I have been to some trade exhibitions before, but I think Farnborough Airshow has to the biggest and best show I have ever been too. The chalets and stands were simply incredible.
Every detail had been carefully thought through to make the visitor experience one they would not forget and the staff on hand providing information had a nothing to much trouble attitude.
This is a serious trade show. Big business’s are battling it out to win contracts and orders. Middle Eastern carrier Emirates ordered 30 new Boeing 777-300ERs. The deal disclosed at Farnborough today is estimated to be valued at $9.1 billion. For some of the best Farnborough Airshow news visit the Flight Global special Farnborough micro site.
It was hard to know where to begin so I just got in amongst it and started with all the aircraft on static display and there were lots.
JF-17 on static display - Image with thanks Paul Dopson/Flight Global
There has been a huge amount of buzz about the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the Airbus A400M Grizzly so it was very cool to be able to get up close to them as well as some other very smart aircraft.
Vulcan and Red Arrows opened the show - Image with thanks Paul Dopson/Flight Global
I even got to take a look inside some aircraft. I sat in the co pilots seat of the C130J and looked through its HUD or Head Up Display. The actual C130J on static display at the airshow is the newest aircraft of its type in the US Airforce. It even had the new car smell about it. The cockpit is very modern with digital displays instead of the countless dials found in older aircraft. Pilot, Capt Sam Bartron told me he and his crew had flown the aircraft from Ramstein Airbase in Germany. Load Master for the C130J, Tim Parritt told me that he can fit either 3 humvees, 92 paratroopers or 1 Huey in the back of his aircraft.
Last week I watched the C17 arrive from my back garden so getting to look inside was a real privilege. Its cargo bay made the C130J’s look small. I climbed up stairs to speak to the pilot Maj Jim Argento who told me that flying the C17 is a dream job. He said he gets to do all sorts of neat stuff with the aircraft like land on rough airstrips, dump a large load and depart again all within 7 minutes. I also watched the A380 take off, display and from the C17 cockpit and roof service/escape hatch. That was extremely cool.
Other note worthy highlights from the show was the fly past by XH558 Vulcan and the Red Arrows. A very rare site indeed. More about the XH558 in a later blog post.
For me, the air displays that stood out the most had to be the Blades and the F22. I was really lucky to be invited to the Blades chalet and interview Blade 2 and former Red Arrow pilot Dave Slow. Dave gave me some really cool insight as a display pilot for the RAF and as a blade. I will also blog about this later on this week.
As well as the aircraft and flying displays, the indoor pavilions were superb. Well worth a look around. If you taking children, make sure you go check out the Air Cadets stand. The show has around 200 air cadets helping out and doing a fantastic job answering questions and showing people around.
I also saw our very own Mike Drew manning the FAST stand.
If you have not already bought your ticket to the public days, which are this Saturday and Sunday, then I really recommend you do. This is the ultimate family day out. Your kids will talk about it for months after the event. If you purchase your tickets in advance you will get a substantial discount compared to buying them at the gate. All children under 16 get in for free. More info here.
