Waddington Airshow Bids Sad Farewell
Welcome to this latest edition of Aerodrome and our regular look at the fascinating world of aviation. Our previous two blogs have centred around the exciting developments at East Kirkby airfield and one family’s determination to see their Avro Lancaster ‘Just Jane’ take to the skies once more and it seems as if this story has captured the imagination not only of Aerodrome readers, but also millions of people around the world. We are pleased to report that both editions proved to be amongst our most popular blogs and are continuing to attract new readers – thank you very much for your support and to everyone who has liked, shared and informed others about our review. Importantly, if you get chance to visit East Kirkby airfield or support their ‘Rivet Club’, you will be helping to give the project a welcome boost and moving the prospect of seeing two airworthy Lancasters flying in British skies a step closer. Aerodrome will be back at East Kirkby a little later in the year.
In this latest edition, we will attempt to fend off the winter blues for aviation enthusiasts by looking back at one of the UK’s most successful Airshows of 2014 and some of the display acts that helped to make it such a memorable occasion. We will also see why 2014 turned out to be a significant year in the history of this popular event and how the county of Lincolnshire was forced to consider potentially losing one of its most prestigious events in the years to come. Looking forward to later this year and an exciting development for the UK Airshow industry, we will see how the county is preparing to host an impressive new show at an alternative RAF airfield site and welcoming thousands of enthusiasts back to Bomber County.
A Very International Affair
From the early days of the Hendon Air Pageants, Airshows have captured the imagination of the British public, with huge crowds turning up to see pilot celebrities of the day and their amazing aircraft. For decades, Airshows have been amongst the most popular spectator events in the country and at the height of their popularity, many RAF stations would hold their own events to raise funds for local good causes, engage with the local communities and encourage recruitment of future service personnel. Unfortunately, those glory days are now behind us and the effects of numerous defence cuts and the ever-evolving nature of perceived national defence threats has seen a gradual reduction in the number of aircraft in service with Britain’s armed forces and the closure of many of the bases that would regularly host public events. With RAF organised Airshows currently reduced to just a handful, it is no wonder that communities which play host to these few remaining events have become fiercely protective of their shows and turn up in large numbers to both support them and help preserve their future.
Some of the international display acts at the 2014 Waddington Airshow. Italian Air Force KC-767 tanker
Swiss Air Force F/A-18C Hornet
North American OV-10B Bronco
One of the stars of the show, the magnificent SAAB AJS37 Viggen of the Swedish Air Force Historic Flight
‘Solo Turk’ F-16C Fighting Falcon brought some international style to the show
Beautiful Hunter F6A of the Dutch Hawker Hunter Foundation
With the closure of RAF Finningley in South Yorkshire scheduled for 1995 and the final Battle of Britain display taking place at the airfield in September 1994, the RAF were looking for a new venue to host a major Airshow event. The annual Finningley show had become the RAF’s largest one day Airshow in the country and if they were to continue with a show of this magnitude, they would need access to a large airfield which was conveniently located and possessed transport infrastructure able to cope with a significant amount of traffic. Situated less than 40 miles from RAF Finningley, the former Vulcan bomber base at Waddington in Lincolnshire was selected and the first Airshow was scheduled for the summer of 1995.
The county of Lincolnshire enjoys a long and proud association with the men and machines of the Royal Air Force and from the very first RAF Waddington Airshow in 1995, people from the surrounding towns and villages flocked to support the event, which was usually held during the first weekend in July each year. Local businesses would also benefit from the new Airshow, which would regularly attract attendance figures in excess of 100,000 people and visitors from all over the UK. Indeed, from this very first Airshow, Waddington was described as an International Airshow and not only attracted military and civilian aviation participants from the UK, but the promise of exotic overseas aircraft from air forces around the world. This would see Waddington International Airshow quickly become the largest of the RAF organised displays and result in millions of spectators heading for Lincolnshire in the years that followed.
