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Extreme Heights at World’s Biggest Seafront Airshow

Base jumping off one of the biggest mobile cranes in the UK will be the star attraction at Airbourne this year as the world’s biggest seafront airshow welcomes a brand new daredevil act for 2008.UK Pro BASE will work alongside airshow organisers, Eastbourne Borough Council, for the first time this year to demonstrate the very technical, cutting edge modern sport. Base jumping involves highly trained individuals parachuting off fixed objects, and Airbourne visitors will be in for a real adrenaline rush this summer as a bold team of base jumpers sponsored by Go Fast Sports UK take off from one of the country’s tallest cranes standing at 101 metres on Eastbourne’s Western Lawns.

A spokesperson for Eastbourne Borough Council said: “We are extremely pleased and excited to be working alongside UK Pro BASE in 2008 to put on our most impressive airshow yet. Not only are we welcoming a brand new attraction in the form of base jumping, but the sportsmen will be jumping from an extremely tall crane! Alongside the dynamic aerobatics of the Red Arrows, and the impressive flying displays from the RAF Typhoon, Hawk, Tucano and Tutor, visitors are in for a spectacular four days watching adventurous pursuits in Eastbourne skies.”

Base jumping was only first demonstrated in the UK two years ago and is a relatively new sport. Athletes jump from their chosen object, open the parachute canopy to stop the fall and glide to a landing.

Hundreds of thousands of visitors to Airbourne will see this brand new extreme sport up close as base jumpers take off 101 metres in the air from a 200 tonne all terrain mobile crane.

Go Fast Sports UK will be sponsoring this new attraction and Director, Kris Yule, said: “BASE jumping is a great spectacle and normally only seen by those who are prepared to venture into the mountains of Europe (or get up really early in the morning in the UK and head down to your local tall building). The UK Pro BASE team are a professional outfit who will put on a great show. This is a core sport for the Go Fast brand so we are delighted to be involved in the 1st ever BASE jumping demonstration at Airbourne.”

Max Hurd and Dave Moores will be leading the team of base jumpers who completed the first ever UK base jump off a rollercoaster at Thorpe Park in April this year. Keen to promote the sport to a wider audience, the professional jumpers will be able to demonstrate their skill to a crowd of 500,000.

Airbourne returns to Eastbourne seafront from 14-17 August and with news of this latest addition to the 2008 line up, the international airshow promises a bumper filled four days of flying fun.

Watch in wonder at the Guinnot Wingwalkers, enjoy a tribute concert at Eastbourne Bandstand to the sounds of Grease and Summer Nights, and completely new for 2008, visitors will look to the skies as base jumpers leap off a crane standing over a hundred metres high.

UK Pro Base will be telling Chris Evans all about their latest partnership with Eastbourne Borough Council tomorrow evening on his Radio 2 show. For the latest Airbourne news visit www.visiteastbourne.com or telephone 0871 663 0031.

Pre-register Your Bid For A Top Flight Experience at Royal Air Force Museum.

(15th May – 15th June 2008)As part of May’s Museums and Galleries Month the Royal Air Force Museum has teamed up with online auction house Top Lots to offer an exclusive experience behind the scenes at the Museum’s Cosford site.

A must for any aviation enthusiast this exclusive day will allow the successful bidder and a guest to witness the ground-breaking conservation and preservation work undertaken by the staff of the Michael Beetham Conservation Centre at the Royal Air Force Museum, Cosford.

Two lucky guests will be able to see the work that goes in to conserving and maintaining historic aircraft in an area not normally open to the public; talk to a conservator about the work that they are undertaking; and take private photography of the workshop.

After a 2 course lunch the successful bidder and their guest will then enjoy a personal tour of the rest of the Museum including the award-winning and visually stunning National Cold War Exhibition before obtaining a souvenir.

Bidding on this lot will commence on 15th May, with 80% of the proceeds going directly to the Royal Air Force Museum and 20% to the Association of Independent Museums. The Association of Independent Museums was founded to encourage new standards in the provision of services to users. To pre-register your interest in bidding for this lot or to learn more about this exclusive experience please go to www.toplots.co.uk and select “Museums and Galleries”.

Entry to the National Cold War Exhibition at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford is free from 10am daily. For further details visit www.rafmuseum.org

 

Red Arrows Zoom Back to Eastbourne Skies

Airbourne crowd favourite, the Red Arrows, are back and once again set to impress as they perform spectacular aerobatics and dynamic flying formations at Eastbourne airshow 2008.Organisers of the event, Eastbourne Borough Council, are excited to announce the line up for this year’s Airbourne, with the Red Arrows appearing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Hailed as the biggest seafront airshow in the world, the fast jets will be joined by the RAF Typhoon, Hawk, Tucano and Tutor, as the RAF celebrate their 90th anniversary when Airbourne returns from 14-17 August 2008.

