The Patrouille de France, the world famous French aerobatic team, will amaze the crowds with their precision aerobatic display at Imperial War Museum Duxford’s Autumn Air Show on Sunday 8 October.
The Patrouille, in their Duxford debut and only UK appearance this year, will perform a breathtaking display of aerobatic manoeuvres in their eight Alpha Jet aircraft.Says Christian Pratt, Duxford’s Head of Commercial Services, “We are delighted to welcome the Patrouille to Duxford in this, their only performance in the UK this year. As a world-renowned aerobatic team they will combine precision and speed in an outstanding display of skill sure to thrill the crowd.”

With a French twist, the Autumn Air Show will feature, alongside the Patrouille, the Curtiss Hawk 75 and two T-28 Fennecs as well as air show favourites such as Spitfires, Mustangs and the ever-impressive RAF Chinook display.

The whole of the Museum will also be open for visitors to enjoy with plenty to see including Duxford’s dramatic new £25 million AirSpace exhibition, The Battle of Britain and the evocative Forgotten War exhibitions, conservation work in progress and the stunning American Air Museum. There will also be over 80 trade stands selling all kinds of aviation and military related merchandise.

Duxford is located just south of Cambridge at junction 10 of the M11. Gates open at 8.00 am and the flying begins at 1.30 pm. Tickets – Adults £22, Senior Citizens/Concessions £19, Children £10. Superb VIP-style Gold Pass tickets are available in advance – for more information about tickets or the flying programme call 01223 835000 or visit www.iwm.org.uk/duxford.

On Sunday 24 September Showbus, the largest bus rally in the world, will take place at Imperial War Museum Duxford. Over 500 buses, both single and double-decker, historic and modern, are expected to gather at the show, now in its 13th year at Duxford.A magnet for bus enthusiasts from the UK and beyond, the show has also proved immensely popular with the general public. Many of the vintage and classic buses are privately owned and have been lovingly restored by enthusiasts, with every decade since the 20s represented.

A record number of entries have been received for the show so far and organisers are hoping for a bumper show. Says Christian Pratt, Duxford’s Head of Commercial Services “Showbus grows in popularity every year, with 2006 being no exception. The event, the biggest of its kind in the world, brings together an unrivalled collection of classic and modern types and Duxford is delighted to host such a special occasion.”

The show will feature the ever popular ‘gold-run’ of London Routemasters, with a procession of these classic double deckers arriving at Duxford around 11.30am. There will also be the opportunity for visitors to take a tour of Duxford village on new and vintage buses.

As well as the display of several hundred buses, visitors will be able to browse a selection of trade stands selling all manner of bus-related ephemera. The whole museum site will also be open, including limited access to Duxford’s new £25 million AirSpace exhibition.

Duxford is open daily from 10am and is located just south of Cambridge at junction 10 of the M11. Ample free parking is available. Admission is FREE for Children under 16, £13 for Adults, £11 for Senior Citizens, and £8 for Concessions. Group rates are available. For further information please visit the Duxford Website at www.iwm.org.uk/duxford. For enquiries please call 01223 835000 or email duxford@iwm.org.uk. For more information about Showbus please visit the Showbus website at www.showbus.co.uk.

Preparations are well underway for Duxford’s Autumn Air Show, the last major UK air show of the 2006 season. The show will take place on Sunday 8 October and feature a host of favourites from historic propeller-driven aircraft through to modern front-line jets.

The display has a distinctly French connection with the French national Aerobatic team the Patrouille de France headlining the show, supported by the French Curtiss Hawk 75 and two T-28 Fennecs. Other air show classics such as Spitfires, Mustangs and the B-17 Sally B, will also feature in the show, which has a special place in the Duxford calendar as the last chance each year to see all your air show favourites.

The whole of the Museum will also be open for visitors to enjoy with plenty to see including Duxford’s dramatic new £25 million AirSpace exhibition, The Battle of Britain and the evocative Forgotten War exhibitions, conservation work in progress and the stunning American Air Museum. There will also be over 80 trade stands selling all kinds of aviation and military-related merchandise.

Duxford is located just south of Cambridge at junction 10 of the M11. Gates open at 8.00 am and the flying begins at 1.30 pm. Tickets – Adults £22, Senior Citizens/Concessions £19, Children £10. Superb VIP-style Gold Pass tickets are available in advance – for more information about tickets or the flying programme call 01223 835000 or visit www.iwm.org.uk/duxford.