As Britain’s RAF bases continued to close and defence cuts plunged ever deeper into the finances of the Air Force, Waddington became one of the few stations that continued to open its doors to the general public each year and offered them a rare and exciting opportunity to experience life on an active RAF airfield. For the RAF, it was a chance to show the public that they can organise a thrilling Airshow, introduce them to some of the many roles and activities they perform on a daily basis and perhaps most importantly, strengthen associations with people living in the surrounding areas. As these people are most affected by operations from the airfield, promoting tolerance and understanding of these activities are of critical importance to RAF officials and the Airshow represents a valuable public relations opportunity in maintaining good community relations.
Some of the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy participants at Waddington. 41(R) Squadron Tornado GR4
Grob Tutor T.1
Staying with a training theme, this distinctive Short Tucano opened the show
Our current Spitfire, the awesome Typhoon FGR.4 in 29 Squadron colours
Royal Navy Agusta Westland Merlin HM.1 ZH858
The final appearance of a Sea King ASaC7 at Waddington
Always a popular performer, the RAF Chinook Display Team
It may come as a surprise to many aviation enthusiasts that shows such as Waddington’s International Airshow are not necessarily planned and staged with their approval in mind, but are very much geared towards providing an entertaining day out for families from the surrounding area. Keen to support a local event and have the opportunity to experience something a little different, a large percentage of any Waddington crowd would be local families who regard Waddington Airshow as an annual family outing and whilst certainly interested to see the aircraft performing and usually aware of the more famous performers, such as the Red Arrows, Vulcan and Lancaster, would not really describe themselves as true aviation enthusiasts. This sizeable group, however, are of huge interest to display organisers – if they can encourage more people from this group to attend their show, they could be looking at bumper crowd figures and an extremely successful event.
The largest group of people on the airfield and most likely at any Airshow across the country, would usually be those who only attend one, or maybe two Airshows each year and either class this show as their local event, or their favourite must not miss show. These people would probably describe themselves as aviation enthusiasts and the aircraft taking part in the display will be of huge interest to them. This group would often travel to the show by themselves, or with friends who have similar interests.
Bringing up the rear is the group which I and many Aerodrome readers would probably class ourselves as being part of – the avid aviation enthusiast. Our group will probably study the aircraft line up for months leading up to the show, which will be just one in a hectic summer of Airshow attendance. Whilst our group will probably appreciate a strong display line-up more than anyone else on the airfield, we are arguably the least important group as far as the show organisers are concerned. No matter which group you would describe yourself as being part of, the sign of a great Airshow is making sure that all these different groups go home happy, having enjoyed a great days entertainment! RAF Waddington must have discovered this winning formula, as their shows could always count on large attendance figures.
Waddington 2014 – A Year to Remember
Deep crowd line at Waddington 2014
As one of the premier events in the 2014 Airshow calendar, Waddington International Airshow was now the largest RAF show of the year and the only one staged on an active military airfield – organisers were expecting sell-out crowds for both days of the show. Themes for this latest event included ‘50 years of the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team’, ‘65 years of NATO’ and ‘ISTAR14’, which highlighted the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance roles currently performed by Waddington based squadrons. With an impressive list of aircraft for both the flying display and the static aircraft park, the only thing that could spoil our aviation enjoyment was some inclement Lincolnshire weather – regulars at this show will be only too aware of this, having suffered a couple of drenchings there myself over the years.