Eastbourne Borough Council Spokesperson for Tourism, Cllr Steve Wallis said “The line up for this year’s Airbourne already looks huge and it’s great that Eastbourne airshow attracts such top flights and performers. Airbourne looks set for a bumper programme of flying displays in 2008, and with action packed ground displays, replica aircraft and other attractions in the pipeline, Airbourne promises to keep the whole family entertained this August.”

Other displays confirmed for 2008 include the welcome return of the Guinnot Wingwalkers. Spectators will watch in wonder as they perform their dare devil antics over all four days of the show.

Airbourne fans will already be on tenterhooks waiting for this year’s event as they look forward to the best of the RAF plus civilian and military performers. Returning in August, Airbourne enthusiasts can relive last year’s airshow with an interactive DVD available now from www.visiteastbourne.com and the Tourist Information Centre.

With even more acrobatic performers still to be added to the line up, Airbourne 2008 is set to be a spectacular show. Kids can climb aboard replica aircraft on the ground and talk to the RAF Careers Team, and Mums and Dads can chill out and enjoy a cool refreshment while watching top class flying displays, all from the stunning location of Eastbourne seafront.

For more information visit www.eastbourneairshow.co.uk or telephone 0871 663 0031.

POTY2008 – Theme 3 – Close Up

The final set of results are in for the “Close Up” theme, and this months prize goes to Bill Edwards for his photo of a Tornado a valley (presumably in Wales somewhere).

This months voting actually resulted in a tie between Bill and Gergely Groz, and as I only have one prize to give away each month I had to make the final decision. Both entries were technically very good, but Bill’s entry seemed far more interesting and that clinched it for me.

This months theme “Digital” is perhaps the toughest of the lot, and as such carries our biggest monthly prize – Any JustFlight product up to £30 in value (great prize for any flight simmers out there). Closing date for entries is midnight on 30th April. Already has some excellent entries, and a lot of thinking out of the box – can you do better?

A maximum of 36 points can be awarded to any single entry per theme, so with up to 252 points still to be earned across the remaining 7 themes, there is still a good chance of coming in late and landing one of the top 3 places.

I look forward to your entries for this one,

Good Luck,

Ian

Flying Start for Air Museums Bomber Command Exhibition

The Yorkshire Air Museum’s new Bomber Command exhibition Against the Odds received a flying start on Wednesday 19th March when it was officially opened by Sir David Jason OBE, widely regarded as one of Britain’s most popular actors.

An Honorary Member of the Museum and aviation enthusiast, Sir David arrived in some style by flying in by helicopter for this auspicious occasion, to the delight of over 1000 visitors who turned up for the occasion. Sir David graciously signed many autographs before going on to ‘inspect’ a contingent of new Royal Air Force recruits from nearby RAF Leconfield and some cadets from 2388 (Castleford) Air Training Corps.

After being shown into the new exhibition, Sir David chatted to several veterans of Bomber Command who have had a long association with the Museum, and he was clearly moved by hearing of their often harrowing experiences.

Produced in association with Imperial War Museum, “Against the Odds” details and explores the international reasons for the formation of this unique force and the unparalleled sacrifice of its young airman, many just in their late teens, from all over the world. With over 55 800 killed in action or as prisoner of war, no fighting group saw such heavy losses, but, perhaps because of the later controversy over the consequence of aerial bombing on civilian populations, no campaign medal has ever been issued to the brave volunteers of Bomber Command. The stunning exhibition stands in an original wartime building on this former Bomber Command Station, and the large display panels with striking, and even controversial, imagery are interspersed with artefacts and audio visual displays.

Providing a wealth of easily extractable factual information, Against the Odds will be an excellent educational resource for school parties and groups and associations and anyone engaged in lifelong learning objectives. It forms an excellent base upon which to start a tour of the Museum, which most of the existing displays and resources link into, facilitating a more in depth exploration of some topics.

Museum Director, Ian Reed, said: “This exhibition, which is of national standard and scale, will bring the story of Bomber Command to a younger generation in keeping with the objectives of this unique Memorial to Allied Air Forces. This is probably the most fitting place in Britain for it to be located and we are especially pleased and honoured that our Life Member, Sir David Jason, was able to take time out from a hectic filming schedule to open Against the Odds on our behalf.”

In a major endorsement for the Museum speaking in television interviews, Sir David said how proud he was to be associated with the Yorkshire Air Museum & Allied Air Forces Memorial and how important places like this were in ensuring the memory of all those who gave their lives is never forgotten.

