Jersey International Air Display 2018 briefing

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Adam
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Jersey International Air Display 2018 briefing

Post by Adam » Sun Sep 16, 2018 5:16 pm

Airshow briefing #7

Last week I attended the Jersey Airshow, my first European seaside show and a truly unusual event. Jersey, for those who don't know, is a Crown Dependency - a posession of the UK, rather than a constituent part of it - an eight hour ferry ride off the English south coast. It effectively functions an independent self-governing nation in all areas except defence and international relations. Most importantly, though, it has its own aviation authority, whose regulations (particularly with regard to foreign-accredited display pilots) are much more lenient than in the UK proper.

The result is one of the most intreguing lineups of any "British" (and I use the term loosely, because technically it isn't) airshow, with a few tantalising aircraft that have been specifically prevented from flying at UK shows these last few years. In fact, the show has built up quite a reputation as being one of the most unique in Europe, bursting with aircraft we can only dream of seeing on the mainland, so I had very high expectations.

Unfortunately, great lineup though it was, I have been left feeling a little cold. It was immediately obvious that photography and videos would be near impossible, as we were looking directly into sun. Being located in a bay, the display line was also quite distant. The star items - the Viggen and Draken of the Swedish Air Force Historic Flight - were particularly distant and used almost no afterburner. "Dull as ditchwater", commented a friend. Yes, that was the word "dull" used to describe a Viggen. That in itself is pretty extraordinary.

I don't want to make it sound like I'm rubbishing the show, as it had some great elements to it. I loved the short but very enjoyable Nord Noratlas demonstration (the only flying example in the world, and a truly weird-looking aircraft), the P-47D Thunderbolt and P-51D Mustang duo put on a stonking display, the GliderFX MDM-1 Fox was utterly superb and Patrouille Reva were energetic and entertaining with their three unconventional Rutan Acro-EZs. It was also nice to see some other rare types such as the Flamant duo and CAC Boomerang.

Unfortunately most of the warbird displays were very hard to follow, proving quite distant and taking place during the worst lighting. It's rare I stop watching a display, but at this show it happened several times. The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (Lancaster, Hurricane and Spitfire) were no exception. There are a couple of acts, such as the Boomerang and Yak-3 tailchase and the Spitfire solo, which I didn't bother filming at all.

The show was hit hard by a number of cancellations, as well. The Swedish Air Force Historic Flight had been due to bring their Lansen pair for the first time, and do a big formation flypast of Draken, Viggen, Lansen, Lansen and SK-60. A Hawker Hunter was then provisionally announced to take their place, but it never materialised. Perhaps that was a blessing in disguise, Hunters are still a very sensetive subject here and one hasn't displayed in the UK ever since the crash at Shoreham. Doubtless the headline "Jersey Airshow nearly kills 30,000 children with Death Jet" would otherwise have been plastered across Friday's Daily Mail. There were a couple of warbird cancellations too, and the rumoured Norwegian Air Force Historical Squadron MiG-15UTI was another no-show.

The Red Arrows were, sadly, another disappointment. I'm not the Red Arrows' greatest fan, but I think they put on a pretty good show and I loved their performances at the past two RIATs, but Jersey was simply the most soulless Red Arrows display I've ever seen. I can't quite put my finger on why, as the routine was exactly the same as last time I saw them, but they were just totally lacking in flare.

That being said, Jersey is still a wonderful airshow if you want to combine a decent flying display with a pleasant trip to the seaside on a lovely little island (but only if you can do so midweek - this show takes place on a Thursday and the island's children all get a day off school for it). I may struggle to find positive things to say about many of the individual displays, but the overall experience was still overwhelmingly positive. And all the flying, while not particlarly close or well-lit, is over a picteresque bay with an island and medieval castle in the middle, within easy walking distance of the capital, St. Helier. Jersey itself is delightful as well; I called it "England, Continental Edition".

I have long been fascinated by this highly unusual event, which holds all the appeal of a foreign airshow while at the same time feeling British through and through, and even though I'm not convinced it quite lived up to the hype, I'm very happy my curiosity has been satisfied.

I almost didn't make a video, because of how awful the photography conditions were, but in the end I decided to throw something quick together. See below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms_L74Kf9yo
Last edited by Adam on Sun Sep 16, 2018 6:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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