Leuchars Remembers

The airshow held at Royal Air Force Leuchars is the final major airshow in the UK airshow calendar and is also the final show of the three Major RAF shows held over the year (other two being Waddington and Cosford). Because of this the RAF always strongly support the event. Despite the weather being somewhat less than ideal, a strong display was still held.  

Steven Hadlow reviews from a rather damp Scotland. Photos by Steven Hadlow and Roger Hadlow. All photos are copyright of author (Steven Hadlow) unless otherwise marked.

RAF Leuchars is home to three current RAF squadrons, all flying the Panavia Tornado F3. These three squadrons are 56(R), 111(F) and 43(F). Leuchars is among the busiest stations in RAF Strike Command with their aircraft forming part of an advanced air defence system. There is always a pair of F3s on QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) ready to scramble the moment something suspicious is tracked entering the UK airspace. It is fitting that a vital RAF station like this should be home to a major RAF show.

The show at Leuchars is the last remaining Battle of Britain airshow since the airshow at RAF Finningley ceased to exist. This year the organisers attempted to provide visible links back to the airshows Battle of Britain celebration roots. In an attempt to do this it was planned to hold a number of heritage flypasts throughout the course of the flying programme. Flypasts of the Eurofighter Typhoon with the Spitfire, RAF Harrier GR7 with the Hawker Hurricane and the Hercules with the Dakota were organised. This was certainly an inspired idea and would have helped greatly in helping the airshow in it's role as a Battle of Britain show. Unfortunately the poor weather at Leuchars meant the BBMF were unable to make the trip up to Scotland. This meant we lost the flypasts from the programme. Other acts expected to display in the programme which failed to make their slot in the display were the Royal Navy Black Cats, RAF Falcons parachute team, 202 Squadron Sea King  and the Royal Navy Sea Harriers two ship.

This years static display contained several rarely seen military types. Highlight for many were the pair of Portuguese AF Alpha Jets. Leuchars always seems to be the only major airshow other than RIAT that manages to attract strong participation from the US Armed Services and this year was no different with several types present. Other types of note were a Mirage 2000 D, F4 Phantom and a Tornado ECR. Special mention must go to the Belgian F16 pair who performed a small display on arrival at Leuchars on Friday despite the appalling weather conditions. Thankfully the rain that hindered Friday didn't make an appearance on the show day which made for a dry, if cold experience.

This year the organisers again planned to hold a tactical demonstration involving resident Tornado F3s, four GR4s, a 100 Squadron Hawk T1 and the display Chinook. Last year the demonstration had to be limited to a series of passes from the Tornados due to the weather not allowing for a rehearsal on the Friday. However this year we were able to see a more complete demonstration. This began with a pair of resident 43 Squadron Tornado F3s seen chasing the Hawk T1 around a circuit. As the F3s and Hawk finished their piece the four Tornado GR4s came in to perform a very low and energetic attack run over the target. Following this the F3s performed circuits of the target area. It was a very effective demonstration and certainly a superb throwback to the old RAF shows. Tactical demonstrations are a big hit at any airshow especially when they are executed as well as this one was.

Foreign participation in the flying display this year was rather sparse with only three foreign military flying participants in the display. One of these was in South East Scotland making it's first mainland UK appearance in the shape of Four Pilatus PC9s of the Irish Air Corps. This was their first appearance in the Uk for this recently formed team. European fast jet action was provided courtesy the Belgian Air Force F-16 display aircraft from 31 Squadron based at Kleine Brogel. An Alphajet from 6 Squadron of the French Air Force completed the foreign military in the flying.

With this being a Royal Air Force airshow the majority of the flying display came from the RAF. Fittingly almost every RAF display team  was present at the show. Highlight of the RAF teams had to be the Typhoon from 29 Squadron with the damp conditions is the sky above Leuchars making for copious amounts of condensation to form on it's surfaces. 

The Typhoon  performed twice over the course of the show day, most likely to fill in the gaps left by the number of cancellations that hit the organisers due to the disappointing weather. The 'home team' closed the show in spectacular fashion with the burners blazing in the increasingly gloomy skies above Leuchars. It's nice to see the RAF accommodate small changes to their schedule like this in order to support one of their major shows.

The theme for this years show was of course a celebration of the end of the Battle of Britain and all those who fought in it. Despite the unfortunate cancellation of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight there were still several vintage types present in the flying display. This included a rare UK appearance from the Scandinavian Historic Flight flying the A26 Invader ' Sugarland Express ' and the North American P51D Mustang ' Old Crow '. The A26 was a particularly good display with the pilot throwing it around with manoeuvrability defying it's size. The Battle of Britain types were represented by the beautiful Supermarine Spitfire flown by the Aircraft Restoration Company. Having the Typhoon also in the programme made for a very interesting comparison between itself and the best of the Battle of Britain RAF. Another debutant in the flying display was the Caledonian Chipmunk display which displayed well despite the rather low cloud base. Other classic aircraft in the display were represented by Delta Jets based at Kemble airfield flying a Gnat and two Hunters.

Ground based attractions

To summarise, this years show attempted to get back to its Battle of Britain celebration theme with some interesting new and old formations planned. Unfortunately the poor weather meant these formations didn't happen. However the tactical demo this year was a big success with lots of noise to keep the crowd interested and was a definite improvement on what was seen last year. The flying display, apart from the cancellations stuck to the schedule well.  With few delays between acts with the pilots performing well despite the poor weather conditions. The organisers again showed great determination and adaptability to overcome difficulties. Foreign participation was a little thin in the flying display but Leuchars is primarily a opportunity for the Scottish tax payer to see where his money goes. This years show accomplished that task admirably despite the poor conditions. Lets just hope the weather co-operates more next year.

Many Thanks to Lieutenant Keith Wardlaw, all the Media team and escorts at Leuchars for their excellent hospitality