| Farnborough International Airshow | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Farnborough in 2006 | |
| Genre | Air show |
| Dates | July |
| Frequency | Biennial: Even years |
| Venue | Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre,Farnborough,Hampshire, England, United Kingdom |
| Previous event | 22–26 July 2024 |
| Next event | 20–24 July 2026 |
| Attendance | 209,000 (2012) |
| Organised by | Farnborough International Limited (ADS Group) |
| Website | www |
TheFarnborough International Airshow is a trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries, where civilian and military aircraft are demonstrated to potential customers and investors inFarnborough, Hampshire, England. Since its first show in 1948, Farnborough has seen the debut of many famous aeroplanes, including theVickers VC10,Concorde, theEurofighter, theAirbus A380, and theLockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. At the 1958 show,Hawker Hunters of theRAF'sBlack Arrows executed a 22-aircraft formation loop, setting a new world record.
The international trade show runs for five days. Until 2020, the show ran for a full week with the first five days reserved for trade visitors and the general public attending on the weekend.[1]
The Farnborough International Airshow is the second-largest show of its kind after theParis Air Show.[2]
The event is held in mid-July in even-numbered years at Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre inHampshire,United Kingdom. Flying occurs on all five days, and there are also static displays of aircraft outside and booths and stands in the indoor exhibition halls. The airshow alternates with the Paris Air Show, which is held in odd-numbered years and has a similar format, and is held in the same years as theBerlin Air Show. It is organised by Farnborough International Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of theADS Group. In 2012, it attracted 109,000 trade visitors over the first five days, and 100,000 public visitors during the weekend. Orders and commitments for 758 aircraft were announced, worth US$72 billion.[3]
TheSociety of British Aircraft Constructors held its first flying and static display at Hendon Aerodrome in June 1932.[4] An invitation only flying display was held on 27 June 1932 and some of the aircraft were on static display in the "new aircraft park" during the previous weekend when the Royal Air Force pageant was held.[4]
For the sixth annual display in 1938 the event moved to the nearbyde Havilland airfield atHatfield,[5] the last beforethe Second World War.
The show recommenced in 1946 atHandley Page works atRadlett in north London until 1947.In 1948, it moved to theRoyal Aircraft Establishment field atFarnborough, Hampshire.[6]
The inaugural show took place on the first week of September 1948 and all of the static aircraft and supporting display stands were concentrated in the NE corner of the airfield with 'A-Shed' as the main 'West Exhibition Hall' and the soon-to-be famous 'Black Sheds' housing a smaller 'East Exhibition Hall' and refreshments for guests on trade days and the public at the weekend. Among the many aircraft on display were theArmstrong Whitworth A.W.52 jet-powered flying wing and the prototypeVickers Viscount airliner.Thede Havilland Comet jet airliner was shown in 1949.In 1950 the hugeBristol Brabazon airliner made its debut, powered by coupledBristol Centaurus piston engines before theBristol Proteus turboprops for longer ranges like London-New York nonstop.A modifiedVickers Viscount was shown withRolls-Royce Tay turbojets in a configuration mimicked later by theBoeing 737.[6]
In 1952, the futuristicAvro Vulcan delta bomber was displayed a few days after its first flight, along with the giantSaunders-Roe Princess double-decker flying boat powered by ten Proteus turboprops, one month after its maiden flight, but ade Havilland 110 disintegrated andcrashed into the spectator area, killing 29 and its two crew.In 1958, theFairey Rotodyne was the star attraction, with its "tip-jet" powered rotors, transitioning from ahelicopter vertical takeoff and hover toautogiro flight, exceeding helicopter speeds.[6]
