I’m a sucker for looking up in the sky when I hear an old propeller or modern jet engine, and got me reminiscing about my (much) younger days going to Air Shows.  (In particular I remember in the late 80s walking through a Galaxy at Mildenhall air show.  Not sure if they still allow such things due to security issues?)
So, as title, can you recommend me a decent show to see this year?

Sywell for WW2 era prop stuff with a helping of the Red Arrows as well.

https://www.sywellaerodrome.co.uk/events/public-events/sywellairshow/

Bournemouth, it is free and you can sit with your feet in the sea while watching the planes overhead. It does get pretty busy on the Saturday but if you get there early and don’t need a pee you are good. Friday much quieter and a similar schedule.

RIAT. Off there camping for three days. Arrive Thursday, watch artivals from tent, In actual airshow on Friday, watch from tent with beer Saturday, then home Sunday.

First time.

RIAT was amazing last year. I hadn’t been to an air show since the early 90s and thought their day had passed – RIAT was something else if you like fast jets anyway.

It’s been a few years since I last went but RIAT seems to be the biggie (or at least one of the big ones) in the UK airshow circuit. It’s focused on military aviation but usually has a huge amount of stuff on display and in the air. I’ve only ever gone for one day, the Saturday generally seemed to be the best day in terms of what’s on display. Also at least one of the local pubs didn’t serve food on Sunday evenings!

Shuttleworth

Shuttleworth to see some really rare wonderful aircraft https://www.shuttleworth.org/airshows2024/

Yep, RIAT is the one if you want to see more foreign display teams and aircraft.

Southport has usually been a decent gig, I’ve been to a couple of shows there which were great – if you can ignore the fact that you’re in Southport…

Most of the rest are the fairly standard mix of Red Arrows, BBMF and then a selection from civilian collections, the RAF Typhoon, Chinook, maybe a parachute display team. Airshows used to be amazing back in the days when there were a dozen different aircraft including real crowd pleasers like the Vulcan and Harriers.

They’ve got progressively tamer due to safety regulations and the ever increasing fragility of the WWII era aircraft.

Also, try and use public transport to get to/from the show. It seems pretty standard that traffic management at these things is woeful, parking becomes a complete bunfight and the area is gridlocked for hours afterwards.

I only found out about RIAT as I decided we needed to go see a decent one last year – so decided to google ‘air shows’.  Very popular for camping around there, so I researched campsites, and found a place that did tents only near the site. Basic farmers field but hey ho, that will do. Bought tickets in January for admission and also bought separate tickets for camping and we go into the show on it’s first day, Friday. A reduced display on Friday, but there are loads and loads of stuff parked up aparently that you can go round. For the Saturday, we’ll be sat right near the end of the runway near our tent. We’ll leave around midday sunday, whilst that display is on, but we can then get home easily – 3-4 hour drive.

Looking forward to it. Kids go free which is ace – but my kids are adults now, and aren’t coming anyway.

Not an airshow but maybe an alternative, IWM Duxford if you time it right has loads of planes flying from it- I hadn’t really thought about this when I went to visit and got lucky, as well as the usual millionaires with spitfires and people doing flying experiences and tours and such, there was more interesting stuff plus they flew the B18 Sally B out to do a display elsewhere so we got to see it take off and return. It’s kind of more organic, you’re there for the museum and seeing the flights is a bonus but that’s pretty cool too I think.

They do flight days but tbf I don’t know how those work, this was just a normal museum day.

It’s worth keeping an eye on https://www.military-airshows.co.uk/index.htm as well.

Within that there are pages detailing Red Arrows / BBMF flight paths to/from their various appearances (although it’s often only updated a day or two before the flight is due to happen and it can be very subject to weather / aircraft serviceability).

During summer there can be 2 or 3 airshows in in the same weekend so the Red Arrows for example might fly from Lincolnshire to Duxford, display, straight down to Southampton, display, land at Southampton and refuel then head off to Swansea, display, then back to Lincolnshire. If you happen to be in between any of those spots, the flight path is usually pretty accurate.

ADSB tracker: https://globe.adsbexchange.com/ also shows military aircraft (most of the time). Toggle the U button at the top of the screen to show military only or everything.

