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Leuchars hits a high
Steven Hadlow reviews from a refreshingly warm and sunny Scotland. Photos by Steven Hadlow and Roger Hadlow. All photos are copyright of author (Steven Hadlow) unless otherwise marked.
Over the course of recent years RAF Leuchars has proved unlucky when it comes to the weather, with the last two events both having suffered. Thankfully this year the organisers were given a deserved change of luck with clear skies and warm sunshine on the all important show day. The weather wasn't the only improvement of this years show, the flying display also boasted a stronger line-up with both increased RAF and Foreign Air Arms support. The biggest potential highlights of the show from overseas came from Eastern Europe in the shape of a Hind display from the Czech AF and the Mig 29 from the Polish AF whilst on the domestic front there were plans for an even more ambitious Tactical Demonstration. Slightly weaker was the static park with a thinner look than previous years with certain sections of the spaces looking sparse. Despite this however there still several nice highlights on show, ranging from the usual USAF heavy participation with a B52 and KC10 to the German F4 and Greek Mirage 2000. As Saturday morning dawned much of the Dundee area was blanketed in a heavy band of fog which stretched across the Tay and could be seen in the areas surrounding the airfield site. Thankfully however with unbroken sunshine above the airfield any fears were unfounded as the sun burnt the fog layer away in time for the flying display to begin. As is to be expected with any RAF show all of the current displays were present in the flying display, barring the RAF Falcons and Hercules display which didn't make it. As was the case with last years show the Typhoon made a strong impression with a powerful and loud display which kept those watching enthralled. As a result of the (RAF) Falcons non appearance the Typhoon accommodatingly flew it's display twice. A welcome angle on this was that for the two displays pilot Sqn Ldr Matt Elliot used both of the display aircraft brought up north from their home at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire. This allowed both the twin seat T1 variant and single seat F2 variant to be seen in the flying display.
An aspect of the RAF very rarely highlighted in public is the Search and Rescue capability. However Leuchars offered a rare opportunity for this to happen with a Seaking from RAF Boulmer in Northumberland making the trip up the east coast to perform a small role demonstration before departing back to base. A
new idea for this years show was to present a diamond nine of resident Tornado
F3 Carrying on from last years show the Tactical Demonstration was performed once again. This time with four resident Tornado F3s, four Tornado GR4s from 617 Squadron and the display Chinook (and some troops!). However this year was more ambitious with several different stages planned as the 'Close Air Support mission' progressed and it was very effective yet again, an improvement on last year. Vast improvements were seen in the foreign air arms content for this years flying display with displays coming from five different nations incorporating six separate individual aircraft. A very welcome return in this department for the show was the participation of the Mig 29 from the Polish AF. The Fulcrum is always a strong performer at airshows and the display ,flown by Capt Artur Kalko from the 1st Tactical Sqn, was no exception to this with a very tight display which was never far from sight, and if you couldn't see the aircraft you could see the smoke from it's engines! In a good touch the Mig performed it's routine twice on Saturday, in order to fill in for the Belgian Sea King which cancelled it's appearance quite late on. Also from the same region of the world came the Mi-24V Hind display. Following it's appearance at the Royal International Tattoo two months earlier it was good to see this aggressive helicopter return to the UK again. Pleasingly a different example was and let's hope to see it again throughout 2007. Continuing the foreign helicopter theme was the Belgian Air Force Augusta 109 display. Looking at this relatively small and VIP like helicopter you'd be forgiven for thinking it may not be best suited to display work, but you'd be wrong. The chopper was flung around in a series of tight turns which belied expectations.
Joining the Augusta in the display from the Belgian AF was the Lockheed Martin F16 Fighting Falcon display flown by Commandant Aviator Michael Artiges. Anyone familiar with F16 displays knows just how enjoyable they are to watch with it's excellent handling almost seeming designed for airshows and this was no exception. The F16 demonstration aircraft from the Dutch Air Force was also present at the show. With it's striking paint scheme the display really stood out in the blue sky as Captain Gert-Jan Vooren, from 306 Squadron, put the aircraft through it's paces. Last year Leuchars held the airshow debut of the reformed Irish Air Corps display team (whose participation at the show dwindled down to just one example in the static park in the weeks leading up to the show) and this year the team making a rare UK appearance were the Danish Baby Blues team flying the Saab T-17 Supporter training aircraft. Whilst this aircraft, with it's lack of power and size, was not best suited to a display on a long crowdline the team still managed a pair of nice manoeuvres, namely a starburst break and a clever roll back in turn from a tight formation into land. Historic aviation was not forgotten in the flying display either. Having been seldom seen around the UK airshow circuit over recent years it was nice to see the duo of Meteor NF11 and DeHavilland Vampire at a major airshow. Also showcasing the United Kingdoms jet heritage was the Hawker Hunter from the Hunter Flying Club. Switching to propeller driven types there were also several types. The Royal Navy sent it's Hawker Sea Fury, alone now since the Sea Hawk is grounded again, to perform with it's usual vigour. Especially appropriate with this being a Battle Of Britain show was the presence of the RAF Battle Of Britain Memorial Flight. Over the last few years the less than helpful weather conditions at Leuchars have prevented them from displaying but thankfully this years much improved weather meant we could see these beautiful types in flight. Unfortunately the Spitfire that arrived with the BBMF went unserviceable before it's display slot so we got a two ship from the Lancaster and Hurricane. Representing the lighter side of vintage aviation was the paired routine of Chipmunks form Caledonian Chipmunks with a surprisingly agile and well choreographed display routine. The weather for this years show was noting less than the organisers deserved after having it ruin their well laid plans over the past few years. This years show was a great success, not only did this years show attract some top drawer flying displays but by showing some great imagination, when it came to setting up the nine ship and airfield attack, the event was a strong advertisement for the Royal Air Force, just as it should be. An extra benefit to these was getting to see F3s in action again with there having been no solo display this year. The weather was perfect, there were some great set pieces and a number of high quality of acts in the flying display and as the Tornado F3 closed the show for the sunset ceremony the show left a positive impression on those who visited. There is no Leuchars airshow in 2007 due to runway resurfacing work at the base but should be back in 2008, keep checking www.airshow.co.uk for details. Aircraft In Action would like to thank Lieutenant Keith Wardlaw, all the Media team and escorts at Leuchars for their superb hospitality |
The
airshow held at Royal Air Force
aircraft in several flypasts. As it happened, however the nine
ship went ahead as planned and was a stunning sight. It's one thing to see an
RAF aircraft perform a breathtaking set of manoeuvres but it's something else to
see nine frontline aircraft flown tightly in formation and it's a testament to
the skill of the RAF pilots that this flew over not once, but twice. The 'all
sides' run down the crowdline and run and break splits weren't bad either. It's
a shame the 43 Squadron black scheme F3 was only able to make the practices but
this couldn't be helped.
