PORTSMOUTH AIR FESTIVAL
Portsmouth has a unique link with the armed forces, all of whom are helping to make this event a special day for all involved.
The Air Festival will return the compliment by showing support and committment to the Armed Forces
charities, currently in the form of the flagship charity, Royal Navy and Royal Marines
Charity with further donations going to the RAF Benevolent Fund, ABF The Soldiers
Charity and the Exercise Tiger Trust.
Although 2012 will be the first Portsmouth Air Festival, the organisers hope to make the event one of the UK's biggest free flying events, with
an estimated 50,000 specatators attending.
The event will be centred around the Southsea Common area, where there will be a corporate hospitality area as well as "festival villages"
featuring a business-to-business exhibition centre, a food village for freshly cooked fare and local produce, a local crafts centre,
a general retail and merchadising area and a family village which will include flight simulators, rides, and lots of fun for children (and adults).
Also planned is a a pop concert on the Saturday evening, providing a variety of music to please all the family.
DISPLAY TEAMS.
Already confirmed to appear at the festival are the Breitling Wingwalkers and a de Havilland Sea Vixen of the Fleet Air Arm, the list of display
teams is rapidly growing and more information will be available here as soon as it is confirmed.
The Breitling Wingwalkers are a UK based AeroSuperBatics team who are specialists in display flying and operate one of the best known and loved
civilian air display acts in Europe. The wingwalking team has already performed at well over 2500 different events.
The wingwalkers perform a breathtaking sequence of acrobatic manoeuvres and handstands whilst strapped to the top wings of the team's beautiful Boeing Stearman biplanes.
Manoeuvres include, loops, rolls, stall turns and even fly upside down. During all of this, the wingwalkers experience speeds of up to 150 mph and 'G' forces of up to 4G!
The de Havilland DH.110 Sea Vixen is a twin boom 1950s - 1960s British two seat jet fighter of the Fleet Air Arm (the air component of the Royal Navy) designed by de Havilland.
The Sea Vixen was developed from an earlier RAF aircraft the DH110 a swept wing two seat fighter aircraft.
This aircraft was revolutionary for it's time being the first swept wing aircraft to serve with the Fleet Air Arm, the first British aircraft with an integrated weapons system
and the first to carry guided missiles rather than guns.
The Sea Vixen was designed and operated in its primary role as a fighter providing airborne cover for the carrier and fleet and could deliver a considerable strike at sea and ground targets using its wide array of weapons.
Still to be confirmed are the following aircraft a Vulcan Bomber, Spitfires, Hawker Hunter, Eurofighter Typhoon, Tornado, Tucano and a Jet Provost.
It is hoped that various aerobatic and parachute display teams will also be involved in the line up. This page will be updated as soon as further information
becomes available.
