You know what’s missing from the European show calendar these days? A Kemble Air Day-style event with a strong focus on classic jets.
The 2011 event was a standout year, with a whopping eight Hawker Hunters in the flying display, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the beautiful British jet. Building on the five-ship of Hunters flown by Team Viper at the time (that’s a crazy thought in hindsight), the show attracted the F6 and T8 flown and operated by the Dutch Hawker Hunter Foundation, as well as Jonathon Whaley’s ‘Marmite’ F58.
As if that wasn’t enough, we were treated to solo displays from the Venom FB50 and Meteor NF11 from the Air Atlantique stable, both sadly now grounded, while the Gnat Display Team, then at the peak of its UK airshow-supporting period, performed a solo display. No show in the early 2010s went without a display from Vulcan B2 G-VTTS, and Kemble 2011 was no different. A punchy and reasonably close display from the bomber culminated in a powerful climb-out against the dark Cotswold skies. To top it off, the show also featured a sporty display from a Jet Provost T3. It wouldn’t be a Kemble Air Day without one!
If that lot wasn’t enough, further meat on the bone was provided by the Royal Air Force, which always supported the event well. In 2011, visitors were treated to flying displays from the Reds, Hawk, Tucano, BBMF and the hugely popular Tornado Role Demonstration. Not bad, eh?
The modern world is a different place, and sadly the UK classic jet scene is a shadow of what it was in 2011. However, with mainland Europe’s classic jet scene seeing a strong resurgence, wouldn’t it be nice to see a Kemble Air Day-style event on the calendar once more?
