The organisers of Clacton Airshow have booked their first flight for 2018 and it will commemorate the centenary of the end of World War I.
It will be the first time that the Great War Display Team will have appeared at the event which is now in its 27th year.
The airshow will take place on August 23 and 24 and is expected to pull in crowds in excess of 250,000 over the two days.
The Great War Display Team was formed in 1988 and was originally called the Wombats. It was an ad hoc collection of aircraft which included five SE5as; two Fokker Dr1s and a Fokker D7.
Many of them were flown by their builders and appeared that year at the Biggin Hill Airshow.
Over the years the aircraft and pilots have changed frequently and there are now five different types with nine in total.
New for last year was the Avro 504 and it joined the Sopwith Triplane; Fokker DR1 Triplane; Royal Aircraft Factory BE2c; The Royal Aircraft Factory SE5a and the Junkers CL1.
They perform at many large and small events both in the UK and abroad and present a unique spectacle.
The team has accrued years of experience and that is combined with new blood and fresh ideas which will make this one of the true highlights at Clacton.
Mick Skeels, Tendring District Council’s Cabinet Member for Tourism and Leisure, said the display will bring a totally new element to the show.
“I am really looking forward to seeing these very special aircraft in the skies above our seafront and it will be a fitting way for us to commemorate the end of World War 1,” he said.
“As well as being 100 years since the end of the Great War it will also be the 30th anniversary of this particular display team and I am sure they will get a very warm welcome.”
Anyone interested in spaces for stands, concessions and sponsorship should email clactonairshow@tendringdc.gov.uk