Opening the new display, Sir David said, “I feel very close to the RAF being a pilot myself. When you think about it these crews didn’t give their lives, their lives were taken from them and when you consider over 55,000 never came back in order to defend democracy, we must never forget what they gave.”

With such an understanding of aviation and his well known support for the Royal Air Force and RAF Benevolent Fund, there could not have been a better person to open the exhibition for us and this high profile launch has already resulted in a dramatic surge in visitor numbers.

www.yorkshireairmuseum.co.uk

Airbourne and the RAF Encourage the Pilots of the Future

Airbourne: Eastbourne International Airshow is set for a spectacular four days of flying action in 2008 as it once again joins forces with the organisers of RIAT, the world’s largest military airshow, the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust Enterprises (RAFCTE) to organise and manage a bumper line up of aerobatic displays in the year that the RAF celebrates its 90th anniversary.Organisers of the event, Eastbourne Borough Council will team up with the RAFCTE for the seventh year in a row. Geoff Brindle, a former RAF pilot and Squadron Leader, will be the Flying Display Director and along with the RAFCTE team will take care of the flying display management. With the famous Red Arrows, RAF Falcons Parachute team and Oasis 747 Jumbo Jet filling the skies at previous years’ events, spectators are guaranteed to enjoy an impressive action-packed four days at this year’s airshow.

Eastbourne Borough Council Spokesperson for Tourism, Cllr Steve Wallis said “We are extremely pleased to be working with the RAFCTE again. Not only do they have a proven track record of putting on a very exciting and entertaining show with high profile contacts, but they also do fantastic work for charity. They work to help improve services within the RAF as well as working with outside organisations to stimulate and encourage interest in aviation and find the pilots of the future.”

In addition to offering services to manage Airbourne’s dynamic flying displays, the RAFCTE use airshows across the country, including their own event, the Royal International Air Tattoo, to promote air-mindedness in young people. They work with RAF Charitable Trusts to support a variety of projects, which commit to young people and developing enthusiasm for aviation.

Alongside the traditional plane aerobatics, Airbourne features exciting ground demonstrations with full size replica aircraft, cockpits and displays from the RAF careers team. Visitors can speak to crew members, experience flight simulators and watch arena demonstrations all from the open landscape of the Western Lawns.

Airbourne returns to Eastbourne seafront this year from 14-17 August and promises to bring extra special flying displays, informative ground events, children’s entertainment, helicopter pleasure flights and evening Bandstand concerts with a firework finale.

For more information telephone 0871 663 0031 or visit www.eastbourneairshow.co.uk or www.visiteastbourne.com

 

Natural Fliers Set to Steal the Show at Airbourne 2008

Airbourne, the biggest seafront airshow in the world, is getting ready for its most innovative flying display yet as a carrier pigeon formation is set to wing its way through the skies at this year’s aerobatic event.Organisers of the event, Eastbourne Borough Council, have been working alongside a local pigeon racer to train a 12-strong flock of carrier pigeons to fly in the famous diamond formation as demonstrated by previous Airbourne favourites. After a vigorous training routine, the Pigeon Aerobatic Spectacular is ready to make its debut at Airbourne 2008 under the careful instructions of Lolo Priaf, renowned international pigeon fancier, and will wow crowds with its never seen before formation flight technique.

Eastbourne Borough Council Spokesperson for Tourism, Cllr Steve Wallis said “This really is set to be the biggest, most exciting flight display we have ever seen at Airbourne. Every year we try to bring something bigger and better and I am confident that the carrier pigeon formation will be the most impressive display in the event’s 16-year history. Airbourne is a real family event and the brand new pigeon display is sure to get the little ones smiling and Mums and Dads crying with laughter. I can’t wait to see the birds in action!”

Lolo has been involved with the Pigeon Aerobatic Spectacular training routine from the very beginning and will lead the display at this year’s Airbourne. Using a system of whistles, snorts and tweets, she has developed a unique way of signalling to the birds as they move through the flying routine, from taking off, to circling, ducking, and diving, and then the final landing position.

The Pigeon Aerobatic Spectacular will headline Airbourne’s flight programme in 2008 and organisers are already indicating that this unique display will be the highlight of Eastbourne’s summer. Visitors from all over the world are set to descend on Eastbourne seafront to watch in wonder as the pigeons take to the sky in a choreographed diamond formation.

With Airbourne returning to Eastbourne seafront from 14-17 August, there are still a few months left for Lolo and the pigeons to get in some final practice before the big day itself.

Flying alongside a bumper programme of fast jets, helicopters, freefall parachutists, warbirds and historics, and with crowds of up to 500,000, the Pigeon Aerobatic Spectacular is getting ready to put on an extra special flying display for 2008.

