Southport Air Show 2022

Southport Air Show 2022

After a break in 2021, the Southport Air Show is back and bigger than ever! We are so excited to have such an exhilarating event back on our coastline; with confirmed appearances from the Red Arrows, RAF Eurofighter Typhoon and even the Republic of Korea Air Force Black Eagles.

As mentioned on VisitSouthport; “the action isn’t simply in the air – there is lots to see and do on the ground too. The military village will be in full swing over the weekend with members of the armed forces showing off equipment and answering questions from anyone interested in a career in uniform. Next to the military village will be ‘Lucy’, a replica Spitfire from Lytham St Annes, with re-enactors showing what life was like in the Battle of Britain.”

The event promises to be one of the aviation calendar’s most spectacular events, providing stunning views of the best jets, fighters, bombers, helicopters, and aerobatic aircraft.

Get into the aviation spirit by taking in the sights and sounds of Southport with history on every corner. Southport is a town rich with aviation history dating back to 1919 when Southport beach was a stop on the UK’s first scheduled air service between Manchester and Blackpool.

Here is our guide to enjoying a fun weekend in sunny Southport, plane and simple (sorry!)

Sculpture of Lockheed Electra aeroplane

On Shore Road, sited on the Southport Coastal Road traffic island next to Pontins is a sculpture of a Lockheed Electra aeroplane, above a stylised New York skyline. This is to commemorate a transatlantic flight made from Ainsdale beach to New York in 1937 by pilot Dick Merrill.

Scale Model of Spitfire Vb AB273

Above The Atkinson’s iconic staircase, you will see a replica of Spitfire Vb AB273. This art piece was created by Suhail Shaikh. As a little boy in India, his grandmother helped him make his own toys from scratch. Paper and cardboard recovered from discarded packaging was easy, fun and quick to manipulate. From making his own toys, he moved on to making detailed model airplanes.

As an aviation artist who has also had a 20-year career as a professional designer, Suhail is passionate about aviation and has a soft-spot for British aviation achievements. He is fascinated by the stories that form the backdrop to historical aircraft and is an admirer of the design philosophy of the time. Looking beyond the destructive purpose of military aircraft, his creations celebrate the original designers’ instinctive grasp of flight and their pure technical genius.

Between Land and Sea

Between Land and Sea is a museum full of the stories of the people who have lived and worked along our coast.

Aviation and motoring history was made on the long sandy beaches of Sefton. In 1903 Southport staged a number of speed trials and sprints for Motor Racing. The Between Land and Sea museum celebrates the life and work of Sefton born Frank Hornby, creator of Meccanno, and of Frank Hampson, creator of Dan Dare and co-creator of Eagle comic.

Get up close and personal with some of Southport’s best aviation victories including the story of Grahame White Aviation, early flights taking off from the Sefton sands and much more.

RAF Woodvale

Royal Air Force Woodvale, near Formby in Merseyside, is currently home to flying units providing flying training to University Air Squadron students and giving air experience flights to Air Cadet Organisations within the North West. It is also home to 611 (West Lancashire) Squadron RAuxAF.

Talks

Supermarine Spitfire BM597 saw wartime service with both 315 & 317 Polish Squadrons operating from RAF Woodvale. It is believed that BM597 is the only airworthy Spitfire to still carry its wartime Polish markings. After the war having spent time as a Gate Guardian at various Royal Air Force stations, ‘597 was used for the master moulds for replica Spitfires for the 1969 Battle of Britain movie.

Today BM597 is flown by Dave Harvey who has 35 years’ service with the RAF, as part of the Polish Heritage Flight and is even taking part in Southport Air Show demonstrations.

In this talk Dave will be looking at the local connections to this aircraft, its history, and the story behind the Polish Heritage Flight.

Alternatively, ‘Women With Wings’ is a free lunchtime talk on Wednesday 13 July 2022 delivered by author Carolyn Kirby. Carolyn Kirby explains ‘This illustrated talk tells the story of how I came to write When We Fall through the lives and careers of four female pilots of World War II.

The original inspiration for my novel lay with the amazing airwomen of Air Transport Auxiliary who overcame many barriers to fly warplanes from factories to RAF airfields during the war. My talk will focus on three of these women, including Amy Johnson, highlighting the glamour, excitement and daily dangers they faced in the skies above wartime Britain.

Flying in even more perilous skies was the Polish air force pilot, Janina Lewandowska, the real life character who is at the heart of the fictional story of When We Fall. Janina was a pioneering aviator and the only female victim of the notorious 1940 massacres of Polish prisoners of war by the Soviet Union at Katyn – the real event that underpins my novel.

Using photographs and visuals, I will explain how, over more than ten years of writing, my novel was shaped by the lives and fates of these remarkable women.”

The talk will be followed by an audience Q & A and a chance to buy a signed copy of Carolyn’s ‘When We Fall’ novel.


You can buy tickets to Southport Air Show online here. 
Under 16s go free!

Posted on 5 July 2022 under General news

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