Folks,
The 4th running of the reconstituted London Airshow is in the can... I've been lucky enough to make it to all four, so I thought I would cobble together a few of my thoughts on the event.
First of all kudos and thanks to the organizers, staff and volunteers. Without you there would be no show and your hard work is very much appreciated!
So, how did this year stack up to my expectations? Alas, I give it an OK though what separated 2019 from being an OK instead of an A + was primarily beyond the control of the organizers (Thunderstorms, mostly grey weather, hurricane related cancellations).
This is where I put the caveat. From what I have seen over the past 4 years, whoever wrangles Military attendees for London is exceptionally talented. Their ability to attract US and even Commonwealth statics to a Canadian, civilian show is incredibly impressive. They have also done a great job attracting demo teams and coordinating with unit training/exercises/flypasts to get additional flying or static attendees at the show. Part of the secret is revealed when you watch arrivals and speak to the crews - ASL goes out of its way to show the crew how much they are appreciated - red carpet, refreshments the works. This reception quality held true this year, the results just did not pan out as expected.
In comparison to past years (we may have been spoiled), the flying line up was thin this year. Whilst we had the Snowbirds, CF-188, and the ACC A-10 Demos, the uptick in the CF-188 replacement project did not lead to any extra participation such as the believed boost the competition gave to the 2017 show (F-35 heritage flight, F-18F demo and F-35 Statics). Late additions in terms of flying B-17 and C-47s were announced but never materialized, and I believe never explained.
The CF-188 demo was quite distant on Saturday, but it made a bunch of impressive passes on arrival Saturday morning. Also that last topside pass on Sunday was what we should have been seeing all weekend. The A-10 demo was awesome, displaying all three days. It kept tight to showline and the 'whumpf' sound whenever the hog would pitch up was awesome.
The vintage jet action in the form of a Vampire and T-33s was interesting. The T-33s never really did their own thing, which is a shame but the Vampire did a great job of beating up the field. Then there was the NATO trainer formation that wasn't. The Talons and Hawks did a couple of disjointed passes each, but they did not formate, which is what I expected from was set out in advance. That said I was quite pleased to finally get some airborne T-38 shots
I did miss a few initial passes of either the Vampire and T-38 pairs (and thus shots of same) because the announcer was not keeping up with the action. There were numerous times over the weekend where the announcement of a new act entering over the showline occurred when the act was half way across the field and thus effectively gone by the time you swung your camera or head missing a spectacular first pass. Honestly the announcer often seemed surprised! Not at all helpful.
The promised static line up was excellent but cancellations yanked some of the star attractions at the last minute - the Growlers and the USMC/USN F-5E aggressors. There is a theme here, Growlers have cancelled previously and F-5 aggressors have been no shows at a couple of shows already this
summer.
Even with the cancellations the static line up was still very good , especially considering the civilian and Canadian nature of the show. The B-52 was the obvious star, the multiple KC-135s, C-5 Galaxy and the entire row of fast movers was quite nice. There were even a couple of surprises, the Tigger callsign Arizona ANG F-16Cs were entirely unexpected and they were kind enough to do passes on arrivals and departure. Also a, now rare, USAF VIP 'Muscles' callsign UH-1N flying in from Andrews Air Force base (Which along with the USCG dolphin did an awesome circle of the show ground on the way out Sunday evening).
i am scratching my head as to RCAF participation. I believe the single CF-18 was the only operational RCAF static and there was not so much as a single fly past another RCAF type (Abbotsford had at least a CC-177 demo). As per the caveat I do not place this at the feet of ASL. Airshows are great recruiting tools as well as PR for the forces (Look taxpayer this is where your money goes...). Unless our operational tempo is much higher than I expected the RCAF turn out was sad, especially compared to the massive American turnout (For which they deserve out thanks).
The vast majority of the static attendees brought swag (one or two were essentially flying Walmarts) and my patch hunt was rather successful. the Langley based T-38 guys even had a 2019 Airshow London patch for sale... something ASL should look into themselves.
I did not get to do departures this year but as always sticking around after the show on Sunday paid off with the spectacular Ohio F-16 and Mass F-15 departures. I understand that the Arizona F-16 departures on Monday were also rather impressive. i can't say that Swampfox's Cleetus has been trumped yet, that would be a tall order.
The highlight of London for me is usually the arrivals. In past years arriving aircraft from fast movers to heavies would typically make a a pass or two before making a full stop. the aforementioned Cleetus, certain CF-188s, the Ohio 16s, the 2017 F-22s (Langley I think) and the Louisiana 15s being the stare candidates there. This year despite prompting from ATC passes were few and far between and not terribly enthusiastic. To be fair the low ceiling likely impacted many of these, and low fuel may have impacted others.
I did the photopit as usual. This makes for a very relaxing air show. Excellent parking, no real traffic in or out, short walk to the photo pit, excellent staff/volunteers in the pit and sufficient security that I can leave my gear unattended and walk the showground. Met, and shot with, some great guys in the pit (some old acquaintances, some new). i have to say the social aspect of the London show is great.
As I have noted before however the Photo pit in its current form is over sold. There isn't, by a long shot sufficient showline facing crowdline for all comers, this is disappointing given the high cost of the tickets. There are bleachers but to be fair the current 2 (And it has only 2 for a couple of years now) are insufficient and frankly somewhat dangerous.
So 2017 was the best year (It was a spectacular airshow), 2016 was not far off. Due primarily to weather (Grey skies and bloody freezing in 2018, and thunderstorms and minimal sun in 2019) 2018 and 2019 are vying for the bottom of the lot.
The key elements will keep me coming back. On average for the four years you will get at least some sun, when there is sun it is always from the right direction, the line ups will be at least solid, the show experience will be relaxing (Unless you belong to the enthusiast focused media which inexplicably are treated as a bit of a nuisance)and arrivals/departures will hold some great thrills.
I'm curious as to the final impressions of others
Now for more photos:
