Thursday 17 September 2015

A day out at The Scottish AirShow 15

There are many advantages to living in such a beautiful part of the world, one of those advantages is being near an airport and getting to watch The Scottish Air show which came to our area earlier this month.

Daughter No 3 ( H) and SIL (M) had promised Bob and Fifi they would take them along with their other nephew K. So we were meeting up with the later in the day as we were going in early to watch the storming of the beach. Sadly for security purposes this had been scaled back and was not as impressive as we had hoped for. Had a commentary throughout which was handy but was quite difficult to see what was happening behind the fence that made the enemy compound.

waiting for the storming

the battleship

the enemy await the troops

the troops come ashore



placing explosives on the boats

storming the compound



helicopter backup during the storming


So after the storming was over we headed back to where all the stalls were to have a look. The show has grown massively from last year, this is the second year it has been back in the area, they estimate 50,000 attended last year with 120,000 this year. Both years we have been blessed with good weather and blue skies. There was a huge amount of stalls to wander round with not enough time to see everything.

I took some random photos of things that appealed.

crowd reflected in wing mirror

curly coloured pipes

reflected in a truck wheel

I liked the design


At this point we wandered back to the car to grab some lunch that we brought with us. We are lucky to have access to a garage just round the corner from the Low Green.

Whilst we were eating lunch H phoned to say they had arrived, so we went across to meet them.
Bob and K were having their faces painted when there was an impromptu flyby display.


an impromptu flyby 


At this point we decided to wander down and watch the first half of the Air Show and stopped to let the children onto various things.



Bob and K on the bike

Bob on the bike

Fifi on the bike


I appreciate that the aeroplane pictures are not the best, I have an £80 point and shoot, so time I found the planes, pointed, focused and clicked they had moved. But will give you an idea of the variety of planes to be seen, and the pictures may not be good but the memories are.








So once part one was over H took Fifi back to get her face painted while David, M and I took the boys to see other things to play on. Sadly, as is to be expected, there were huge queues for most things.



Bob and K on a tractor


Bob with a red arrow

Bob on another tractor

the three boys


So it was soon time to head back for the second part of the air show. The children had begun to bore with the planes, after all they do live under the flight path and see planes on a daily basis and don't see the interest, so we decided to wander down the beach to stand so that they could play.



making a wall round his castle

K had not wanted to eat his lunch when the rest of them did, so he ate his down here on the beach. H was teaching him about Bob and his food issues and made sure he ate well away from Bob. For all what he was eating was not an issue it is something he will have to learn about as he gets older.

a joint project


This is a Vulcan. Today was the last ever Scottish Air Show it will fly at as it is retiring at the end of the year. But it had an issue and had to do an emergency landing at the airport. The landing wheels had become stuck. Thankfully all went well and pilot and plane were safe. You can read about it here. This caused a slight delay in the programme but was unavoidable. So not the best picture but a piece of history.

#ScottishAirShow15
the vulcan

The highlight of the day for me had to be the Red Arrows. Last year they were cancelled due to weather conditions else where in Britain and they could not get airborne. Their displays are just amazing and for all you know two planes are not going to hit head on your still expecting the bang.

I wonder how you train to be that good. I mean these planes fly at time approx six feet apart. There is no error in training to be off your line. All you have to do is sneeze to cause a major accident.

Not a lot of pictures of these as I was too busy enjoying the display to want to take pictures.

five do a manoeuvre

all nine planes. a tribute to the Spitfire 

two fly past each other. Looks better if you look at it full size.


So the Red Arrows was the finale and we headed back to the car. Have to say traffic logistics were much better dealt  with this year, last year they had not expected so many people and Ayr became gridlocked for a few hours after the show finished. This year was much better.
Scotrail tweeted they had brought in 11,000 people to the event, and when we drove back past the station the queues were very long but passengers were tweeting how quickly they got on trains and were under way for the journey home.

This is a totally free event but takes a lot of money to put on. The Scottish Airshow page tells us

We have had so many messages of support during and after the 2015 Scottish Airshow.
We are in the early stages of planning and booking for the 2016 show. Last year it took us nearly the whole year to raise the finance for the 2015 Scottish Airshow. That held us back in many areas.
We have been very encouraged by the hundreds of messages we have received about last weeks show and we are very keen to get going with 2016.
Almost 120,000 people watched the Scottish Airshow last weekend and if everyone made a £1 donation we would be well on our way to booking aeroplanes and many other things for 2016. If you want to donate more that would be fabulous.
We have opened a Just Giving campaign to allow everyone to turbo boost the 2016 Scottish Airshow into action.
If you want to say thanks for the 2015 Scottish Airshow and yes to a bigger and better 2016 show then please give what you can to this appeal.
Please share to all your friends.
Doug Maclean on behalf of the Scottish Airshow
So if you went this year or fancy going next year why not give them a £ or 2.





Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall  Monkey and Mouse

12 comments:

  1. It looks like you all had a fabulous day exploring the air show and watching all the displays, even if the kids got bored towards the end of it. I think it's fab that they split the day into two events so that you could explore the stalls and stands too. You got some fab photos, I love action shots of helicopters and planes in the sky. Thanks for linking up with me on Country Kids.

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    1. there was so much to explore, we maybe did a quarter of it in and out various tents and things.

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  2. What a neat variety of planes! Looks like a fun family day.

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    1. it was a great day out, and I have to say ours were not the only children building on the beach.

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  3. It certainly sounds like there was loads to keep families entertained. What great news that so many more people attended this year #countrykids

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    1. I think it is lovely when people support these sorts of events, especially with them being free, and the promoters know it is worth their while.

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  4. I love the red arrows and I love days out like this. I can't believe how many people attend now, that sounds incredible. Hopefully not too overcroweded though. It sounds like there were loads to do. Although I'd want to get my face painted too haha (so glad I have the excuse to now I have my daughter).Even if they kids did get a bit bored, it sounds like it was a great day out. Thank you so much for linking this up to #whatevertheweather x

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    1. I think because it is free on the Saturday adds to the huge crowds. The kids were not bored as such, just disinterested in the planes/

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  5. I am only on my second year here in the UK and I haven't seen the red arrows yet. It's in my bucket list to see. I really love your photos and it looks like a good family day out. xx

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    1. they are amazing, and well worth traveling to visit.

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  6. A great variety of planes and lots to see and do. We went to the military show in Stirling last year and there are a lot of similar things there, I imagine both my boys would love it. We'll definitely make a point of going next year I think. I love the Red Arrows, they are amazing to watch, I would probably be the same and be too busy watching to take too many photos. At least the adults had lots of fun even though the kids got bored earlier.
    Thanks so much for linking up to #Whatevertheweather :) x

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    1. well worth a visit, we have been lucky weather wise the last two years, here is hoping for next year

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