Skip to main page content (AccessKey S)
 |
 |
RAF Leuchars Airshow 2009: Vulcan XH558 at Leuchars More Airshow Images |
St Andrews' fame as the Home of Golf comes from the courses laid out on links land on the south side of the River Eden estuary. But for one Saturday each September this part of Fife becomes better known for an event on the north side of the estuary: the RAF Leuchars Airshow. One of the best in the UK, the next airshow will take place on 12 September 2009.
|
||||||||||||||||||
For information about tickets, about the aviation enthusiasts' weekend or about corporate hospitality, see the RAF Leuchars Airshow website or the contact information on the right. A real bonus at Leuchars is that the show is an easy walk from Leuchars railway station, and combined rail and entry tickets make for easy access from most of Scotland and beyond.
The RAF Leuchars Airshow combines a day-long flying programme with a varied and extensive park of static aircraft and supporting displays in some of the hangars. Plus aircraft arrivals and flying display practice on the preceding Friday for aviation enthusiasts. For those who want more from a day out than just aeroplanes, the airshow also offers a fun fair, a craft fair, and a large outdoor market, though with a distinctly aviation theme. Or you can test your luck or skill, and risk spending the rest of the day wondering what to do with the four foot tall fluffy tiger or bear you've won.
 Red Arrows (Image: Nick Henry) |
|
 Lorraine Kelly at the 2006 Airshow |
|
 Briefing Visiting Pilots |
|
 Tornado Gr4 and Crew |
|
 Two Young Airshow Visitors |
|
 Aircrew, Veterans and Enthusiasts |
|
 Spectators on a Driech Day: 2008 |
|
 Vulcan and Two of her Crew |
|
 Pipe Band |
You either love aircraft, or you don't. For those who do, RAF Leuchars can usually be relied on to provide a collection of those classic aviation moments guaranteed to bring the whole airfield to a standstill as everyone stops what they are doing to watch the display.
A perennial favourite at Leuchars is the RAF's Red Arrows display team, which has now been performing for over 40 years, and which performed its 4000th display at Leuchars in 2006. It's fascinating to look at images of their displays and see refuelling teams on top of their trucks, aircrew on the roofs of static display aircraft and people working on the far side of the airfield standing on the nearest grassy mound, all simply to get a better view of something most of them have seen many times before. Humans aren't given to perfection, but the Red Arrows come about as close to it as most of us will ever see.
And a mesmerising performance by a Harrier vertical take off and landing aircraft - now nearing the end of its operational life - often features in the flying display. You might have seen earlier versions of this aircraft do much the same thing for three decades: but watching a Harrier stand still in mid air, reverse, move from side to side, or bow to the crowd, simply through the sheer power (and noise) of its single engine is the next best thing to magic, and always will be.
And the third "show stopper?" This is the sound of the Merlin engine, whether singly in Spitfires and Hurricanes, or as the four that power the Lancaster of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF). There is something about these classic and evocative aircraft that reaches across the generations since they were themselves in the RAF's front line.
2008 introduced a brand new, yet also very old, addition to the list of show-stopping moments. On the Friday before the airshow, Vulcan XH558 arrived at Leuchars and did a brief display for those setting up the airshow and for the enthusiasts enjoying the two day package. XH558 returned to the sky in October 2007 after more than a decade's restoration by the Vulcan to the Sky Trust.
Nearly a quarter of a century after the Vulcans were retired from the RAF, those who saw her fly during the weather-affected 2008 UK display season shared a magnificent experience. Sadly the weather on the day of the Leuchars Airshow did not allow her to fly - she is restricted by Civil Aviation Authority rules to flying in visibility of at least 5km and a cloudbase of at least 2000ft - so she had to make do with fast runs along the runway.
Images on this page and on the additional page of airshow images give an impression of the range and variety of what was on show in recent years' airshows. After a run of good weather airshows, and no airshow in 2007 because of runway reconstruction, 13 September 2008 brought very poor weather for flying, though the organisers and aircrew did their utmost to add as extensive a flying display as possible to the normal range of ground-based attractions on offer.
The 2008 static aircraft display featured the usual strong representation by the USAF, with a line up of heavy metal including the E8-C JSTARS Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System, the B-52H, the KC-135, plus a number of F-15 Eagles. The Czech Air Force was also well represented by an L-159 Alca training aircraft, a Swedish-built JAS 39 Gripen fighter, and an An-26 transport aircraft.
Many other aircraft types were also represented, ranging from Typhoons, Tornados, Harriers and a Phantom to vintage and rare aircraft, like the Yugoslavian-built SOKO P-2 Sparrowhawk light attack aircraft, only four of which are now flying in the world, and whose arrival showed it to be a strong competitor to the Vulcan for the title of the noisiest aircraft at the airshow. There was also an excellent collection of helicopters present.
Earlier years offered a variety of themes. The 2006 airshow marked the 90th anniversaries of two of the three fighter squadrons then based at RAF Leuchars: 43 Squadron and 56 Squadron. A highlight of the show was the very rare sight of a diamond nine formation of Tornado F3s flown by aircrew from those two squadrons.
2003 was all about celebrating the past, with displays from the B17 Flying Fortress Sally B & Memphis Belle amongst many others. Also at Leuchars in 2003 and celebrating their 50th year in the business were the French Armée De L'Air Patrouille de France whose blue Alphajets provide an interesting contrast to the Red Arrows.
The 2004 airshow looked to the future, with four Eurofighter Typhoons providing a focus for a programme that included displays by most of the RAF's current aircraft plus contributions from the Royal Navy, the German and Belgian Air Forces. In 2005 the focus was on what is now the RAF's last "Battle of Britain" airshow, and a rare Spitfire MkXVIII was joined by a Mustang P-51 and Invader A-26 from Scandinavia.
Add to the usual suspects a cast list that includes a lot of noise and afterburner from a range of spectacular modern fighters, the more sedate passes of the larger military aircraft and the exploits of individual vintage or aerobatic aircraft; and Leuchars can usually be guaranteed to serve up one of the most varied and entertaining flying displays you'll see anywhere.
 Leuchars Airshow More Airshow Images |
