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 Thunder City, UK
Gary Parsons spends more time there than he should...All pictures by the author unless credited otherwise. Days of Thunder Massive thunderstorms greeted the arrival of the Israeli Air Force F15Is to RAF Waddington during the evening of Tuesday 26 June - it was as if Ra'am (raw-am'), the God of Thunder, was welcoming his offspring. The fact that the three Ra'ams (Thunders) were there at all was a coup for the Airshow organiser Paul Byram, who had pulled off something that so far no other European Airshow has managed to do - a full flying demonstration by this operational Israeli strike fighter.
Many were disappointed that the display was only flown on the Sunday, but this was the Israelis' choice as Saturday is the Jewish Sabbath and so no 'work' can be done. To make up for it they asked to fly twice on Sunday, much to the delight of those that chose the second day to attend the show. Welcome to the Thunderdrome
Above & beyond It was a star line-up in anyone's book. Ranging from Denny Dobson to a Sentry/Nimrod flypast from the home team, the flying was full of choice acts throughout the afternoon. Highlights included the absolutely gorgeous Meteor NF11 and Vampire displays, plus a Hunter and Gnat duo that really works. How about a French Navy Falcon 50 - can you remember the last time one did a full flying display? It is the mood of a brilliant airshow - you end up liking it all.
Tempering the success was the loss of both the Su27
Flanker and Sea Vixen - the Russian act once again failed to appear due to ‘paperwork
problems’, the confirmation of cancellation only being relayed to Waddington on the
Friday morning, way to late to take out of the advance publicity. To say The Sea Vixen’s absence was more understandable, as
it had suffered an undercarriage problem before it was due to depart Bournemouth for
Waddington. Its display slot was ably filled by Challenges Aviation's recently acquired
Meteor NF11 WM167, Dan Griffith again providing a superb demonstration of the veteran
jet’s capabilities. As at Duxford in May, the Meteor was not Dan’s only display
of the day as he also piloted the Vampire, again providing photographers in the crowd with
some excellent opportunities. Tom And of the rest? Most notable was the B1B display, as different as chalk and cheese on each day. Saturday's 'display' was tame to say the least, but Sunday brought a fresh crew and some wonderful low top-side passes with a roll-out at the end. The differences in display were subtle, but the effect was magnified ten-fold to the watching crowd. Speed and power is what they crave, and this guy gave it his best. Competing for star act among the foreign fast jets was Major Gyula Vari in his Hungarian Mig-29, Captain Patrick Daehler and the Swiss F18, Captain Romero Cuenca in the Spanish EF18 (although he would have won an award for having the scruffiest aircraft), Captain Bernd Roschmann's German F4F and the two Benelux F16 displays. They all gave the competing RAF home team of Tornado GR1, F3, Jaguar, Hawk and Harrier a good run for their money, but in the end it's personal preference and any one could have justifiably walked away with the honours.
Stars of Waddo
Probably the most interesting non-RIAT static ever seen
at a UK airshow - Israeli, Polish, Spanish,
Greek - it was certainly a blend of international
visitors. The fighter line on the main taxiway may have been shorter than intended,
but headed up by the third F15I it also had a high-class feel with a Citation, Matadors and Greek Mirages.
Yes, thirty-one aircraft were missing, but most wouldn't mind that there wasn't a
Lakenheath F15, Spang F16, or Norwegian F16 (there should have been four!). Perhaps it was
surprising not to have a EP3E Sir? That'll do nicely, thank you. Just like the one forced down in China, the EP variant is a rare visitor to these shores and contrasted nicely with the similarly bulge-endowed Sentrys of the home team. It wasn't possible to rustle up a Chinese Air Force J-8 to park alongside, but you need something to aim for next year (no pun intended). Alpha dispersal was positively dripping with goodies, as an E8 J-STARS sat alongside a Canadian KCC130H, Norwegian P3 and B1B.
There was one if you looked hard...German Air Force Tornado 46+44 from JbG32 sported a small dragon on the portside, just in front of the engine intake. Must be some sort of Teutonic humour, one supposes. Fresh from the recent Tiger Meet at Kleine Brogel, the Tornado was undoubted star of the 'Tiger Gathering', its 'torn metal' scheme must be one of the best for many a year. A close second was KC135E 80040 from the New Jersey ANG, who re-paint a new Tiger every year on one of their tankers. More normally seen at Leuchars, the pressure will now be on them to paint another one by September! Most of the rest of the Tiger aircraft were plain unit aircraft, but it was still good to see a Mirage 2000D and sister 'B model from CEAM 330, Istres. Two French Tucanos looked a bit out of place, but they are from a Tiger unit, despite its training role. And it was warm!
