Airshow

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An airshow is an event at which aviators display their flying skills and the capabilities of their flying machines, normally to the public, but occasionally to selected invited guests, or employees and their families only.

Many airshows are held for commercial motives, gaining income from onlookers or from companies hoping to sell aircraft. Others are held on military bases and are mostly paid for by recruiting budgets, and some are held to raise funds for charities. Usually they are arranged at airfields in which case a variety of static aircraft and helicopters might also be on view. Less often shows are held over the sea near coastal cities or resorts. Where space allows, other entertainments and market stalls may add to the attractions on offer at an airshow.

The year's airshow schedule is usually defined during the end of the preceding year. The lineup of pilots and aircraft to be in attendance at each airshow is tentatively determined around February and March, but can change at any time. With a handful of exceptions (such as the mid-winter airshow at MCAS Yuma, AZ), the airshow "season" starts in early spring and ends around mid-fall (mid-autumn). Magazines aimed at aircraft enthusiasts will normally include a list of airshows in their February, March or April editions. Shows at military bases are liable to be cancelled or postponed during periods of international tension.

Before the second world war, airshows were associated with long distance air races, often lasting many days and covering thousands of miles. While the Reno Air Races keep this tradition alive, most airshows today primarily feature a series of aerial demos of relatively short duration.

Germany banned airshows as a result of a disaster involving an aircraft collision (See Ramstein airshow disaster), but this ban was later lifted, and strict regulations put in its place.

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Safety

Image:Frecce.tricolore.fairford.arp.jpg Image:FrecceTricolori03.jpg Airshows, while spectacular to watch, present an increased risk to both spectators and aviators. Accidents occur, sometimes with a large loss of life, such as the 1988 disaster at Ramstein Air Base in Germany and the 2002 airshow crash at Lviv, Ukraine. Because of these accidents safety regulations govering airshows have become increasingly more defensive.

Airshows usually feature a series of aerial demonstrations that take place over the runway at an airfield, or over the water by a coastal city. At airshows held in US airfields, crowds are restricted from being within 500 feet of the runway, and some aircraft cannot fly within even larger distances of the crowd. While helicopters and slower aircraft may fly at 500 feet from the crowd, faster jets may be required to keep a 1500ft distance except during takeoffs, landings, and a few straight-line passes. Aircraft may only fly over the crowd or at less that 500ft distances if they are flying in a straight line or in a “banana pass”, where the aircraft starts out flying away from the crowd and turns towards the crowd, “cutting the corner” of the area where the crowd is allowed. (If the “banana pass” maneuver must be aborted or if control is lost, the energy of the aircraft will take in a line tangent to the turn, away from spectators).

Aerobatic maneuvers may only be performed if the aircraft are not heading towards the crowd. All aerobatic maneuvers must be performed inside the “airshow box”, a rectangular volume of space with the runway at one edge, extending behind the runway and up to a certain altitude over this area. No people are allowed in the airshow box except those assisting the pilot in his or her act (for examples, to hold poles the aircraft flies between, or to drive ground vehicles associated with the aerial act). This means any roads in the airshow box (such as a highway at one end of the airfield) may have to be closed.

Aerobatic pilots earn certificates that initially only allow them to perform aerobatics at higher altitudes, and only with more advanced certificates can all maneuvers be performed near the ground. Formation flying, as well as flying vintage or high-performance aircraft, also requires special training.

During US airshows, helicopters cannot bank or pitch more than 90 degrees (an imaginary line going away from the helicopter perpendicular to the plane of the rotor cannot point below the horizon).

These safety restrictions make US airshows very safe. While accidents do happen, spectators are not injured if modern safety rules are followed. Mechanical malfunctions and pilot error (most often a combination of both) are responsible for a handful of airshow accidents every year, but even then, most pilots manage to eject safely or to survive their crashes.

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Attractions

While some smaller airshows may display only general aviation aircraft, some aerobatic aircraft, and a warbird or two, most airshows will feature warbirds, aerobats, and demonstrations of modern military aircraft. Helicopter demos are less common, but most airshows will feature at least one helicopter on static display. While some airshows ("Static" airshows) feature primarily aircraft on the ground with the occasional fly-by, most airshows will have some flying being performed for almost the entire duration of the event.

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Airshows usually open their gates very early, giving spectators a few hours to wonder around the static displays before flying starts in the late morning or early afternoon. Flying usually continues until late afternoon or early evening – later at some airshows, especially evening airshows which may go into the night. In evening airshows, airplanes fly which are especially lit, which release flares or fireworks or other pyrotechnics, or which have bright afterburners. While military installations will usually ask spectators to leave once the flying ends, most airshows that take place in non-military airfields do not. This allows for airshow fans and photographers to watch the aircraft on static display depart the airfield at the end of the day, and to photograph static-display aircraft and/or departing aircraft with sunset lighting, and with fewer people obstructing their shots.

