I can't speak for Leuchars but all the air shows I attended last year (& I went to at least one event every weekend of the season) were great value for money. Some of the displays lasted for over 5 hours which isn't bad value by any standards. They put on the ground displays & funfairs to attract families as these things cost an awful lot of money to put on. This shouldn't detract from the air show itself & I find it adds to the atmosphere.

Farnborough won't be until next year (2006) as it's now a biennial event & alternates with the Paris show. I don't know what you're expecting but it's a mere shadow of its former self & I no longer bother with it. The air display gets shorter every time I go. This is a trade show & more ground display orientated than the ordinary air displays you're complaining about. Here's a list of the major events for 2005. http://aeroflt.users.netlink.co.uk/shows/showdate.htm

Well everything I have seen is European. Most airshows in the US still feature solid flying. The latest one I have been to was at the Joint Reserve Base in Ft. Worth, Texas. It was really great. The JRB is huge and they had every kind of plane I could imagine. AA had a 777 there, FedEx flew in a cargo 727. Tons of military planes. The best thing I saw, other than the Harrier flight which was downright awesome and the FINA pilot setting a world record, was watching a P-51, P-47, and C-130 fly in formation. It was really touching to watch 50 years of aviation fly around together (though it did sound a little odd...).
Though I compare it to an airshow I went to on 9-8-2001. The flying was a little more freestyle then, now after 9-11, it's tighter and some things aren't done. But still a wonderful display in the US!

Well according to his profile Budd lives in Scotland.

It really depends what you're interested in. If you like warbirds & you're willing to travel I suggest the Flying Legends event at Duxford. For older rare vintage types you can't do better than any event at Old Warden which isn't that far from Duxford. The Waddington show is a tad closer to you & advertised as the RAF's biggest air show. http://www.waddingtonairshow.co.uk/

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PPS. Seems the first 2 weeks in July is fully booked for me.

1-3 July 2005 PFA International Air Rally 2005 Kemble, Glos. 
2-3 July 2005 RAF Waddington 2005  RAF Waddington, Lincs. 
3 July 2005 Shuttleworth Summer Air Display  Old Warden, Beds. 
9-10 July 2005  The Flying Legends Air Show  IWM Duxford, Cambs. 
10 July 2005 British Aircraft Fly-In Popham, Hants.

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Well, I'll be at two of those but with only a week between Wadington and Legends I'm going to have to keep the credit card locked away
First show for me will be Duxford in May and I'l really looking forward to that now.

Hmm and as of mid-June I should be on the ground in Blighty once more... Roger, Doug its party time for the warbird fans
Oh and no complaining about airshows eh? We get 1 every other year in Hungary (thanks to the tight-assed government, who have just given themselves a massive pay-rise, and lots of lovely freebies like top-of-the-range laptops etc and upped the taxes, and still won't go back to an annual airshow )
Right now I want to marmalade MSzP!!!! Anyone got a spare Lanc or B-17 I could borrow?

Hey Doug I'm starting Emi with airshows this year, we can push prams together

Looks like I'll be going to 3 or 4 airshows this year. When I can drive and have my own car that number will increase drasticly!

I'm going to EAA Airventure(SS1 will be there)
La Crosse Airfest(Thunderbirds)
Milwaukee air and water show(Blue Angels)
Maybe Manitowok(Just aerobatic stuff)

CANT WAIT!!!!!

I get to go to (maybe)

TICO Warbird air show (March 11-13)

Orlando Air Fair  Early April

Will probably miss LAkeland Sun'n'Fun *mid April* as current plans are to go to PR to bury my mom's cremains.

See you there Saratoga!!!

I especialy can't wait to see Space Ship One, thats going to be amazing!!!!!!!

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What Doug says is very true, and I will be there too, armed with camera and picnic.

Don't know yet about the rest of the year - I'll try and get to Duxford and OW as much as I can, but maybe give the biggies at Waddo/Fairford a miss to rest my eardrums...

Charlie

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I get it every day at work just outside the office window...

Speaking of noise, this is not the most sensible thing I ever did. Taken with my old Fuji F401 - no zoom necessary. This wasn't even at an air display. My ears are still ringing now.




PS. Warning. Don't try this at home without industrial quality ear protection.

Wow, sounds like a fun place to work.

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Now officially recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the worlds largest military airshow...

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I know, the 2003 show was recognised to be the largest military airshow in the world...and I was there. Eat this US of A!
With small local shows I didn't mean the Air Tattoo...it's not very local for me anyway! 

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My point about the Harrier is that hovers & moves slowly at full throttle. This leads to a constant blast of sound which is definitely not good for the ears, especially with small children. Fortunately parents are becoming more sensible & most protect their children's ears at displays nowadays.

That's a nice shot. I'm not sure about your ears. Maybe you're just getting used to it.

The loudest noise I've ever heard was at a Farnborough Air Show many years ago or before the air show to be correct. While walking fom the bus to the display area we passed an EE Lightning chained down to a concrete test pad. They started the engines & ran them flat out on full AB. That was bad enough until they lit the Spectre rocket motor mounted between the jet exhausts. This ran for several minutes & the noise was incredible. I was surprised the whole thing didn't take off, concrete pad & all.  It was bliss when they finally shut it down. I don't think my ears ever recovered from that.

Hmmm Can't say I've ever come to close to a military jet...

Only the harrier at Airventure, which I didn't think was all that loud. Well, I go to concerts all the time, so I'm used to loud noise...

I rember being bout, oh 15m from the runway, and the F4 sat there, nice and quiet, I thought,this should't be to bad well

it fired up them afterburners the ground shoke, and car alarms went off

Hey Budd, when I was an AF instructor, I would occasionally light up the plane near cars on purpose, quite amusing to watch the alarms go off (and back then, it was VERY easy to set off the alarms).

Another thing that's hecka loud is Carrier ops.  Try standing 80 feet from an F/A-18 at full afterburner on a cat, ready to go.  After seeing the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds, Super Hornet, Tomcat, F-15, B-1 takeoffs... nothing beat the noise on that carrier.  And feeling that thump in the deck as the shuttle hits the waterbreak, and that jet going by, as the next one revs up on cat 4 ready to launch.  Prowlers are prtty loud to for not having afterburners.  Hoovers just whine.  lol  But they sound cool as the engines spin up to full power.

Yup those B-52s can be looouuuuuddd! Hagar, they do that same flight routine with the Harriers in the US I have seen. The demo team ALWAYS ends up hovering, then flying backwards and forwards slowly (weird seeing a plane back up), and spinning in circles. Walk away at the end of that one and you won't hear the guy announce the next event!