The Old Buckenham Airshow is pleased to confirm details of the final acts which make up its largest air display weekend ever on the 30th and 31st of July.

The show has already confirmed the return after more than a decade of the only flying B-17 Bomber in Europe, Sally B, star of Memphis Belle. In a new development another American giant will perform at the show on both days in the form of a Catalina Flying Boat. This 10 ton giant boasts a 114 foot wing span. Designed an built for bombing, submarine hunting and search & rescue, the Catalina is still in service today as a fire-fighting platform. Others are used for fishing in the Pacific Ocean. The aircraft displaying at Old Buckenham is in wartime USAAF markings of the 8th Air Force 5th Emergency Rescue Squadron.

Both days at the Airshow crowds will also be able to see a truly unique act, described as one of the most innovative and thrilling of recent years. It has also been described as one of the most amusing. Noted Advanced Aerobatic competitor Chris Burkett will be flying his Extra 330, a 330hp carbon fibre aerobatic aircraft capable of withstanding forces of +/- 10g. This alone is a spectacular sight. Chris, however, will be joined in the sky by what appears to be an identical blue Extra. The other aircraft is, in fact, a 41% scale model flown by Mike Williams, a multiple remote control champion who has been flying models since he was 9. Mike’s skills allow him to control the model in unison with Chris in the full size aircraft and the resulting ‘little and large’ act has been the talk of aviation for the last two years.

2016’s Airshow features some of the most powerful aircraft on the display circuit; to provide something in the way of balance the show has also confirmed a slightly more modest 145 hp Auster, a venerable WWII spotter plane, still popular as a trainer and pleasure aircraft. The Auster is the final act to be confirmed for the record line up.

Matt Wilkins, Airshow Organiser; “It was a major coup to have secured the first display by B-17 Sally B n over ten years. To be able to add to it with the mighty Catalina is fabulous. Both aircraft are enormous and the importance of their roles in WWII cannot be overstated. They have rightly achieved iconic status and this will be a remarkable Airshow weekend. To further add to these the ‘Extra & Model’ act is very exciting and this mix of old, new and unique means that we will have to work very hard to try to beat this year’s lineup in years to come” Tickets for the show are available online at www.oldbuckenhamairshow.co.uk. Forward sales are comfortably above the record levels seen in 2015 and organisers anticipate a sell-out attendance; advance purchases are
recommended to avoid disappointment.

For further information please contact Old Buckenham Airfield on 01953 860 806 or visit www.oldbuck.com

Tags: 2016, July, News, Old Buckenham Airshow