The home-based aircraft started their displays in the rain but landed back in much better conditions. RAF Boeing E-3D Sentry AEW.1
The Boeing RC-135W ‘Rivet Joint’ is one of the RAFs latest acquisitions
Although everyone heading for RAF Waddington was undoubtedly looking forward to a fantastic weekend of flying entertainment, there had been some worrying rumours in the days leading up to the show that cast something of a shadow over the future of this popular event. The RAF announced that the main runway at Waddington was to undergo significant maintenance following the end of this latest show, with the works scheduled to continue throughout the summer of 2015 and resulting in the cancellation of the following year’s show. Even more worrying than this, it had been rumoured that the new base commander was not particularly happy about opening his station to the public, particularly as his aircraft and personnel were currently engaged in some of Britain’s most sensitive military operations around the world. RAF Waddington had recently taken delivery of Britain’s first RC-135W ‘Rivet Joint’ electronic surveillance aircraft and was also home to the RAF’s fleet of Boeing E-3D Sentry Airborne Early Warning aircraft. Even more significantly, unmanned ‘Reaper’ drone missions in Afghanistan were being piloted remotely from a hangar at Waddington and Britain had seen a number of protests against their use taking place over recent months. These were clearly considerations that could have a significant bearing on the future of the show, but for the time being, it was time to enjoy some flying action. Here is a photo review featuring some of the highlights of the 2014 show.
Red Arrows through the Years - 50th Birthday formation with Hunter and Gnats
Smart new tail for the 2014 Red Arrows Hawks
A Red Arrow from a previous era – the diminutive Gnat trainer
Forerunner of the Red Arrows, a ‘Yellowjacks’ painted Gnat
More classic jet action, the beautiful English Electric (BAC) Canberra PR.9
Dutch Hawker Hunter Foundation Hunter F6A at speed
Hawker Hunter T.7 trainer in the colours of the Black Arrows
The Last of the Great Waddington Airshows
Although there were plenty of rumours regarding the future of Waddington’s popular Airshow flying about during the weekend of the 2014 show, I don’t think many people actually thought the event was in danger of being cancelled altogether. Each summer, this show brought thousands of visitors and a much needed financial boost to the county of Lincolnshire and was by now both the largest RAF organised Airshow and their greatest recruitment and PR opportunity. Clearly, everyone was going to have to accept the fact that there would not be a show in 2015 as the runway renovation works were necessary for continued operations at the base and these considerations had to take precedence, but a triumphant return in 2016 would definitely be something to look forward to. As everyone made their way back to their cars on Sunday evening following the end of an extremely enjoyable 2014 show, little did we know that we had possibly just witnessed the last ever Waddington Airshow and played our own small part in a little piece of UK Airshow history.
With Waddington based aircraft dispersed to various RAF bases around the UK, renovation work on the main runway began in July 2014 and was scheduled to be completed by the following summer, but certainly not in time to allow the annual Airshow to take place. The runway was approaching the end of its operational lifespan and this would be the first major upgrade programme since it was last worked in the 1960s, in preparation for the arrival of the Avro Vulcans of Britain’s Cold War V-Bomber deterrent force. The company awarded the works contract had claimed that they would be employing the very latest environmentally friendly technologies, which would see around 100,000 tonnes of excavated materials recycled on site, used as base materials and dramatically reducing the amount of waste that would need to be transported away from the site. As well as extending the operational life of the runway by 25 years, the work would involve strengthening and extending the runway by 528 ft., extending the existing perimeter track and a complete programme of additional lighting, signage and visual aids to make aircraft operation at Waddington much safer.
Final selection of Waddington 2014 Images. Solo Turk F-16C bidding for display of the day!
High speed Hornet pass
Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress ‘Sally B’ is a real crowd pleaser
Scandinavian Show-stoppers – both the Viggen and Draken were star performers at the show
Waddington is the spiritual home of the Avro Vulcan and no show would be the same without an appearance from the ‘Mighty Delta’
Avro Classic perform at Waddington 2014
Almost as soon as the rebuilding work commenced, the excavation teams ran into difficulties that would result in both a re-design of the intended runway upgrade and significant delays to the project. Once the old runway surface was removed, they discovered large areas of clay they were not expecting, which would require significant attention to avoid the new runway from immediately starting to sink, once work had been completed. They also discovered an elaborate network of war-time pipework and cabling that would all have to be investigated and re-routed before work could continue, along with several WWII practice bombs that would certainly not have helped the situation. Even at this early stage, a project delay was looking inevitable.
