Southend Sea Front Airshow, 30th May'05 (usual Bank Holiday weather too...!)
To open the flying display, the RAF Falcons dropped in from this herc' @ only 2200feet, early, due looming storm.
The Jaguar tried & was forced to give up! A thunderstorm, heavy rain & drastically reduced visibility.
The Red Arrows pilots were picked up by a Merlin and flown to Manston to collect their jets. Look at the sky....!
As the rain stopped, flying started again. The Tornado F3 emerged from the passing storm low & very fast over the pier
Tornado F3 (111Sqn colours) arrives flat out with afterburners on
With the recent rain and low cloud base, the tight turns produced excellent vapour effects
Another slower pass into a roll
High G turn, full after burner. nice...!
Amazing cloud being formed in high G turns
Nice to see but shame wasn't brighter conditions...!
Final high speed top side pass...!
Then the Breightling team from France made their 1st visit to Southend.
They fly Let 39 jets
Very nice tidy display, including single ship crossovers
They are close too, for a civilian team
4 ship in close box formation
Next was the RAF Tucano, in better light
Nice colours against a brighter sky. Tidy display too
another wing over completed, light getting better by the minute
Lots of rudder being used this time
Next up was a Scott Airways Dornier 328, different a/c for the display scene in '05
Max rate turn, very tight and stayed low over the sea too...!
Gear down slow turning pass
Amazing high bank angles for a passenger plane...!
Final high speed pass with a steep climb out, very nice display...!
Sea Vixen followed. Nice to see the only airworthy vixen display once again
Red Bull colours looking superb
Classic lines of the boom tail
Honda Dream Teams Sukkoi Su26
Stall back into it's own smoke. Will Curtis pulls up to 12 G in his display
The a/c is allowed to do unlimited aerobatics, the plane would out last the pilot in other words...!
Will talks (well has banter with) his commentator Peter, during +/-6 G moves..! HOW???
RAF Merlin rweturns to display
For a large helicopter, it is certainly agile
High angles of bank & wing overs
Very nice display, but it's hard to photograph as is such a dark green....!
Aerostars Yak-52's, another civilian team
Very nice old a/c from the eastern block
Nice final break...very low over the sea...!
Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) Lancaster arrives to display
One of the 2 spitfires of the BBMF
The second Spitfire (no Hurricane today)
side view of the 1st Spitfire again
..and the final pass with all 3 a/c together
Red Arrows arriving, but the weather was about to dish out a major down pour once again
Red's in Diamond 9 formation, their signature
Red's in Swan formation over the Thames estuary
Red's in Apollo formation, last shot as the heavens opened now...time to find cover
The Royal Navy Black Cats Lynx's did their best in appalling weather
The Matadors display team of a pair of Su26's also did their best in the conditions
one positive G, the other negative G, in formation around a loop...nice
Harrier GR7 displayed as the rain started to clear, and brighter skies were following in
Harrier in the hover
AS the storm passed & sunshine arrived, a rainbow appeared over the pier
DHL B757 freighter arrived next, weather improving by the minute...blue skies in sight to the west
pity DHL didn't paint the engines to match
Tight turn with gear & flaps down
High speed pass with a steep climb out to finish the display
DHL B757 climbs away flat out. Nice to see an airliner given some stick...!
Royal Navy Sea King & Royal Marines performed a demonstration
Sea King departing
RAF Typhoon arrives into blue skies (what a relief)
Lots of afterburner used during the display
Very agile flying, steep turns and high G rolls & climbs
Thank goodness the weather improved 100% for this display, the last of the show
Nice to see the RAF's new jet given a good thrashing. It looks and sounds awesome...!