Airplanes used in aerobatic demos have powerful piston engines, light weight, and big control surfaces, making them capable of very high roll rates and accelerations. A skilled pilot will be able to climb vertically, perform very tight turns, tumble his/her aircraft end-over-end, to perform maneuvers during loops, and even to hover his/her aircraft like a helicopter with the nose pointing straight up.

Image:F-16 Fighting Falcons above New York City(2).jpg Military jet demos will often focus on the capabilities of the aircraft used in combat operations. The demo will include their very short (and very loud) takeoff rolls, fast speeds, slow approach speeds, as well as their ability to turn tight (in order to evade an enemy, or to turn around for another pass at a ground target) and climb quickly, and their ability to be precisely controlled at a large range of speeds. These are usually the highlight of an airshow – the loud, fast, and exciting demos spectators will remember. This is especially true when national teams perform, such as the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds of the USA, the Snowbirds of Canada, or the European teams such as the Red Arrows, Frecce Tricolori, or Patruille Française. Each team features up to nine agile military jets performing choreographed manoeuvres, often synchronized and in large formations. More often, though, military jet demos feature one single aircraft, usually a strike fighter or an advanced trainer.

Warbird demos allow modern audiences to familiarize themselves with the sights and sounds of aviation as it was two or maybe even three generations ago. These may include limited aerobatics or mock dogfights, but more often consist of a series of straight-line passes made by one or more World-War-2-era aircraft. Many warbird demos will feature large formations of warbirds, as would have been seen during World War 2. Often, the end of a warbird demo will coincide with the beginning of a modern military aircraft demo, and the old aircraft will fly along the new aircraft in what is known as a “Heritage Flight” (US Air Force) or a “Legacy Flight” (US Navy). This is a chance to see the great advances in aviation technology that have been achieved over the past six decades.

Helicopter demos usually focus on the search-and-rescue operations these helicopters are used for – such as lowering a rescuer via a cable, having him attach the rescuee to a harness, and then pulling them back up into the helicopter. Some military helicopters may also drop soldiers or vehicles, and even fire weapons, during these rescue operations. Fire-fighting water-drops are also occasionally included. Alternately, some helicopter demos may show off the agility and maneuverability of the helicopter, and the unique “tricks” it can do - these are usually performed with light two-seater helicopters.

Airshows can also feature air races, skydiving/paragliding demos, skywriting, wingwalking demos, glider demos, aviation record attempts, hovercraft, replicas of some of the earliest aircraft, new-technology demonstrator prototypes, cargo-transport or even airdrop demos, battlefield simulations (including soldiers, ground vehicles, helicopters, airplanes, and pyrotechnics), fire-fighting aircraft (which drop water or slurry), and remote-controlled aircraft. Interesting ground vehicles, such as vintage cars, race cars, modern muscle cars, military vehicles, and even the occasional jet-powered car or truck, are also often seen at airshows. Sometimes a "race" is staged between a ground vehicle (typically a muscle car or a jet-powered vehicle) and an aircraft (typically a warbird or an aerobatic airplane).

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Historical airshows

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Major airshows

  • The two largest air and aerospace trade shows are the Farnborough Air Show (Farnborough, England), held in July on even years, and the Le Bourget Air Show (Paris, France), held in July on odd years. In addition to displays for the general public, these two shows have important showcases and display halls for professionnals. They are traditionally one of the occasions when major aerospace players announce deals.
  • The third largest aerospace trade show, Asian Aerospace, has been held in Singapore since its inception in 1981, although disagreements over a movement of the exhibition venue will see it move to Hong Kong in 2008. A new show, the Singapore Air Show, will take its place in Singapore from the same year.
  • The world's largest military air show is the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) (RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom), held annually in July.
  • The annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh airshow (Oshkosh, Wisconsin), organized by the Experimental Aircraft Association, is attended by more people and by more aircraft than any other airshow. The week-long event, typically in late July or early August, focuses on experimental aircraft, such as homebuilts and warbirds, but will also feature aerobatics acts, military aircraft, and airliners. The airshow also includes talks by famous or influential people in aviation, as well as a large area with booths where aircraft, aircraft parts, aircraft services, and aircraft memorabilia are sold, advertised, announced, or traded. The other major yearly airshow organized by the EAA is "Sun 'N Fun", held every April at Lakeland, Florida.
  • Airshows in the US that display the widest variety of modern military aircraft (helicopters, jet fighters, bombers, cargo aircraft, stealth aircraft, etc) are typically the ones held at Andrews AFB every May, NAS Oceana every September, and Nellis AFB every November. Each of these airshows will feature nearly all frontline aircraft in service with the US armed forces.
  • The US airshows with the most numerous and diverse (and often rare) warbirds include the Planes of Fame airshow held at Chino each May, and the "Thunder Over Michigan" show at Willow Run each August. The British equivalents are the three or four airshows held in Duxford througought the year, especially the Flying Legends airshow in July. The Oshkosh airshow, mentioned above, also features a large number and variety of warbirds.
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Other notable airshows

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External links

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