The Bournemouth Air Festival is an annual air show

Air show

An air show is an event at which aviators display their flying skills and the capabilities of their aircraft to spectators in aerobatics. Air shows without aerobatic displays, having only aircraft displayed parked on the ground, are called "static air shows"....

 held along the coast of Bournemouth

Bournemouth

Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...

, between Bournemouth pier and Boscombe

Boscombe

Boscombe is a suburb of Bournemouth. Located to the east of Bournemouth town centre and west of Southbourne, It developed rapidly from a small village as a seaside resort alongside Bournemouth after the first Boscombe pier was built in 1888...

 pier, in Dorset

Dorset

Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...

, England. It has featured aircraft from the Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 and the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

, as well as civil aviation displays.

History

The first Bournemouth Air Festival was held from 28-31 August 2008, attracting over 750,000 visitors.

Its second year, 2009, was held from 20–23 August and attendance almost doubled to an estimated 1,344,000 people. Aircraft at the 2009 festival included:

• Avro Lancaster
  Avro Lancaster
  The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
  
  
• Supermarine Spitfire
  Supermarine Spitfire
  The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
  
  
• Avro Vulcan
  Avro Vulcan
  The Avro Vulcan, sometimes referred to as the Hawker Siddeley Vulcan, was a jet-powered delta wing strategic bomber, operated by the Royal Air Force from 1956 until 1984. Aircraft manufacturer A V Roe & Co designed the Vulcan in response to Specification B.35/46. Of the three V bombers produced,...
  
  
• Hawker Hurricane
  Hawker Hurricane
  The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
  
  
• Sally B
  Sally B
  Sally B is the name of an airworthy 1945-built Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress. It was delivered to the United States Army Air Force on 19 June 1945 as 44-85784; after being converted to both a TB-17G and then an EB-17G it was struck off charge in 1954. In 1975 the Institut Géographique National in...
  
  
• Eurofighter Typhoon
  Eurofighter Typhoon
  The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, canard-delta wing, multirole combat aircraft, designed and built by a consortium of three companies: EADS, Alenia Aeronautica and BAE Systems; working through a holding company, Eurofighter GmbH, which was formed in 1986...
  
  
• Yakovlev Yak-50
  Yakovlev Yak-50
  Yakovlev Yak-50 was an early turbojet interceptor aircraft designed by the Yakovlev OKB in USSR. The Yak-50 designation was later reused for a propeller-driven aerobatic and trainer aircraft:*Yakovlev Yak-50 *Yakovlev Yak-50...
  
  

Aerobatic aerial displays were provided by:

• Red Arrows
  Red Arrows
  The Red Arrows, officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, is the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Scampton, but due to move to RAF Waddington in 2011...
  
  
• Black Cats
  Black Cats (Royal Navy)
  The Black Cats are the Royal Navy's helicopter display team. The team is composed of two Westland Lynx anti-submarine and anti-shipping helicopters, with the aircraft and crews drawn from No No. 702 Naval Air Squadron based at RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset....
  
  
• The Blades
• Guinot Wing Walkers

Additional ground displays were provided by:

• Royal Marine Commando Beach Assault Display
• Royal Marine Commando Unarmed Combat Display
• Band of the Royal Marines
  Royal Marines Band Service
  The Royal Marines Band Service is the musical wing of the Royal Navy. It currently consists of five Bands and its headquarters is the Royal Marines School of Music at HMS Nelson in Portsmouth dockyard.-History:...
  
  

The 2010 Bournemouth Air Festival was marred by poor weather although the general public still enjoyed the static displays and the small amount of flying that took place.
The 2011 event took place between 18-21 August. On Saturday 20 August, one of the Red Arrows

Red Arrows

The Red Arrows, officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, is the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Scampton, but due to move to RAF Waddington in 2011...

, Red Four, crashed in a field near Bournemouth Airport

Bournemouth Airport

Bournemouth Airport is an airport located north-northeast of Bournemouth, in southern England...

. The pilot, Flight Lieutenant Jon Egging, was killed in the accident.

External links

• Official Bournemouth Air Festival Website
• Bournemouth Air Festival 2009 review