Airbourne 2022 Review

 

What a weekend! I was so excited for Airbourne's return and it didn't disappoint. I don't think I was the only one who missed the show, I can't remember ever seeing the beaches so packed even on the Thursday which is normally the quieter day. It helped that the organisers had managed to book the Red Arrows for all 4 days as they're always guaranteed to draw a crowd. 

There were a couple of changes to the line-up from my preview blog, the Thunderbolt was unable to come and unfortunately the F16 didn't come either which was a real shame. Shockingly the weather only intervened once with the cancellation of the parachute team due to rain first thing on Friday morning (it brightened up pretty quickly after that). 

Here are some highlights from the weekend, enjoy!

Thursday -

My Aunt and I went down on Thursday and were treated to wall to wall sunshine.

Naturally Corney was there to supervise

Thursday was the only day we saw all three of the Battle Of Britain Memorial  Flight aircraft (the Hurricane went tech on Friday and the Lancaster suffered a birdstrike en route to the show on Sunday and had to return to RAF Coningsby). 

Just gorgeous

Here they are in action -

The Slingsby Firefly was new to the Airbourne display this year and gave a graceful display on all 4 days.

The Red Arrows brought the day to a spectacular end -

Some more highlights from Thursday -

Friday -

Dad and I went down on Friday (he enjoyed a nap during the Wingwalkers - can't say I blame him), after a drizzly start the sun came out and the show got underway. 

The moisture in the air gave the BBMF Spitfire a vortex around it's propellor -

Mind the pier!

The Blades made a welcome return -

We also got our first glimpse of the Typhoon in formation with the BBMF's Spitfire.

Some more highlights from Friday -

Saturday 

Saturday was Luke's birthday so we had a picnic on the beach to celebrate the occasion. 

The birthday boy and me

L-R Jamie, Hilary, Luke, Barry and me

Jamie, Hilary and Luke

Covering all bases with my BBMF skirt in front of the Chinook

Post airshow drinks

In the air we had displays fit for a birthday picnic in brilliant sunshine. 

The Fury flew all 4 days but was at it's prettiest in the sunshine on Saturday

Rolls Royce Heritage Flight Mustang

The Strikemaster flew all 4 days of the show but I liked this photo from Saturday as it looks like it's blasting into outer space

A 'Saturday exclusive' was the appearance of the NHS Spitfire 

The MIG 15 in the sunshine

The Typhoon and Spitfire flew together again, the display was made even better as the Typhoon team were able to fly 'Blackjack' the Union Jack painted aircraft. 

The Typhoon then split off for it's own display

The Reds getting close

Another unique formation that we saw on Saturday and Sunday was The Blades flying with the Chinook

The Chinook then performed it's own display which was definitely one of the best displays of the weekend!

Here are the rest of Saturday's highlights -

Sunday 

Sunday was the cloudiest day and managed to drizzle on us a bit (note my pac-a-mac in this photo of my friends Amanda, Phil and me. 

Corney kept dry under the brim of my hat

One of the highlights of Sunday's display was Rich Goodwin's Jett Pitts

We had a flypast from a Puma 

Some more highlights from Sunday -

I didn't take as many photos or videos on Sunday as I just wanted to absorb as much as possible if this does turn out to be the final Airbourne and I wanted mental, as well as physical, pictures of the Red Arrows, Spitfire, Typhoon etc roaring over the sea. 

As is tradition the weekend was rounded off by a fireworks display on the seafront on Sunday evening. I decided to have some fun and make some slow-mo and timelapse videos of them. 

The pier looked lovely

I was lucky enough to have some of my photos published on the Sussex World over the weekend. You can see them (among other great photos) here, here and here.

I hope you guys have enjoyed my Airbourne review. I'm now waiting with baited breath to find out if they've raised enough money to have the show again next year. If you are interested in making a donation then you can do so here.

Fingers crossed for next year!

Love Jen

XxxX