Windermere Airshow

[Tornado]

Saturday was amazing, a day that one of my dreams was fulfilled. I saw, and heard, and felt, the Vulcan in flight!

I missed the Yakovlev display team owing to parking difficulties, and the Jet Provost (though I heard it and just saw the fin flash over the treetops of the carpark.

The next event was the P-51 Mustang "Jumpin Jacques". It was a display that made the hairs on my neck stand up, that brutal sound and gleaming wings was incredible, it made several passes over us flashing past the treetops to my right and arcing in front of the hillside ahead and making turns and diving back in. You could get side, below, top, head-on and tail-on views of the whole airframe from where I was past the marina on the other side of Bowness.

After an half-hour pause in the programme was the BBMF Spitfire and Hurricane. Pure Merlin heaven, hearing two at once is great. Both made seperate displays and then made a very close paired final exit. They were 10 mins late and I think they probably cut the routine short to make way for the Dakota which followed (which was also slightly late). I caught the Dakota just flying over the hills on my left and was ready as it headed up the lake. Nice and stately and lovely to see.

Now for the final, and main event. Camera twitching, waiting, Vulcan is slightly late, straining my ears to catch any sound in the wind (which is strong blowing south to north plus loads of marine engines making it had to distinguish sounds). Now I should note here everythng so far has flown up from the south end of the lake on its first past so everyone is watching that end. We can't see the north end because of the spit of land and trees on it.

At about 5:10pm I hear the roar of jets, I just turn round (he's sneaked up on us from the north) and BLAM the might Delta herself roars over the trees right past us then goes up like a rocket, the pilot banks so damn fast I'm convinced he wants to roll the damn thing!!! (I swear he must have nearly gone over 90 degrees) and then that jet sound fully hits you like a sledgehammer, it noise you can't describe in words. The Vulcan then banks, dives down at us and roars past us along the lake showing the undersides off, it does its turn for the folks at the northern end and it makes another climb we can see and its a high one and he opens those engines up and the whole valley is filled with sound. He goes down, we can't hear it (the wind is blowing the sound away), he then comes in low again, zooms over and climbs like an elevator and those damn nozzles are facing me!! I'm trying to take a photo, the air is filled with roaring, the ground is shaking and the camera is shaking wildly (I'm exicited and shaken by the power of the whole thing). Its the loudest and most physical noise I've ever heard. I know I probably won't here it again and the kids around us probably never will neither.

Well then it skirts along the hilltop (if I had a million quid in my pocket by now I know where it would go) and then dives the other side of the display. He makes another pass (not quite as noisy or maybe be now I'm deaf?) and then he climbs to go home, and I mean he climbs, he then flies right above us and turns south for home.

It was the most incredible thing and I'll post some pics here (they are blurry and although on the camera maks out it was miles away it was not!). Even now two days later my neck-hairs still raise just thinking about that afternoon.
Now my final must-do is to see and hear a Lightning (esp in UK airspace!!).

Windermere is the most spectacular location for such a display, the sound echoed off the mountains and it was just perfect.

Lets hope she returns for 2010!

[Captain Canada]

Nice description......I'm imagining I'm there !



Lok forward to seeing the pics.