Sunderland International Airshow
Encyclopedia
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Airshow
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"....
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, held near the Roker
Roker
Roker is a tourist resort and affluent area of Sunderland, North East England, bounded on the south by the River Wear and Monkwearmouth, on the east by the North Sea, to the west by Fulwell and on the north by Seaburn. It is administered as part of the City of Sunderland.The majority of the...
and Seaburn
Seaburn
Seaburn is a seaside resort and suburb of Sunderland, North East England. The village of Whitburn borders the area to the north. To the west and south-west is Fulwell and to the south the coastal resort of Roker....
seafronts. It takes place over the course of two days, normally the final weekend in July and attracts around 1,000,000 spectators every year. The airshow features a large number of planes, including 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...
and the 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...
. In addition to the planes, the seafront plays host to a range of food counters, stalls and fairground games. 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...
traditionally have a warship off the coast every year, usually the HMS Ocean
HMS Ocean
Six ships that were built for the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Ocean. The name Ocean entered the list from which names are selected for British ships in 1759, when the Royal Navy captured the French ship named Océan...
, the adopted warship of Sunderland, however in 2007, HMS Albion
HMS Albion (L14)
HMS Albion is a Landing Platform Dock of the Royal Navy, the first of the two-ship Albion class. Built by BAE Systems Marine in Barrow-in-Furness, Albion was launched in March 2001 by the Princess Royal...
made an appearance instead as HMS Ocean
HMS Ocean
Six ships that were built for the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Ocean. The name Ocean entered the list from which names are selected for British ships in 1759, when the Royal Navy captured the French ship named Océan...
had other commitments. The airshow was first held in 1988, and was planned to be a one-off event, when it attracted 250,000 spectators. Due to thick fog and mist over the airshow weekend in 2008, only one plane was flown, the Belgian F-16 flown by Mickey Artiges on the Sunday.
Affiliations
Durham Tees Valley AirportDurham Tees Valley Airport
Durham Tees Valley Airport is an international airport in north east England, located southeast of Darlington, about southwest of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. The airport serves County Durham and parts of North Yorkshire, and is in Middleton St George in the borough of Darlington...
is used as a base for most of the flying displays, compared with previous use of Newcastle Airport
Newcastle Airport
Newcastle International Airport is located in Woolsington in the City of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, north-west of the city centre. In 2010 it was the 11th busiest airport in the United Kingdom....
, this is possibly because Tees Valley has fewer flights resulting in faster turnarounds for aircraft departing and arriving from the airshow.
Parachuting
Parachuting, also known as skydiving, is the action of exiting an aircraft and returning to earth with the aid of a parachute. It may or may not involve a certain amount of free-fall, a time during which the parachute has not been deployed and the body gradually accelerates to terminal...
team, and the Eastern Airways
Eastern Airways
Eastern Airways is an airline with its head office at Humberside Airport in Kirmington, North Lincolnshire, England. It operates scheduled domestic and international services and private charter services...
BAe Jetstream 41 North East England Livery and 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...
. The organisers stopped using this as the main airport because they have a tight flight schedule with many more low cost flights departing now then in previous years.
The Green Airshow
In 2007 Sunderland City Council teamed up with Gentoo and CarbonNeutral North East to reduce and off-set all the emissions caused by staging the two-day show.There was a Green Village with many environmental stalls.
Highlights
- Red ArrowsRed ArrowsThe 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...
- Eurofighter TyphoonEurofighter TyphoonThe 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...
- Black Cats (Royal Navy)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....
- MerlinMerlinMerlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in the Arthurian legend. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures...
- Harrier GR9 (Although due to military commitments, it was not there in 2007)
- The Blades
- F-16
- The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
- The RAF FalconsRAF FalconsThe RAF Falcons are recognised as the UK's premier military parachute display team. They perform their unique and colourful aerial display at numerous venues nationwide and are renowned for their famous 11-person non-contact canopy stack display routine....
In 2007 a few new displays turned up including:
- Royal MarinesRoyal MarinesThe Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
Role Demo - 6 Assault Squadron - RAF Chinook Display Team - Personnel from 18 and 27 Squadrons
- Eastern AirwaysEastern AirwaysEastern Airways is an airline with its head office at Humberside Airport in Kirmington, North Lincolnshire, England. It operates scheduled domestic and international services and private charter services...
BAe Jetstream 41 North East England Livery - CatalinaPBY CatalinaThe Consolidated PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other...
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