Eastbourne’s International Airshow is all set to the get the full mirage effect as the French Air Force display their Mirage 2000 at the show for the first time ever.

Attending the world’s biggest free seafront airshow over all four days from 17 – 20 August, the fast jet will be flown by both solo pilots Captain Yannick ‘Thor’ Vallet and Captain Gregory ‘Greg’ Prats, who will be showing the aircrafts full potential using derry turns, zoom climbs and barrel rolls.

Eastbourne Borough Council Spokesperson for Tourism, Councillor David Elkin said “This is fantastic news, the Mirage is such an exciting aircraft and adds to an amazing line up which now includes seven international military aircraft. This aircraft attends airshows all over the world and doesn’t get to display in the UK that often, so I am delighted that the French Air Force have chosen to delight the Eastbourne crowds for their next UK visit.”

Both pilots have been displaying the Mirage since 2003 and have instructed on aircraft including the Mirage, Alphajet, Tucano and TB30 Epsilon. Between the two of them they have notched up 6000 hours of flying time and 86 missions.

Captain Prats said “The Mirage 2000 solo display team is very happy to fly at Eastbourne airshow. For a long time other display pilots have told us that Eastbourne is THE place to fly, because of the site, the atmosphere, and people. The Mirage 2000 is no longer a new generation plane, but she’s still a beautiful and impressive aircraft, due to her particularly pure delta wing shape and her amazing fly by wire controls giving a very good nose authority.”

The French Air Force Mirage joins the shows best ever international line up that includes two F16’s from the Belgian and Royal Netherlands Air Forces, a PC7, Fouga Magister, Sea King and a Search & Rescue AB-412 helicopter.

Displaying the best of the RAF, the Eurofighter Typhoon makes a welcome return after Eastbourne was one of the few airshows chosen last year to welcome the new display, widely acknowledged as the future of the RAF for the next 30 years.

Also joining the RAF line up, the Harrier, Hawk, Tutor, Tucano, Merlin, Hercules, Chinook and RAF Falcons parachute display team all make a welcome return along with crowd favourite the Red Arrows.

Bringing a brand new format to this years programme, Classic and Historic Thursday features the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, Royal Navy Historic Flight, Army Air Corps Historic Aircraft Flight, Harvard, Mustang and celebrating 70 years in flight, the spectacular Spitfire.

Completing this years exciting flying programme, see the Extra 300 Ultimate High, Sukhoi 26, Utterly Butterly Wingwalkers and displaying for the first time, the Tigers, an Army parachute display team dropping in courtesy of the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment.

Airbourne is sponsored by nine organisations this year including Eastbourne Arndale Centre, City Sightseeing, Eastbourne & District Chamber of Commerce, Eastbourne Herald, Eastbourne Hospitality Association, Red Eventful Cuisine, Specsavers, SITA and the South East England Development Agency.

For more information on flying, arena displays, RAF exhibition, Radio Airbourne, bandstand concerts and other Airbourne attractions visit www.eastbourneairshow.com or request a copy of the Airbourne Souvenir Programme on sale now at Eastbourne Tourist Information telephone 0906 711 2212 (calls cost 50p per minute at standard rate).

Airbourne: Eastbourne’s International Airshow will be making its London Underground debut from Monday, with a new poster campaign highlighting the shows new found status as the ‘World’s biggest seafront airshow’.

Running for two weeks from 17 July, the show is appearing to tube passengers for the first time, using 16 sheet cross-track poster sites and escalator panels at high profile stations such as Victoria, Waterloo and London Bridge.

Eastbourne Borough Council Spokesperson for Tourism, Councillor David Elkin said “Airbourne just gets bigger and better, so we thought it was time to make a splash in London. With four days of flying, we really are the biggest seafront airshow in the world, and what’s more – it’s all FREE!”

Adorning the poster campaign are images of the new Eurofighter Typhoon display, which commuters can see in action for themselves at Airbourne, which runs from 17 – 20 August with free entry. A packed flying schedule of over 80 flying displays over the four days also includes international military jets such as the Belgian Air Force F16, freefall parachutists, helicopters and the most famous display team in the world, the RAF Red Arrows.

New for this year, organisers Eastbourne Borough Council and the RAF are also introducing a new Classic and Historic Thursday, with displays from WWII and historic aircraft, including a spectacular Spitfire Duo display which will commemorate its 70 years of flight.

