The line-up for this year’s Clacton Air Show is really beginning to take-off with three more flight displays confirmed as part of the two day programme.
The Sea King Helicopter, The Tutor and the Autogyro will take to the skies on both August 21 and 22 to thrill fans.
They will join the world famous Red Arrows, who are appearing on the Friday, the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF), the prized Avro Lancaster owned by the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum and the Tucano, all of which fly both days.
The Sea King is always a popular visitor to the Clacton event and is greatly appreciated for the search and rescue (SAR) role it carries out from six locations around the UK.
The SAR squadrons provide 24-hour cover and each maintain a 15-minute readiness state during daylight hours and a 45-minute readiness state during the hours of darkness.
The RAF Tutor makes a welcome return after a year’s absence. This cost-effective, modern, elementary aircraft combines docile handling characteristics with good performance – making ideal for its training role.
The Autogyro was a new addition to the show in 2013 and went down very well with spectators.
Its display is formulated to be fun, exciting and exhilarating and something just a little bit different to the other displays on offer.
The Autogyro is cleared to fly just 50m from the crowd line at 100ft or less enabling spectators on the ground to interact with the pilot.
Mark Platt, TDC’s Cabinet Member for Culture, Tourism, Events and Leisure Services, said the show promises to be one of the best ever.
“We will see two Lancasters flying together for the very first time over Clacton and that will be an amazing sight. On top of that we can boast a varied line-up which we will continue to add to over the coming weeks,” he said.
“I am assured by our team behind the event that there will be one or two extra surprises to yet be pulled out of the hat and further announcements will be made very soon.
“Having only recently taken over my role, it will be my first air show as Cabinet Member and I am really looking forward to a spectacular two days.”
Clacton will once again be the only seaside East Coast event of its kind as attempts to get Lowestoft and Southend off the ground again have met with failure.
Hopefully fans that would previously go to those shows in the past will be tempted to come along to Clacton as they did last year.
The Clacton Air Show is the signature event on Tendring’s tourism calendar and a vital boost to the District’s economy – bringing in around £4 million more than would be generated over the two days without the event.
Last year it attracted around 140,000 people over the two days.
Due to hard work and careful budgeting the event is getting to a point where it is close to breaking even and is sustainable.
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