Portrush Airshow 2010 photos and comments

[casper]

Post your photos and comments here.

[Chalkman]

Great day out bar the shitty weather, left Lurgan about 9.15 was parked down in the harbour car park by 10.40 - Great show put on by everyone really enjoy myself - Left ten mins before the end to beat the traffic and that worked great no delays at all. Pic isnt up to much, was only my sony cypershot.

[Xair]

Great show, really enjoyed it but cannot believe that the Typhoon gave a display after everyone had gone  . We didn't leave Portrush untill 7.10 ish as there were to many for th 6.15 train and we didn't see it.
 
Xair

[Merlin]

Chalkman, were we at the same show???

The weather in Portrush was absolutely appalling. Took less than 40 photos. You could count the number of people on Ramore Head taking photos on one hand.

Didn't buy a programme due to a complete abscence of any sellers in the marina. Walked all the way from the train station to Ramore Head, and back, and didn't encounter one seller. What was that about?? The Sea Cadets are always up on Ramore Head selling.

The display line was far too far out. Wouldn't be surprised if anyone on the beach could see anything. When the Tucano showed up the only way you could see it was by its lights 

The gyrocopter did its entire display over the beach and didn't come near Ramore Head (or Black Rocks).

In short today was a total failure, give up at 3 o'clock after sitting in the rain for 2 hours.

Wouldn't be surprised if visitor numbers are 'way' down on last year.

Apologies for the rant but I'm just extremely disappointed.

Good luck to those of you going tomorrow.

[RNASMU]

Chalkman, were we at the same show???

Didn't buy a programme due to a complete abscence of any sellers in the marina. Walked all the way from the train station to Ramore Head, and back, and didn't encounter one seller. What was that about?? The Sea Cadets are always up on Ramore Head selling.

The display line was far too far out. Wouldn't be surprised if anyone on the beach could see anything.

The gyrocopter did its entire display over the beach and didn't come near Ramore Head (or Black Rocks).

Keegster

Must say I agree. Although the weather again ruined this airshow. We parked in Kelly's car park and there were about a dozen cars there, normally you couldn't get a parking spot there. Crowds were down from last year which isn't surprising given the weather. Couldn't find a programme seller. I really can't see this airshow surviving another year, economic crisis or not. Didn't see the Typhoon even though the announcer said that it would close the show. Only my opinion  but very disappointed

[Angry Turnip]

We arrived in the town at 11.15 approx and car park below ramore was bunged-weather was looking pretty ropey to say the least,so I sort of decided it might not be worth the hassle of heading up to Ramore Head or Black rocks to sit in the rain.
 
Weather in the area was very poor until around 4ish and it cleared a bit so we headed for Portstewart to chance a look at the Reds,if they turned up.
 
From the NW200 pit area view wasn't bad and saw the single Hawk display,then AN2 and eventually the Reds appeared in Big Vixen before disappearing into the gloom.
 
I think they assessed the weather for a minute or two,and then carried out  a 5-6 min display with formations only;due to the terrible visability and very low cloud base.
In a couple of the formations,the top 2 or 3 aircraft vanished into the gloom,so it was no surprise to me that the did just a brief very flat display.
 
Murphy`s Law that the weather had been so good all week,and then the backside fell out of it today.
Yet again Portrush fell foul of the weather god`s,and from what I heard a lot of people weren`t terribly impressed with the line up or the Reds;but they did their best in very difficult conditions.
 
Didn't see or hear the Typhoon display-don`t understand why it was so late;just hope tomorrow is better.
It would be a real shame for people to go away disappointed with the show when so much hard work was put into getting it restarted.
I think we all just have to face the fact the show will be a small one,with not the most exciting line-up in the world,but for now it`s all we have in N.I so we should be grateful.
 
Re Programme sellers;I got one no trouble at all,loads of sellers in the Ramore car park and around the traffic lights in the town centre.

[RNASMU]

 

 
I think they assessed the weather for a minute or two and then carried out  a 5-6 min display with formations only;due to the terrible visability and very low cloud base.
In a couple of the formations,the top 2 or 3 aircraft vanished into the gloom,so it was no surprise to me that the did just a brief very flat display.