Whilst the runway renovation works were still ongoing, the people of Lincolnshire and aviation enthusiasts all over the UK received the news they had been dreading. Following an MOD review in 2015, which was established to assess the RAF’s commitment to future Airshow events, it was announced that Waddington would no longer be hosting its annual Airshow. The review concluded that future operational activities at the base, combined with ever increasing threats to national security made hosting future events at Waddington insupportable and whilst it appreciated the decision would come as a major disappointment to local communities, it was unavoidable. Obviously devastated by the loss of their Airshow, local people were vociferous with their objections and lobbied their local MPs to have the decision overturned, starting an e-petition to gather support. The thought of Lincolnshire not hosting a major annual Airshow was unpalatable to many and a definite blow to local economies.
An Exciting New Airshow for Lincolnshire
Although this review has focused on the final Waddington International Airshow and the reasons behind its cancellation, there is an extremely positive end to this story, which will see Lincolnshire hosting a major Airshow once more. In a relatively recent development, it has been announced that nearby RAF Scampton will host an impressive new event in the UK Airshow calendar over the weekend of 9/10th September, which promises to be a huge boost to both the Lincolnshire economy and to the UK Airshow scene. The show will be organised by the RAF Charitable Trust on behalf of the Royal Air Force and their impressive pedigree includes running the annual Royal International Air Tattoo which is one of the largest events of its kind in the world and a magnet for aviation enthusiasts from all over the world. With this kind of experience behind the show and the county of Lincolnshire desperate to reclaim its beloved Airshow, the signs are extremely positive for a successful event and the start of a new aviation story.
Enthusiasts will be looking forward to visiting the home of the Red Arrows
Although sad at the loss of the Waddington event, enthusiasts will certainly be looking forward to visiting RAF Scampton and sampling its unique aviation heritage. The current home of the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Display Team ‘The Red Arrows’, Scampton was also the former home of the famous No.617 ‘Dambusters’ Squadron and their Avro Lancasters, before going on to host the mighty Avro Vulcans of Britain’s V-Bomber nuclear deterrent force, once again wearing the colours of No.617 Squadron. The new Airshow will allow the people of Lincolnshire to continue celebrating their proud association with the Royal Air Force and importantly for them, will hopefully be in place for the RAF’s Centenary commemorations in 2018. Known colloquially as ‘Bomber County’, Lincolnshire is regarded by many as the spiritual home of the Royal Air Force and it is fitting that a major Airshow should take place in the county each year. Hopefully, RAF Scampton will become the new venue for some memorable Airshows to come and I am sure that everyone will be wishing the RAFCT team every success this coming September. Like many others, I will be excitedly heading for Scampton in September and look forward to bringing you a show report in a future edition of Aerodrome and hopefully marking the first in a long and successful series of shows at this famous RAF station.
I am afraid that is all we have for you in this latest edition of Aerodrome. Hopefully this look back at the final Waddington Airshow will have brought back some happy memories of the show for some readers and have others looking forward to visiting RAF Scampton later this year. If you do have any pictures from classic Waddington Airshows of the past, please do send them in, so we can share them with fellow readers in a future edition.
Please don’t forget about ‘Project Aerodrome’ and let us have pictures from your local airfield, or an aviation project that is close to your heart. I would be grateful if you would send any photographs and initial contact details to me at aerodrome@airfix.com or aerodrome@corgi.co.uk where I very much look forward to hearing from you and discovering some of the aviation stories behind Britain’s many current and former airfields.
As usual, if you would like to join in with all the latest social media discussions regarding Aerodrome and aviation matters in general, please head for either the Airfix Aerodrome Forum or our Corgi Aerodrome Forum and have your say. If you have any specific comments, questions or suggestions for future editions of Aerodrome, please do feel free to let us know by using either the Airfix Facebook or Corgi Facebook pages, our Airfix Twitter or Corgi Twitter accounts, using #aerodrome. If e-mail is more your style, then please use our usual address at aerodrome@hornby.com.
Thank you for your continued support. We will have more news from the world of aviation in our next blog, which is scheduled for publication on 10th March.
Michael
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