Unable to display Saturday because show had to end early). Republic P47 Thunderbolt 'Nellie' (Ultimate Fighters) (*Ultimate Fighters together in formation) (due all four days.
Tigers Parachute Display Team (Sat & Sun) P-51D Mustang (Rolls Royce Heritage Trust) (Sat & Sun) Spitfire X1X PS853 G-RRGN: Rolls Royce Heritage Trust (Thurs & Fri) The Blades (due all four days but no display Saturday when the show had to finish early)īBMF Dakota (replacing the Lancaster), Spitfire and Hurricane (all four days) Richard Goodwin, G-JPIT Pitts S2S (Fri, Sat, Sun)Īerosuperbatics Wingwalkers (due all four days but an incident curtailed the display on Saturday and no display on Sunday) Aircraft.Įurofighter Typhoon (RAF) (due all four days but cancelled on Saturday because the show had to end early) The third and final 'Night Air' was also cancelled, so the only dusk display by the Rolls Royce Mustang, as well as twilight displays by the Fireflies, Tigers Parachute display Team and Typhoon were written off. In practice displays by the Rolls Royce Mustang, the Typhoon, The Blades and the Ultimate Fighters were cancelled. The RAF team had introduced new manoeuvres for the 2021 season, seen at Bournemouth for the first time, the most popular of which, judging by crowd reaction, was a pass by five aircraft trailing blue smoke as a tribute to the NHS.įollowing the incident involving the Wingwalkers, the rest of the daytime displays were 'suspended'. Several other teams changed their routines because of the poor visibility but the Red Arrows, with a choice of three possible displays, were able to select the appropriate version for the conditions and satisfy the thirst of the crowd for aerobatics par excellence, sometimes in visibility that must have been only just within the safety margins. The weather did not make it easy for them, with a sea mist on every day, becoming very dense towards the end of the four-day festival. It was the only location in the world where they displayed on four consecutive days in 2021.
In 2021 they were back in style with a display on every one of the four days of the show. In 2019 they could not come because they were on a tour of the USA and Canada and in 2020 there was no show because of Covid-19. Their last display had been three years earlier, in 2018. The Red Arrows were again the big crowd-puller. Nevertheless, the show did go on and, despite the weather, and to the credit of all involved, was virtually unaffected by the conditions. Surrounding landmarks, The Needles off the Isle of Wight to the east and the Purbeck Hills to the west were invisible much of the time and poorly defined behind the mist the rest of the time. Several of the displays that would normally be visible throughout the routine were out of sight in the mist for long periods. There was sunshine but it was well hidden much of the time behind a sea mist so dense that spectators were fortunate the pilots were able, and willing, to display.
The organisers deserved to be rewarded with sunshine and blue skies. Even so, the decision to go ahead with a show has to be taken months in advance to allow time for the regulatory and practical preparations to be made and at the time of the commitment to the Festival there was no certainty that large gatherings would be possible. Yes, Bournemouth had the advantage that their show is later in the season, so there was time for Covid-19 restrictions to become more relaxed.
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