In 1962, the last time the show was held annually, theHawker P.1127, theVTOL precursor to theHarrier jump jet, made its debut, along with the corporatede Havilland DH.125 Jet Dragon, and thede Havilland Comet 4C,de Havilland Trident,BAC 1-11 andVickers VC10 airliners.From 1966, foreign aircraft were allowed if they had British major components, such as the Rolls-Royce-poweredAermacchi MB-326 trainer andFokker F27 turboprop airliner. Also, theRed Arrows, the RAF aerobatic display team, debuted theirHawker Siddeley Gnats.[6]
In 1970,Concorde was shown after it had begun flight-testing the year before.The double-deltaSaab Viggen debuted in 1972 along with theLockheed TriStar trijetwidebody, powered byRolls-Royce RB211s, in national British carrierBEA colours.The Mach 3Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, and theC-5 Galaxy military airlifter, were shown in 1974.[6] In 1978, theCASA C-101 was flown in the airshow after flight-testing earlier that same year.[7]
In 1982, the civil aviation transatlantic rivalry was exemplified by the EuropeanAirbus A310 against the AmericanBoeing 767 widebodytwinjets, along with itsnarrowbody sibling, theBoeing 757, while theRockwell B-1 largeswing-wing bomber was the main military interest.In 1984, to demonstrate its short landing capability, ade Havilland Canada Buffalo made a steep descent but hit the runway, collapsed its landing gear and broke its main wing spar without a tragic outcome. At the 1986 show were demonstrated theBAe EAP, the Eurofighter predecessor, andDassault Rafale rival fighters, as anA300fly-by-wire testbed flying at very highangles of attack showing thewind-shearstall protection capabilities, later equipping theA320.In 1988, theGE36propfan-poweredMcDonnell Douglas MD-80 was demonstrated as a precursor for theMD-94X but propfan airliners remain elusive, while the Soviet Union brought the giantAntonov An-124 Ruslan airlifter and twoMiG-29 fighters.[6]
TheEurofighter made its debut in 1996 in anair display showing its airborne capabilities.[6] TheAntonov An-225 Mriya also took flight in 1990.
The biggest passenger aircraft to ever appear at Farnborough, theAirbus A380 debuted with a flypast in 2006 while in the midst of its flight-test programme.[6]
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In 2012, aBoeing 787 Dreamliner fromQatar Airways was in flying display, after a Boeing absence for 13 air shows.TheLockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II made its show debut in 2016, two years later than planned, with UK's first F-35B and two US Marine Corps examples.In 2018, theUK Ministry of Defence unveiled a full-scaleTempest model for itsFuture Combat Air strategy, as theMitsubishi MRJ regional jet made its first flying display.[6]
In March 2019 it was announced that the public flying days at the airshow would not continue. "Negative and vitriolic feedback" following the 2018 airshow, falling visitor numbers and tighter regulations introduced in the wake of the crash atShoreham – which made it impossible for exhibitors such as the Red Arrows to perform aerobatics close to populated areas – were given as factors that contributed towards the decision. Farnborough would be a five-day trade show, with public admittance on the Friday only.[8][9]
The 2020 Farnborough Airshow was to take place on 20 to 24 July 2020, but it was cancelled for the first time in its 72-year history because of theCOVID-19 pandemic.
On 6 September 1952, aDH.110 jet fighter disintegrated in flight andcrashed into the airshow audience, killing 29 spectators and its pilotJohn Derry and navigator Tony Richards. The worst airshow accident in the UK, it led to new safety procedures at British air displays.
On 13 September 1964, a Bristol BulldogG-ABBB, marked (incorrectly) asK2227 and owned by the Shuttleworth Trust, crashed while performing a loop.[10] The pilot was only slightly hurt.
On 20 September 1968, a French Air ForceBreguet Atlantic crashed into the offices of theRoyal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) while performing a display at the air show. One of the RAE's civilian maintenance staff was killed, as were all five members of the crew.[11][12]
On 11 September 1970, a Wallis WA-117 autogyroG-AXAR crashed, killing the pilot, J.W.C. Judge.[13]
On 1 September 1974, the Sikorsky S-67 Blackhawk helicopter prototype crashed on the runway after a low roll, killing both crew.[13]
On 4 September 1984 a de Havilland Canada DHC-5D Buffalo crashed on the runway, with no casualties, after a badly judged steep approach to an intended short landing in a gusting crosswind.[13]
