Kemble Air Show
Encyclopedia
Airshow
An air show is an event at which aviators display their flying skills and the capabilities of their aircraft to spectators in aerobatics. Air shows without aerobatic displays, having only aircraft displayed parked on the ground, are called "static air shows"....
held every year at Cotswold Airport in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
. Attendance has grown steadily, with the 2008 event hosting nearly twenty thousand visitors. This rise in visitors led to the rebranding of the event in 2009, which included the show being extended in length from one day to two, held on the weekend of the 20 June.
The event is one of three annual air shows that take place at Cotswold Airport, on which construction began in 1936, along with the Great Vintage Flying Weekend in May and the Battle of Britain Airshow in September. The two other events are held towards the northern edge of the airport, whilst the Cotswold Air Show is held towards the southern edge of the site, allowing for a much larger showground.
The Red Arrows
Red Arrows
The Red Arrows, officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, is the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Scampton, but due to move to RAF Waddington in 2011...
, the aerobatics
Aerobatics
Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in normal flight. Aerobatics are performed in airplanes and gliders for training, recreation, entertainment and sport...
display team of the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, were initially based at the aerodrome, and the airport is known as the team's "spiritual home". Because of this heritage, the event is one of the few airshows in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
that receives special support from the Royal Air Force, as a 'Priority 1' event.
Unlike many other air shows, where the flying displays continue uninterrupted, the flying displays at the Cotswold Air Show are stopped in the middle of the day for a lunch break. The event has become well known among aviation enthusiasts for flypasts of aircraft in unusual formations, which have become known as "Kemble Moments".
In 2009, aircraft belonging to the US Air Force appeared for the first time at the event. The year also saw the debut of the restored Vulcan bomber
Avro Vulcan XH558
Avro Vulcan XH558 The Spirit Of Great Britain is the only airworthy example of the 134 Avro Vulcan V-bombers that were operated by the Royal Air Force from 1953 until 1984. Vulcan XH558 served with the RAF between 1960 and 1985 in the bomber, maritime reconnaissance and air-to-air refuelling roles...
, a project that cost over £6m over 15 years. In 2010, the event commemorated the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
, featuring aircraft including the Supermarine Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
and the Hawker Hurricane
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
. The event was held to raise money for the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund.
2010 also featured a display named 'O'Brien's Flying Circus', which on the second display was not carried out successfully. The pilot of a light aircraft was meant to land on a trailer, but because of crosswinds
Crosswinds
Crosswinds is an album by folk rock band Capercaillie.Recorded in three days & mixed in two.-Track listing:# "Puirt a Beul/Snug in a Blanket " – 6:11# "Soraidh Bhuam Gu Barraidh" – 3:28# "Glen Orchy/Rory MacLeod" – 3:40...
, after multiple attempts they were unable to do and made a conventional landing on the runway. The event also featured aircraft from the Battle of Britain, featuring pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics is the science of using materials capable of undergoing self-contained and self-sustained exothermic chemical reactions for the production of heat, light, gas, smoke and/or sound...
and audio effects.