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Damien Burke reflects on a scorching Kemble Classic Jet Airshow, 15 June. All photography by the author unless stated otherwise - additional pictures by Gary Parsons After the fabulous Hunter 50th airshow at Kemble in 2001, many had suggested that this was the perfect venue for a classic jets show and 2003 saw that dream come to fruition. Bucking the trend for shows to become smaller, less varied and higher-priced, the Classic Jet Airshow managed to pull in a mouth-watering collection of jets plus a few other items to keep the less discerning airshow-goer happy too. And all at the same price as last year, despite the insurance hikes forced upon everybody by the blood sucking leeches at the insurance companies.
"From Meteor to F-16"...er, make that Tornado Sadly in the last few days before the show the organisers were hit with a string of cancellations - this would particularly impact the static line-up and the finale but we'll get to that shortly. One high profile loss to the display line-up was the Belgian F-16; the Belgians having helpfully required no less than £5,000 as an insurance fee on top of the appearance fee - only weeks before the show date!
Some civilian-owned jets dropped out for various reasons (including the very popular Miss Demeanour - with an engine that wasn't behaving itself), and the Royal Naval Historic Flight's Sea Hawk didn't make it either, with work on the jetpipe not yet complete after its well-publicised problems of a few years ago. They did at least send along their Firefly as a substitute. RAF participation was down a little on the last show here, with no flying Harrier or Tornado GR4, and the VC10 and C-130 booked for the static line-up both failed to show - the VC10 possibly being needed for the Queen's birthday flypast. The BBMF also turned up a lot thinner than expected - the Dakota and Hurricane both missing because of unserviceability, leaving us with just a Spitfire - well at least it's a classic, if not a jet! Another prop job had kicked off the full-sized flying display with a pair of Extra 300s from Extreme Team/Ultimate High based here at Kemble, being flown in a tight pairs routine by Andy Cubin and Dave Roome. Later in the day they would repeat it, but in Gnats instead of Extra 300s. But what was that about 'full-sized'?
Ah, well,
now we get to the bit many visitors didn't expect - or at least didn't
expect to enjoy! Before the main flying display began we were treated
to some large scale models being put through their paces - this being,
after all, the only way you'll get to see a Vulcan and a Victor at any
airshow! Gentlemen, man your jets But back
to the 'real' display and we were soon being hit with jet after jet roaring
around the skies over Kemble - Meteor (a fantastic display from Dan Griffiths,
a man who clearly laughs at G-meters), Venom pair (both in RAF markings
- the first show appearance for G-GONE in its new markings, a welcome
change from the assorted schemes worn by most Venoms on the display circuit
in the past), Strikemaster (Tom Moloney showing off G-UPPI's new Ecuadorian
markings to good effect), Gnat pair, Hunter pair (both based Kemble aircraft
- carrying out a suitably explosive airfield attack with the assistance
of the Gnats), Fresh from a repair job after its mishap at Coventry, de Havilland's Sea Vixen (flown by Brian Grant) looked great in the sunshine but again frustrated photographers by spending most of the display showing only the underside of the aircraft - but thankfully using a bit more power than at Southend. Still, the commentators had been banging on about how noisy it was going to be and it wasn't much noisier than the Hawk, except when taking off. The limits on G for airframe life I can understand, but the loss of the topside passes? Please bring 'em back guys! And next time you've got a Vampire and two Venoms handy, stick em up in formation with the Vixen - what a picture that would make!
Finale
All in all a brilliant day out, helped by the usual relaxed Kemble atmosphere and fantastic weather. Plenty of trade stalls (and good to see many aviation related stalls, unlike some shows which are beginning to resemble flea markets or car boot sales), unusually high quality toilets (though a bit sparse as you went further to the West of the crowdline), no serious traffic delays... all the mundane stuff worked just as well as the flying. Clearly there were a few disappointments for serious enthusiasts what with the cancellations and the odd logistical problem on the ground but I've had to work hard to find anything to criticise really, and it's doubtful the public thought of the show as anything less than perfect - Kemble continues to go from strength to strength. Plans are already afoot for Classic Jet Airshow 2004. Bigger and better? Well fingers crossed... and in the mean time, Kemble is now a fully licensed airfield so feel free to pop in for a visit - the new Avi8 restaurant is definitely worth a look for a start. With thanks
to Glen Moreman and all at Kemble Air Services for their assistance. |
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