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See the Airshow

Captain Jack’s cabin boy was always getting in bother from daydreaming about flying like his favourite seabirds, usually earning him a clip round the ear, and the Captain telling him ‘Ah, me lad, men’ll never fly, ye need to be born with wings for that!’

 

But Cap’n Jack ain’t too proud to admit he was wrong, and he and the crew can’t wait for the Blackpool Air Show, watching these daring aeronauts take to the skies.

 

The free event, which attracts up to 100,000 visitors, has been cancelled for the past two years because of restrictions on mass gatherings.

 

But VisitBlackpool has announced that the show will return for 2022 with some of the world’s finest military and civilian aircraft performing over the iconic seafront.

 

The full line-up of magnificent flying machines that will perform at this year’s Blackpool Air Show has been unveiled.

The free two-day show on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 August will feature thrilling displays from a wide range of military and civil aircraft including the Red Arrows, the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, Typhoon, Chinook, Muscle Pitts stunt plane, Strikemaster and the AeroSuperBatics Wingwalkers.

A number of the aircraft featured in the spectacular Platinum Jubilee celebrations in London over the extended Bank Holiday weekend.

Due to COVID restrictions on large-scale events, this will be Blackpool’s first Air Show since 2019 and the first time the Red Arrows have performed in the resort since 2018.

To complement the aerial programme, there will be plenty to see and do on the ground with a wide range of stalls, attractions and food concessions in the Air Show Village on the Tower Festival Headland. This summer, the village is sponsored by the family entertainment centre – Coral Island which is located close to the Tower in the heart of all the action.

A spokesperson for Coral Island said:  “We are delighted to become the first sponsor of the Air Show Village working in partnership with VisitBlackpool. As one of Blackpool’s largest family venues, Coral Island is proud to support fantastic events like the annual Air Show. We look forward to the excitement this event will bring to the town’

The Air Show is one of Blackpool’s biggest events and usually attracts around 100,000 people over the weekend. Here’s a taste of what visitors can expect this year:

Red Arrows

The Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, the Red Arrows, is one of the world's premier aerobatic display teams. They will perform at the Blackpool Air Show on both days.

 

Flying distinctive Hawk fast-jets, the team is made up of pilots, engineers and essential support staff with frontline, operational experience. Together, they demonstrate the excellence and capabilities of the Royal Air Force and the service’s skilled, talented people.

 

With a breath-taking combination of close formations and precision flying, the Red Arrows have been displaying since 1965. Based at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, the Red Arrows had flown almost 5,000 displays in 57 countries, by the beginning of 2022 – the team's 58th season.

 

 

Battle Of Britain Memorial Flight

The Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) operates from RAF Coningsby, a Typhoon base, in Lincolnshire.

The mission of the RAF BBMF is to maintain the priceless artefacts of our national heritage in airworthy condition in order to commemorate those who have fallen in the service of this country.

 

The Flight operates six Spitfires, two Hurricanes, a Lancaster, a C47 Dakota, and two Chipmunk aircraft (primarily for training). The aircraft are flown by regular RAF aircrew.

 

The Blackpool Air Show weekend will see a display on both days by a Spitfire, Hurricane and Lancaster Bomber, one of only two airworthy Lancasters in the world.

 

RAF Chinook

The RAF Chinook Display Team, based at RAF Odiham in Hampshire, aims to demonstrate this giant helicopter’s all-round capability.

The Chinook is an extremely capable and highly versatile support helicopter that can be operated from land bases or seaborne vessels into a range of diverse environments, from the Arctic to the desert or jungle. 

The aircraft may be heavily armed and is fitted with a suite of self-defence equipment allowing it to operate across highly contested battlespace.  Chinooks are primarily used for trooping, resupply and battlefield casualty evacuation but the crews are trained to accomplish these tasks under threat from both ground and air-based enemies.

In addition to its traditional war fighting roles, the Chinook’s lifting capability is held at readiness under the National Resilience commitment to respond to emergencies in the UK; in recent years these have included resupplying snowbound farmers in Northern Ireland and moving tons of aggregate to help reconstruct flood defences damaged by winter storms.

As well as being part of the RAF Chinook Display Team, the crew are also part of a fully operational Squadron where they combine their daily training demands with practising their display sequence.

RAF Typhoon Display Team

Bring the noise! This year's RAF Typhoon Display, Callsign ‘Anarchy1’, is piloted by Flight Lieutenant Adam O’Hare, based at RAF Coningsby.

In 2021, he was selected to be this year’s Typhoon Display pilot from a short list of highly-skilled instructors from 29 Squadron. When Adam is not displaying, he is teaching the next generation of front-line Typhoon pilots how to operate the jet. 

The Eurofighter Typhoon has a top speed of more than 1400mph and is powered by two Rolls Royce engines, producing 40,000lbs of thrust.

Muscle Biplane

This year Rich Goodwin will perform at the Blackpool Air Show in the highly-modified Pitts Special S2S, his ‘Muscle Biplane’.

The Muscle Biplanes are designed to provide the ultimate in spectacular aerial entertainment. The aircraft’s extensive modification programme has given this biplane unique capabilities, which allow Rich to perform an extraordinary brand of aerobatics including torque rolls, backwards flight and knife-edge flypasts.

AeroSuperBatics Wingwalkers

Formerly known as the Breitling Wingwalkers, AeroSuperBatics are the world’s only professional formation wingwalking team.

This year, Kirsten Pobjoy and Emma Broadbent will perform on the top wings of beautiful 1940s Boeing Stearman biplanes, liveried in a striking orange, white and blue.

 

At the same time, the pilots will fly through a choreographed and energetic routine of dazzling aerobatics and close formation flypasts. These manoeuvres include loops, rolls, stall turns and inverted flight – all reaching speeds of up to 150 mph.

 

The powerful smoke system used in the display works by injecting environmentally-friendly smoke oil directly into the exhaust system.

 

Strikemaster

The Strikemaster was built by the British Aircraft Corporation at Warton in Lancashire (now British Aerospace). It was a light ground attack export version of the Jet Provost and although it was never operated by the RAF it was used extensively by air forces as diverse as Ecuador, Oman and New Zealand.

 

The plane that will display at Blackpool belongs to Strikemaster Flying Club. It was imported from Oman and is in the immaculate grey camouflage colour scheme from its entry into service with the Royal Air Force of Oman.

 

The programme will also see displays by Chipmunk and Bulldog aircraft, as well as an L39 Albatros and an Autogyro (also known as a gyroplane). There will also be an appearance from a Spitfire V, the model that was adopted by Blackpool during World War II.

 

Will we see you there? Find us opposite the Tower tram stop! 

 

The Sky is the limit for family fun at Coral Island – including the famous Kids Eat Free offer All Day Every Day at selected restaurants. 

(T’s and C’s apply – visit our website for more info  Kids Eat Free - Blackpool (coralisland.co.uk)