This year is the first time that I haven’t been an anorak and went to the whole four days of Airbourne 2012. I had to work! It was very frustrating listening to the planes roar, but not being able to see them!
However, I did go to the all important day, Saturday! The weather was superb, although a bit windy, but the show was still pretty amazing. My youngest son came down the night before and we all spent a really lovely day together. I had 565 photos to sort through and edit from two days. I still haven’t gotten through all of them.
Here are the highlights from Saturday. (Not in sequential order!)
The show opened with The Sea King. We watched the Sea King practice the weekend before, so it was like a double bill for us. Watching a mock rescue can make you appreciate what these guys go through when doing a real one, especially when conditions are not ideal. This is also our new life boat, The Diamond Jubilee!
The Vulcan was the real star of the show! It cost over £10 million pounds to restore her for performing this year. She went so slow, so all could admire her and take photos! It was amazing!
These guys are very fast. They are so fast that it is nearly impossible to get both of them in the same shot, which is why the one I did get is blurry. They are extremely fast. Did I mention how fast these guys are?
Some of you might wonder why a girl like me is ga-ga over planes and airshows. I have always loved planes. My father used to take me and my younger brother to Newark Airport, before it got re-developed into an International Airport, to go and watch the planes land and take off. Before the North Terminal became the North Terminal. Yup, I am that old! I love how fast they can go. I remember, when I was a child, watching a program on TV about Concord. I lived under the Heathrow flight path for over 20 years and watched Concord fly over my house every night for many years! It was noisy, but really cool. I was able to see them lower the wheels! Although I intensely disliked the constant drone of the planes, I still love planes. The old ones are amazing. I can’t believe how much destruction was caused by bombs and planes. The fact that some pilots survived is incredible considering the average age of a pilot in WW2 was 22 and the average lifespan of a pilot was 4 weeks!
I also love the challenge of capturing a fast-moving object in my camera. Sometimes I get it, and sometimes I don’t. What I really love though is that Airbourne takes place on the seafront, it is free, and the weather has generally been really good. The atmosphere is festive and congenial. The whole thing is extremely civilised. It is great to see people gathering together and having a really good time.
I hope you enjoyed the photos. Maybe next year you can come down and see the show for yourself! 🙂
Arlene's New Beginning 