blackbird in '87 and the RDAF F16 the following year flown by Maj. Olof Plair.

Filey RNLI Day - Wessex 22 Sqn. by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Filey RNLI Day -Buccaneer S2 H 237 OCU circa 1978 by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Filey RNLI Day - Vulcan 44 Sqn. ' 81 by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Filey RNLI Day - Spit Mk II (1) by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Filey RNLI Day - VC10 K2 101 Sqn. by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Filey RNLI Day - Shackleton AEW2 by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Filey RNLI Day - Lightning F3 '87 by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Filey RNLI Day - SR71 by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Filey RNLI Day - USAF F5Es by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Filey RNLI Day - F16s by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Filey RNLI Day - KC135 by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Filey RNLI Day -F4M 64 Sqn. '88 by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Filey RNLI Day - Hunter T7 by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Filey RNLI Day - RDAF F-16 '89 by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Filey RNLI Day - F3 25 Sqn. by Michael Britton, on Flickr

Better than the participants in some official airshows!
Cheers.

Hi Michael

Superb post which has brightened up a dank, dark, dingy day in Norfolk no end

Love the EC135H and two-seat Hunter but those 4 gorgeous little Northrops (presumably from AR) are the stars for me

Thanks for posting

Paddyboy

What a fascinating post.......... Blackbird!!!!!
Lightning shot is my next fave.
Thanks very much for sharing the pics and information.

F3
Thanks so much for posting this - I had no idea this event had occurred so close to here. (Before I lived in the area sadly).
Just the thought of an SR-71 low over Filey Bay !! Spine tingling!!
rgds
Al

C'mon guys! The clue's in the date and the anagram. An SR-71 at a Town fete - really? I can only put it down to a surfeit of chocolate easter eggs causing a mass suspension of disbelief. Happy Easter and April Fool (or Olof Plair)'s Day.

You got me proper there, F3.
I did think about the Spitfire background but ignored my suspicions.
Well done from Well had!

Dan D'Air wrote:You got me proper there, F3.
I did think about the Spitfire background but ignored my suspicions.
Well done from Well had!

The Spitfire was actually taken @ Filey Lifeboat Day in the '80s as was the Wessex and that was about the sum total of the airshow but they served to give some credibility to the fib. Thought that including the SR-71 might have been a step too far but obviously not. The story of the F111s overflying the event is actually how the Clophill airshow came about as I recall. I think the coincidence with Easter made people forget April Fools this year and hence made it easier to bury fake news. No doubt Tsar Putin is taking note.

Very cunning Mick the spirit of April fools day lives on. The Kc135 fly-by at Filey, must be right next door to Finningley .I got the very same angle on that one...

Alocnbury F5's, Hahn F16's, SR71, what's not to like.