I think the Reds did a good job even getting there given the weather between Aldergrove and Portrush, I'm surprised they showed at all

[NWwatcher]

Did not get many photo's .. it was just one of those days. Will add one. Thanks to all who did display today in the difficult conditions.

Steven.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Angry Turnip]

Agree entirely,the weather for the Reds was awful and to be honest I half expected them to just do one or two passes,so the mini-display they did was very challenging for them.
 
Well done Red Arrows for doing anything in that messy weather

[Chalkman]

Loads of reports coming outta Lurgan around 5.50-6.00pm of a loud bang/bomb, musta been the Typhoon going sonic overhead 

[RNASMU]

Loads of reports coming outta Lurgan around 5.50-6.00pm of a loud bang/bomb, musta been the Typhoon going sonic overhead 

It may have been the residents of Kilwilkee going down to the Chippie 

[Xair]

Loads of reports coming outta Lurgan around 5.50-6.00pm of a loud bang/bomb, musta been the Typhoon going sonic overhead 

I wish it had gone sonic over Portrush at any time between 12pm and 6pm!!!!!!

Xair

[casper]

It would seem the Typhoon arrived over Portrush around 7pm.

[Merlin]

We arrived in the town at 11.15 approx and car park below ramore was bunged-weather was looking pretty ropey to say the least,so I sort of decided it might not be worth the hassle of heading up to Ramore Head or Black rocks to sit in the rain.

After today I'm thinking of buying one of those one man tents fishermen use 

I think they assessed the weather for a minute or two and then carried out  a 5-6 min display with formations only;due to the terrible visability and very low cloud base.
In a couple of the formations,the top 2 or 3 aircraft vanished into the gloom,so it was no surprise to me that the did just a brief very flat display.

At least you got a display out of them. I remember a similar thing happening a few years ago and they called the whole thing off after one turn when half the formation disappeared into the cloud.

Murphy`s Law that th weather had been so good all week and then the backside fell out of it today.
Yet again Portrush fell foul of the weather god`s and from what I heard a lot of people weren`t terribly impressed with the line up or the Reds;but they did their best in very difficult conditions.

Guilty, of the line up anyway. The lack of helicopters was definetly noticed. I know TTF and the rest did the best they could under difficult circumstances but I can't help wondering, even if the MOD couldn't provide any, what about the SAR crew from HMS Gannet, they've been over the last few years? Or what about the Huey that took part last year? Or even the PSNI heli, they have 3 now.

Has anyone approached the private owners here about taking part. I went to the 'Heli-Day' the UAS organised last year and they managed to get over a dozen helicopters, all privately owned.

I'm sorry to go on about this especially when I don't have all the facts or know what goes on behind the scenes but I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking this.

 
It would be a real shame for people to go away disappointed with the show when so much hard work was put into getting it restarted.
I think we all just have to face the fact the show will be a small one with not the most exciting line-up in the world,but for now it`s all we have in N.I so we should be grateful.

Totally agree even though I'm doing exactly what you've said. After all the effort that was put into saving the show I can't help but think that this could be the nail in the coffin. I realise the weather is doing the bulk of the damage so maybe the show should be moved to a date earlier in the year.

Just my opinion.

[Xair]

It would seem the Typhoon arrived over Portrush around 7pm.

Sounds about  right Casper. One of the lads that was doing the radio controlled display on the beach told my brother that they were flying their planes on the Beach after the main display was over and almost everyone had gone from the seafront, all of a sudden a Typhoon flew over Portrush and started doing its display. What the hell was going on??? Was there ATC??? If the show was over why did he arrive so late??? I must admit that I was very dissapointed and can honestly say that if they had told the crowd that the Typhoon was going to arrive at 7pm I would have waited.

Xair

Xair

[Merlin]

It would seem the Typhoon arrived over Portrush around 7pm.

You don't happen to know if the Typhoon was staging out of Aldergrove or did he come direct from across the water?

[sticks]

Gutted I missed the tiffie, was looking forward to seeing it again. Hopefully I'll get up tomorrow again and maybe get up to Ramore Head to get some decent photos.

Here's one from today


More when I finish processing them as I shot in RAW for the the first time 

[Angry Turnip]

We always bring a small tent for shelter,basically just to get out of the wind.
I understand completely why people are a bit disappointed with the show,and as you say the lack of helis was a big miss.
 
