Airwaves Portrush 2019 - 31st Aug/1st Sept

[Angry Turnip]

By the time the Globalstars get to where ever it is they are planning to refuel,it`s going be late on. Not sure if they would use Causeway Airfield after all the rain.

https://www.flightradar24.com/GIIRP/21eb1595

[jasT1981]

Left on 4pm.train. Vrry low attendence and baffling that Portrush are saying typhoon has had to pull out due to engine issues since itwas never coming

[Angry Turnip]

They are getting some ear bashing about that on their Facebook page, people are not happy being fibbed to.

[jasT1981]

OK, show was very hit and miss. Again, long periods of waiting around (mostly weather related due to no parachute display) But by 1:50pm I had seem 30 seconds of a glider.

The bad

Static displays - As usual the Spitfire and Heli's from UAS as well as the UMVC (smaller collection than normal) and the RN Merlin parked up on its own at Tennis courts. Huey and Loach no show for 2nd year in a row due to weather. Nothing overly inspiring that we haven't seen before.

Stalls - Non existent. Very few vendors selling things.

Programmes - Non existent, none produced this year.

Crowds - I am not a crowd expert, but if there was 25,000 there today then its a result. Very poor turn out.

Social media -Baffling - Telling people the Typhoon had to cancel when it was never booked is shocking.

It was always going to be a troubled year with no Reds or Typhoon.

The good

The air displays - Yes, no real star power but I did enjoy them. Never seen the Bronco or Yak 3 (though Yak was too far out) and Wingwalkers/Catalina as good as always. Only others I saw was S92, Glider & Autogyro. I left at 3.45pm after the Catalina to get the 4pm train. P47 had cancelled, and no disrespect to Mark Jefferies or Gerald Williams, but I've seen Team Raven and Global Stars so many times now. I also didn't fancy a long wait with the cancellations so packed up and went home.

Weather cancellations can't be helped. That is out of the organizers control. But with the reduced stalls etc and the lack of anything different on previous years it seems Portrush went all out for the golf and this year's airshow was an after thought.

I don't mean any of the above in a disrespectful manner. It just didn't have an airshow feel to it today.

[Fly757X]

The good

The air displays - Yes, no real star power but I did enjoy them. Never seen the Bronco or Yak 3 (though Yak was too far out) and Wingwalkers/Catalina as good as always. Only others I saw was S92, Glider & Autogyro. I left at 3.45pm after the Catalina to get the 4pm train. P47 had cancelled, and no disrespect to Mark Jefferies or Gerald Williams, but I've seen Team Raven and Global Stars so many times now. I also didn't fancy a long wait with the cancellations so packed up and went home.

Weather cancellations can't be helped. That is out of the organizers control. But with the reduced stalls etc and the lack of anything different on previous years it seems Portrush went all out for the golf and this year's airshow was an after thought.

I don't mean any of the above in a disrespectful manner. It just didn't have an airshow feel to it today.

I'd have to agree, although there was no "big draw" this year. The displays were all of a good standard with plenty of variation on previous years. The CN235 was a nice site (albeit, it was only a short lived encounter.)


It is very evident however that the money was poured into the Open which is completely understandable this year. However going forward they need to find the balance between attractions of the ground and actual displays, something I haven't personally seen found since 2011.

[casper]

What time is the Catalina due to display today? She's suppose to be landing at Enniskillen after so might take a race up for that.

[purehedger]

Catalina left eglinton around 1250pm

[purehedger]

Catalina now on way to Enniskillen. Just left eglinton

[jasT1981]

I'm glad to see today went a good bit better for Portrush. However a rethink is needed. Organizers can't be blamed for no Reds or Typhoon, but they had no plan B given how much notice they had of no Reds or Typhoon. They delivered essentially the same show as every year without the RAF assets. Certain displays were not even inquired about that should have been that are real crowd favorites.

Newcastle on a lot smaller budget produced a better 1 day show.

[Angry Turnip]

There was a report just on BBC1 NI and it showed a few clips from the show, the report showed and mentioned the Huey doing the Poppy Drop, did it make it over after all,

or were the Beeb using old stock footage and telling fibs?

Also I see quite a few folk saying that the Open golf took away from the airshows funding.I thought the two events were entirely separate, does any one know?

[TCX49]

Huey and Loach where both there today on static display and Huey did the Poppy Drop.

[jasT1981]

Budget was apparently £220k without sponsorship. Don't think anything was diverted but I do think the airshow was still a throw together afterthought this year.

[Angry Turnip]

Huey and Loach where both there today on static display and Huey did the Poppy Drop.

Thanks for confirming this.

[jasT1981]

The good news for Portrush (And Scotland) is Bournemouth is moving the date of their show for 2020 and will now be the 20-23rd August.

 This was an issue over the last few years of having 3 major shows on the 1 weekend (Typhoon etc)  Hopefully that means more RAF aircraft can be allocated to Scotland and Portrush and more aircraft are available for 2020 instead of being spread from the North and South of the UK on the one weekend.

[Tango Tango Fanta]

Jeff Brownhut was buried on Sunday. Jeff and his wife organised the Derry shows, which became the Portrush shows in 2002. His last show was in 2013.
He had his own hypnotist show and blindfold driving stunt show in the 70s and 80s, represented many household names of that era and made about 300 visits to NI over the years. Even in the bad old days.
He knew everyone in the display industry and built Portrush into something way bigger and better than anyone else could have. His black book of contacts was priceless. In the good old days he could phone a base commander and order up a Nimrod or Vulcan. The last few shows were frustrating for him for health reasons and for banging his head against all the new regs.
He was a great man.

[Angry Turnip]

Sorry to hear that, I can imagine his frustrations of budgets, and at what the CAA have done to airshows. RIP.