Farnborough

Second only to Paris in the aviation enthusiasts air show bucket list, the show this year took place during the week of 14 July. I had made the pilgrimage to Paris way back in 1977, and a visit to the otherwise sleepy Hampshire village would complete the set. The weather was set to be the hottest and most humid of the year, so your intrepid correspondent left his anorak at home and armed with camera, logbook and pencil set off to enjoy an aircraft-fest.

The show itself is primarily for the aviation industry to put its latest wares on display and for companies and governments to announce and sign multi million dollar sales and trade agreements. Thus anything and everything that flies is represented, from satellites to missiles and from gliders to 500 seater passenger jets. However, the draw for the public is the main flying displays held over the weekend.

Many of the aircraft flying I had seen before, but there were some thrilling and evocative performances in the air and some "up close and personal" static displays. My personal highlights are listed below in ascending (pun intended), order.

4th place. Avro Vulcan. Not only was this the last airworthy Vulcan, but the somewhat threatening delta shape and thunderous roar serve as a reminder both of the Cold War tensions of the sixties and the heightened tensions following this weeks Malaysian Airlines disaster over Ukraine.

3rd place. Airbus A380. It never ceases to amaze how thousands of tons of metal and fuel can somehow defy gravity and crawl into the sky and then fly so gracefully. An awe inspiring sight.

2nd place. WW1display. I had never had an opportunity to see any WW1 aircraft airborne before, so the sight of more than a dozen of them (albeit that they were replicas), was both amazing and poignant in this centenary year. Given how flimsy these craft are and how difficult they are to fly, it was fortunate that the winds were calm and a privilidge to witness the monoplanes, biplanes and triplanes putting on such a fabulous display.

1st place. Lockheed Super-constellation. The Connie was scheduled to fly later over the weekend but time was against me. However, not being able to see her in the air was more than made up by being able to go on board and walk around the cabin. This was arguably the last great airliner of the propellor age, a throwback to the days when air travel was for the few and not the masses, when the aisles were wide, the seat pitch was 48 inches, when there was no need for overhead bins, when there was a seat on the flight deck for the flight engineer, and when the engine cowlings were streaked in oil. A true queen of the skies.