For more information and the latest news on Airbourne visit www.eastbourneairshow.co.uk or telephone 0871 663 0031.

Airshow Displays will be Flying High!

Southend’s biggest event is ready to take to the skies, promising more thrills, spills and action than ever before!Held over the Spring Bank Holiday 25th & 26th May, the spectacular 2008 Maxims Casino Southend Airshow will tempt thousands of people to the seafront to see the high flying action!

The aircraft participation for the Southend Airshow 2008 is already looking exciting as the Royal Air Force has come out in strength to support the event. All of the available RAF displays have been confirmed, including the Typhoon and the Red Arrows. In fact it will be the first chance to see the Red Arrows new display before they go on a month long tour to Canada and the US.

As well as the modern military, Southend will celebrate the 90th Anniversary of the founding of the RAF with displays from historical aircraft covering the whole history of the service.

Display Director Dave Walton says: “Southend is the first major show of the RAF’s anniversary year and we are delighted that so many display aircraft have been allocated to the event. We hope to demonstrate the aviation highlights of the last 90 years alongside the Royal Navy and other crowd favourites such as the Team Guinot Wingwalkers and The Blades.”

The flying programme for the two day show will be constantly updated in the run up to the event.
For the latest news check out www.southendairshow.com

Airshow Ready for Take Off

The 2008 Maxims Casino Southend Airshow is taking place on Sunday 25th and Bank Holiday Monday 26th May.

Now in its 23rd year, the event is one of the largest free Airshows in Europe attracting more than half a million people to Southend over the two days.

Sponsored by the Maxims Casino Southend in Western Esplanade, Southend, and organised by Southend-on-Sea Borough Council, this year’s show will feature the best in military and civilian aviation as well as a packed programme of ground entertainment.

Councillor John Lamb, Southend-on-Sea Borough Council’s Executive Councillor for Enterprise, Tourism & Regeneration says: “The 2008 Maxims Casino Southend Airshow looks set to be better than ever. This official launch marks the start of the publicity build up to the event, although work has been going on behind the scenes for months to plan the show.”

He adds: “This Airshow is the jewel in the crown of our busy Southend events programme. We hope that by encouraging as many people as possible to come to Southend for the Spring Bank Holiday weekend, they will return to the town again during the course of the year to see the rest of what our wonderful town has to offer.”

John Harland, Public Relations Manager at the Maxims Casino Southend, says: “The Airshow is a massive community event and one that we are proud to be involved with. We are delighted to once again be supporting such a prestigious event that has such a benefit to Southend.”

For more information log onto www.southendairshow.com

Lots to do Thanks to Airshow Ground Crew

There will be more than just spectacular aerial stunts at the 2008 Maxims Casino Southend Airshow.

Those coming along to enjoy Southend’s premier event, on Sunday 25h and Bank Holiday Monday 26h May 2008, can expect plenty of lively attractions.

Southend’s famous seafront will be packed with activities, market areas, big brand name exhibitors such as Honda, Hyundai, Waitrose and EA Games, military town shows and lots of opportunities to mingle with the pilots taking part in one of Europe’s largest free airshows.

Councillor John Lamb, Southend-on-Sea Borough Council’s Executive Councillor for Enterprise, Tourism and Regeneration says: “This year promises to be the best ever! We’re showcasing exciting aerial teams and the seafront will be buzzing with activity, so come along!”

Landing again is the ‘Meet the Pilots’ area. This crowd-pleaser is expected to be one of the show’s biggest draws, where people of all ages have the chance to meet up with the stars of the show, take some photos and get some autographs! On the Monday, the world famous Red Arrows pilots will be on the ground too, the opportunity to get their autographs is one not to be missed!

The Army and RAF will be there, demonstrating their weaponry and equipment, and the Royal Marines will take on any challengers up the climbing wall.

Hungry plane enthusiasts can choose from plenty of popular market and food stalls serving up a variety of snacks and drinks.

BBC Essex is broadcasting special programmes live from the seafront and there will be exclusive coverage of the entire flying display. Radio Airshow is broadcast at the event, on 1530mw from 12 noon on both days. Essex FM will be bringing some great entertainment over both days of the Airshow with roadshows, competitions and giveaways.

For more information log onto www.southendairshow.com, or call the Airshow Hotline on 01702 390333.

There are plenty of ways to reach the Airshow. Two train lines run from London and connecting stations into Southend, with a minimum of 7 trains per hour and the journey taking between 45 – 60 minutes. For fares, ticket options and times call National Rail Enquiries on 0845 748 4950. National Express operate a coach service from London Victoria to Southend; for details call them on 08705 808080.