ABOVE:
1958’s Black
Arrows set a wholly
new standard
for formation
jet aerobatics,
and cemented
a Farnborough
legend. The
16-Hunter roll the
No 111 Squadron
team performed
was as impressive
to many as the
preceding 22-ship
loops, if not more
so. KEY COLLECTION62 http://www.aeroplanemonthly.com AEROPLANE JULY 2018FARNBOROUGH AT 70
STARS of the
FARNBOROUGH
STAGE
Decades of Farnborough show
attendance have brought many
memories of some of the show’s
greatest spectacles and biggest surprises
A
s the show celebrates
its 70th anniversary at
the Hampshire airfi eld
this year, the name
Farnborough remains synonymous
with British aviation, even if the
glory days of the industry are largely
over. Today, Farnborough Airport
is privately owned and operated by
TAG, ‘a purpose-built airport for
business, for privacy, for London’ as
the website proclaims. And although
the needs of a business airport and
those of the airshow run far from
parallel, for a week in July every
two years the two co-exist without,seemingly, too much disruption on
either side.
While early Farnborough displays
had static aircraft and public access
to areas both to the north and to
the south of the main runway 07/25
(changed to 06/24 in late 2003 to
refl ect the new magnetic heading),
in recent years crowds have been
confi ned to the south side and the
barriers have become taller and more
impenetrable. That said, Farnborough
as a venue has a number of inherent
advantages conferred by the airfi eld’s
layout. The runway is aligned almost
east-west — photographers appreciatethe sun being behind them for
much of the day — while the crowd
barriers remain relatively close to the
runway edge, even if the display line
is displaced a considerable distance
to the north. What is important to
Farnborough regulars is that the
fl ying display retains its familiarity,
with commentators’ continuing to
refer to the ‘Laffan’s Plain end’ (west)
and the ‘Black Sheds end’ (east).
For my sins, I’ve attended every
Farnborough show since, well, the
early 1950s. I’d like to recall some of
the events that, for me, represent the
highlights of that time.WORDS: DENIS J. CALVERT
54-56,61-66_AM_Farnborough_July18_cc C.indd 62 04/06/2018 17:25