A sneak preview of Farnborough Airshow 2010

Airbus A400M - Image with thanks Paul Dopson/Flight Global

This afternoon, I headed over to the Farnborough Airshow for a sneak preview of what the show is going to offer.

The whole airfield and exhibition halls were a hive of activity with over 6000 contractors working flat out to get everything ready for the gates opening for trade visitors on Monday.

The coordination that must go into organising this event is beyond comprehension.

I only managed a couple of hours this afternoon but did catch a few really cool aircraft arriving and some awesome validation displays.

As luck would have it, I bumped into Neville Beckett an aviation writer and photographer for Aviation News. Neville told me that at his very first airshow (at Farnborough in 1952) as an 11 year old boy, he witnessed the tragedy of John Derry’s de Havilland DH.110 Sea Vixen break up while performing a manoeuvre that killed him and 29 spectators while his wife watched from the crowd.

As a result of this terrible accident safety guidelines have been developed that has ensured no member of the public has been killed at a British airshow since. In fact today I witnessed a number of aircraft carrying out validation flights which ensure the display manoeuvres are safe and that the flying aircraft do not get to close to the crowd line.

I also bumped into some ex colleagues from the Event Medicine Company who have provided first aid cover at the Farnborough and other Airshows for a number of years. They will have over 60 paramedics, doctors and first aid proffesionals on duty leading up to, during and after the airshow.

A C17 landed at Farnborough today with a helicopter inside for the static display - Image with thanks Paul Dopson/Flight Global

As with all airshows, the stars are the aircraft themselves. Today I saw some superb aircraft. A couple of which are quite special. Airbus have a huge presence at the airshow with the A380 and the A400M.  I watched the Lynx Wildcat helicopter being unwrapped, brand new out of the box. The example at the airshow is only one of two prototypes in existence and has not yet flown.

The Vulcan flew in for its validation display from RAF Fairford where this weekend it is displaying at RIAT. It did not even land. It did its display and flew back to Fairford. But the display was awesome and a real privilege to watch. Ill be blogging more about XH558 and the Vulcan to the Sky project in a later post.

I will be at the opening of the airshow on Monday so follow the Surrey Heath Twitter for info from the show. But also worth following are Tony Stevenson and Paul Dopson. What these guys don’t know about aviation is not worth knowing.