I suppose after going to all the shows at Portrush over the years,my expectations are a lot lower than they used to be.
No disrespect to the organisers,but I feel we should just accept the show is going to be a fairly small affair and just try and take away some enjoyment from it.
After all the show is free so it`s not really fair to be very critical-it`s better than nothing.
 
It would be nice to have a bigger variety of aircraft types and a large aircraft or 2,such as a Herc or DC6 would be good to see again,but the show has a limited budget and I think until the council can find some way of getting the crowd to pay something towards the running of the show,the same sort of aircraft are going to be in the lineup.
 
I wasnt going to bother coming up to the show at all when I saw the line up,but then I decided it would be better to suport the show and just try and make the best of it.
The inclusion of a Hunter swung it.
 
The weather today was grim,very grim,but the forecast was correct and that`s why we decided not to bother today and then go tomorrow when hopefully the weather will be a bit better.

[Dave]

Personally I don't think the weather will be any better tomorrow;
 
http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=zmw:00000.1.03914&hourly=1&yday=247&weekday=Sunday

[iCardboardRobot]

Pretty disappointed i missed the Typhoon after standing out in the rain to see it for so long (i actually ended up buying a new coat !)
Anyone know when its scheduled for appearance tomorrow ?

[RNASMU]

It would seem the Typhoon arrived over Portrush around 7pm.

You don't happen to know if the Typhoon was staging out of Aldergrove or did he come direct from across the water?

The announcer said he was coming from Aldergrove and staying overnight for tomorrows show

Pretty disappointed i missed the Typhoon after standing out in the rain to see it for so long (i actually ended up buying a new coat !)
Anyone know when its scheduled for appearance tomorrow ?

By todays performance about 21.00hrs

[EIN149]

I found the airshow not as good as last year.

I found it great to see the Battle of Britain aircraft

But, I was greatly disapointed in the red arrows by a few formation flying. Fair enough due to the weather they couldnt of did much.

On my scanner just before the red arrows I heard the Eurofighter talking and said he was on his way by north Coleraine but just went 

I got completly soaked through even with an umbrella, windproof jacket and leather jacket underneath. Not to mention wet through feet and socks 

I hope it does get better,

Not the best I have seen.

[Rallyman]

Pretty disappointed i missed the Typhoon after standing out in the rain to see it for so long (i actually ended up buying a new coat !)
Anyone know when its scheduled for appearance tomorrow ?

When he finished his recce for tomorrow he said  "thats me hope to see you tomorrow" so according to the programme it finishes the show tomorrow at 5 .
With ref to programmes there were loads of sellers around Barrys area when i was walking down to Ramore , and i seen more down around the Lifeboat station as well.

[Causeway74]

Airshow today total rubbish. Crowd line is absolutely crazy. How people can see anything from the beach is beyond me. I was using my bro's 70-200mm lens and I got tiny specs (planes) in my photos.

The weather played a part but generally it was pathetic. Disappointed not to see the Hawker Hunter.

Traffic management was atrocious. We sat for an hour trying to get out of ramore car park. There are big signs saying 'no camping' - the place sitting full of camper vans. Shouldn't be allowed. Abandoned car and headed for food. Massive roar and then we see the Typhoon. Apparently it was the closest thing to Ramore all day - everything else miles away.

I have no idea who sets up the display centre lines but it really is a joke. Another joke is having the same a/c display twice in the one day. I don't think I'd waste a trip again to be honest. The reds would have been worth it if weather good but in the gloom they can only do so much.

All in all, shocking rubbishy day and next time I wanna see some decent stuff I'll book RIAT or similar.

Rant over.

[redpaul]

Looks like you people who went yesterday didn't have much luck.

I know it's frustrating with no-shows, displays being cut short and the display line being further out but that's just unavoidable thanks to out unpredictable weather here in Northern Ireland and especially along the coast.

I'm just thankful to the organisers and sponsors for busting their balls to give us a free airshow each year 

Well I'm just about to leave Craigavon for Portrush. I'll be on Ramore Head wearing a light blue Craigavon CIty FC jacket if anyone wants a chat.

Paul