As well as action packed flying displays, visitors can also enjoy the RAF exhibition, arena events, helicopter pleasure flights, children’s entertainment areas, airshow hospitality and bandstand concerts. As a grand finale, a tribute to military personnel past and present takes place in a moving Sunset Ceremony at the bandstand, followed by a fantastic fireworks display from Eastbourne Pier.

This year the show has achieved more sponsorship than ever before with a list that includes City Sightseeing, Eastbourne Arndale Centre, Eastbourne & District Chamber of Commerce, Eastbourne Herald, Eastbourne Hospitality Association, Red Eventful Cuisine, SITA, Specsavers and the South East England Development Agency.

For more information visit www.eastbourneairshow.com

Keep your eyes peeled for some spectacular aerial stunts this coming Bank Holiday.

The 21st Westcliff Casino Southend Airshow is bigger and better than ever and a brilliant line up is planned.

The ever popular RAF Harrier is returning to wow the audience with some trademark manoeuvres – including its famous hover, and swooping in from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire is the RAF’s front line, state-of-the-art fighter jet, the Typhoon.

The Tucano and Hawk will be jetting in and showing off some fancy flying, and one of the most exciting additions to the programme is the ‘Patrouille Reva’. This unique French display team have flown at a number of international airshows and this will be the first time they fly over Southend.

Also making their debut are the Blades, the UK’s newest aerobatics display team. Flown by world class ex-military pilots, it promises thrills and spills unseen in Southend and around the world.

Walking in the air will be firm favourites the Utterly Butterly Flying Circus Wing Walkers, who’ll amaze onlookers with daredevil wing walking.

But it’s not just planes winging their way in – the Royal Marine Commandos are going to bring some drama to the day with their boat hostage rescue and the RAF Falcons Parachute team will be dropping onto the beach. The Search and Rescue Sea King and Black Cats Lynx pair helicopters will chop their way through their routines to dazzle the assembled crowds.

Ray Thilthorpe, the Westcliff Casino Southend Airshow’s Flying Director says: “We can boast one of the most diverse flying programmes in the UK, offering dynamic display teams, military planes bristling with technology and some daredevil stunts. Keep your eye on the sky this Bank Holiday weekend!” For more info: www.southendairshow.com

Eastbourne’s skies will once again be painted red, white and blue this summer as the Red Arrows confirm their appearance at the annual FREE airshow. Taking place on the 17th – 20th August the four day extravaganza is set to be as big as ever.

The world famous Reds will be returning to Eastbourne on the Friday and Sunday at 16:30 and 12:30 respectively, leading an action packed line up which also sees the RAF Falcons Parachute Display Team jump from their plane at a height of 12,000 feet in a dramatic aerial display of spirals and smoke trails.

Eastbourne Borough Council Director of Tourism, Economy & Environment Norman Kinnish says, “It is a pleasure and a privilege to once again welcome back the Red Arrows, and the Royal Air Force to what will be an incredible 14th year in the running for this airshow. Eastbourne is proud to host such a successful event and we hope that both previous and first-time visitors will come and enjoy what promises to be another fantastic summer weekend.”

Despite rumours that the event might be cancelled following the withdrawal of its sponsor, the show will, indeed, still go on! Plans are already in full swing to organise the four day event that was last year attended by 700,000 strong crowds. Alongside the popular Red Arrows will be a variety of aerial displays from the RAF’s planes and special appearances from the Royal Netherlands and Belgian Airforces.

Back on the ground favourites returning to the Western Lawns will be the RAF Police Dog Demonstration Team and the Unarmed Combat Team, performing their expert displays to the crowds, while members of the RAF team will be on hand to answer any questions. Cockpit simulators, children’s playzones and replica aircraft all bring a slice of the sky action to the ground, and visitors can enjoy Bandstand entertainment throughout the evening.

The weekend will culminate on the Sunday evening with the moving Sunset ceremony and flypast, exploding in a spectacular firework finale over the town.

Airbourne returns from 17-20 August and is open from 10am – 6pm each day. Dedicated station Radio Airbourne, 87.7FM will be relaying all the latest information on the displays, along with exclusive interviews from the pilots. Further flying displays will be announced between now and the event; to keep up to date with all the latest news visit www.visiteastbourne.com or contact Eastbourne Tourist Information on 0906 711 2212