For once the weather was reasonable - a small brief
drizzly shower Saturday lunchtime ensured Waddington’s wet weather record remained
intact, but for the rest of the weekend warm, muggy conditions prevailed with a
south-westerly breeze cooling the vast crowdline. One Thankfully, after such an awful start to the month the weekend was incident-free, except for a RTA on the taxiway! Aerostars Yak 50 RA01293 was damaged whilst taxying into the back of a Ford Focus, but fortunately no injuries were received, except to the driver's and pilot's pride and reputation. Half a propeller blade was broken off when it came into contact with the rear offside of the Focus, plus damage was received to the cowling. It is going to be a very interesting sketch on the insurance claim form! So one nearly new Focus for sale, needs slight attention... It's all for charity, mate
Acknowledgements: Thanks to the Airshow Office, Waddington CRO Jacqui Wheeler and her staff and the RAF Waddington website for their help and assistance.
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Indeed, such was the
originality of the act that the Israelis themselves had no display routine for the F15I,
so one had to be devised from scratch, commencing less than three weeks before the airshow
date. A stunning rehearsal involving the release of 
It had been a long road in securing the Israelis.
An invite was sent early in the year by the RAF's Chief of the Air Staff as a return
gesture for the participation of a Tornado GR1 display in Israel a couple of years ago. To
the surprise of many the invite was met with unbridled enthusiasm, despite the troubles
afflicting the Middle East at the present time. Even more of a surprise was the offer to
send no less than three F15I Thunders, plus a Special Ops C130, and that they wanted
to fly the Ra'am...The only problem the airshow office faced was the ability to officially
announce it, as Ministerial approval was needed and there was an election about to happen.
So, in the end it sort of 'leaked out', after much speculation in the enthusiast circle as
to what the 'special feature' may be. Supported by two Boeing 707 support aircraft, a 
Such
was the in-bred security ethos of the Israelis that even when asked and then told which
squadron they were from, they still declined to confirm the information! This didn’t
mean that they were uncommunicative or unfriendly - far from it, as freebies were handed
out with pleasure, it’s just that when it came to hard facts, little was divulged! It
was thought that guards were to be posted twenty-four hours a day around the Thunders, but
in the event no special measures were taken and the jets received the usual level of
attention as any other visiting NATO aircraft would.
the Airshow organisers were upset would be to
understate the issue - let’s just say the Russians won’t be invited back in the
near future. As with Biggin Hill, it left a big hole in the bill, both programme-wise and
financially, but there was much more to the Waddington programme to enjoy, so ultimately
the Flanker’s absence was a distant memory by Saturday lunchtime. In all Waddington
lost over thirty aircraft in the potential line-up, including a French E2 Hawkeye, B52,
F104s and Saab 105s - it's a reflection on the quality that no-one really noticed.
Moloney
Squirrel, Griffin, Lynx or Gazelle - but let's face it, we have seen them all
before and no doubt will again. Another 'first' for Waddington was the appearance of
the RAF's newly acquired C17A Globemaster III 
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
aspect of
Waddington’s organisation that should be applauded is its disabled facilities, a
generous compound on the crowdline supported by free-to-use disable chariots provided many
less mobile enthusiasts the opportunity to get close to the action and sample the vast
trade stand areas which sell everything from saunas to cars. 
Many were amazed to see that the Hungarian
aircrew were selling AK-47M Kalashnikov bayonets, complete with scabbards! Waddington
tries to cater for all members of the family, a craft fair and fun-fair are available if
you really feel the urge...
It was by far Waddington’s busiest show weekend to date - an
estimated 80,000 on the Saturday was exceeded by 20,000 the following day. 
Such is the demand for
high-quality airshows that the success of the show was never really in doubt, although the
organisers believe good weather and the cancellation of major events, such as the
Lincolnshire Show, contributed to the crowd. Bookings had been at record levels pre-show,
which all contributes to over £250,000 raised for charities - £100k for RAFBF, £100k
for RAFA and £50k for local charities. Long queues developed each morning, some being
stuck for up to three hours - it all seems to be part of the airshow experience this year.
It's an old adage that "You can
please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but not
all of the people all of the time". Well, Waddington very nearly pulled off the
latter, a very remarkable feat in these insatiable times - unless you were stuck in those
queues of course! Now the work is on to make 2002 yet bigger and better - make sure you're
free 