Saw a Spitfire this afternoon and it got me wondering

https://www.spitfireofthenorth.com

Check out the Duxford themed flying days. Went to the US day last year and it was great. First time seeing a Corsair fly and the Bearcat- what a beast!

Sadly Weston-super-Mare air show was last held in 2022, North Somerset Council will no longer support it under current financial circumstances – it gave £132,000 towards its costs. Sadly, it’s not the only one, Culdrose and Yeovilton seem to be no longer listed on the circuit.

https://britishairshows.com/past-airshows

Watching a Catalina coming in low and slow along Weston seafront was not something you usually see at the seaside…

…and one of the last times the public got to see this fabulous bird flying…

There are often little shows for people to fly in with privately owned aircraft and vehicles, and sometimes, something very special happens…

It’ll never happen again, the only two airworthy Lancasters in the world, flying together. The logistics of getting the Canadian Lancaster across the Atlantic were huge, a once-only event, and I consider myself incredibly lucky to have seen them under such clear conditions.

A trick for the themed Duxford air shows is to go on the Friday when they’re practicing. You’ll just pay normal admission and hopefully get to see lots flying. (Or just stand in the car park for nowt like all the spotters!)

I missed seeing the two Lancs when they were displaying together, much to my chagrin.

Shuttleworth for sure.

You are closer to the flying line than any other airshow in the UK.

And they have the DH88 Comet.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/83246699@N00/6027uq2e4o

https://www.flickr.com/gp/83246699@N00/45c9Jr8674

https://www.flickr.com/gp/83246699@N00/66LBe0w0jk

I am going to Midlands airshow 2nd of june to see the Draken and Sabre

If anyone’s interested, this is a video I took at the Shuttleworth Flying Proms in 2014 when the Canadian Lancaster was over.

Agreed on shuttleworth, it’s much smaller than the other airshows but still has a lot going on.
The red arrows are there at the end of June which is always awesome

A bit left field but if you have a spare day during the week, trying the Mach Loop can be rewarding, watching the RAF and USAF (plus occasional guests) practice low flying in the valleys beneath you. 🙂 Total lottery – you might see tons of stuff, you might see nothing (I’ve had more good days than bad days) but worst case is it’s a free day out on a beautiful hillside with a good book. 🙂

Edit – the two Lancasters must have been AMAZING! 🙂

Edit – the two Lancasters must have been AMAZING! 🙂

I saw them at Blackpool Airshow and then the following day they did a very-much-not-publicised flyby over Derwent Dams in the Peak District. In spite of that it was still very busy.

The Lanc used to do a flypast there every May on the Dams anniversary but in recent years traffic and traffic management has been insane so they stopped it on public safety grounds.

Getting a bike ride up over Derwent/Ladybower on the day the Lancaster was due was somewhat brill a few years ago – no parking issues as we parked miles away and rode – no crowds as we were higher up than the everyone else. Brilliant view as it flew down the valley. Cracking.

The Shuttleworth airshows have a different format this year, fewer weekends but some set over two days. Might be worth checking out if that suits your plans. I have always found the evening shows to be the best if you want to see the really old aircraft flying

Old Buckenham, near Norwich, in July? Got an F-35 coming.

Thanks for the replies so far, most helpful.  I’m going to look into the RIAT for a long weekend including bikes & walks.

Also, Old Buckenham is only an hour up the road from me so will have a look at that too!

I’d also love to see the planes flying the Mach Loop one day

RIAT is also very close to FlyUp 417 and not that far from the Forest of Dean.

Ooo, RIAT is on a different weekend to the Festival of Speed this year. Excellent!

Little Gransden (Cambridgeshire) has the feel of a locals’ airshow which punches above its weight, although my opinion is somewhat coloured by the year seeing the twin Lancasters AND Vulcan on the same bill.  Went home a happy bunny.  August BH weekend this year I think.

the two Lancasters must have been AMAZING!

It was, it was at Henstridge Airfield, down near Shaftesbury. They were listed as doing a flypast, but they were fairly late, most people had already left, and they finally arrived at nearly 6pm. So glad I hung around and managed to get some fairly decent photos with my phone.

And the Vulcan at Weston as well, she put on a great display and we got the ‘Vulcan Howl ™ © ®’ 😁