Farnborough Airshow
| Farnborough Airshow | |
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Farnborough in 2006
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| Genre | Air show |
| Dates | July |
| Frequency | Even years |
| Venue | Farnborough Airport |
| Location(s) | Hampshire, England |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Attendance | 209,000 (2012) |
| Organised by | Farnborough International Limited |
| Website | |
| farnborough |
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The Farnborough International Airshow is a week-long event that combines a major trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries with a public airshow. The event is held in mid-July in even-numbered years at Farnborough Airport in Hampshire, England. The first five days (Monday to Friday) are dedicated exclusively to trade, with the final two days open to the public.[1]
The airshow is an important event in the international aerospace and defence industry calendar, providing an opportunity to demonstrate civilian and military aircraft to potential customers and investors. The show is also used for the announcement of new developments and orders, and to attract media coverage.
The UK show is organised by Farnborough International Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of ADS Group Limited (ADS). According to the organisers, the 2012 Farnborough show attracted 109,000 trade visitors over the first five days, and 100,000 public visitors on the Saturday and Sunday. Orders and commitments for 758 aircraft were announced, worth US$72 billion.[2]
Format
Flying occurs on all seven days, and there are also static displays of aircraft outside and booths and stands in the indoor exhibition halls. On the Saturday and Sunday most of the exhibitions halls are shut, but there is a travelling funfair and children are admitted.
The airshow alternates with the Paris Air Show, which is held in odd-numbered years and has a similar format, and in the same years as the Berlin Air Show.
History
The Farnborough Airshow has its origins in the annual RAF Airshow at Hendon from 1920 to 1937. On 27 June 1932, the Society of British Aircraft Constructors held an exhibition of 35 aircraft by 16 companies at Hendon as a showpiece for the British aircraft industry. After World War II, the show recommenced at Radlett (the site of Handley Page's airfield) in 1946 and was held there until 1948, when the show moved to its present location of Farnborough, Hampshire, home of the Royal Aircraft Establishment, about 30 miles (48 km) south-west of central London.
In 1952, 31 people were killed (twenty nine spectators, one pilot and one navigator) when a DH.110 jet fighter disintegrated in flight and crashed into the crowd.
At the 1958 show, the Black Arrows executed a 22-plane formation loop.[3] This was a world record for the greatest number of aircraft looped in formation, and remains unbroken to this day.
Initially an annual event, the show has been biennial since 1962. It has become an international event that attracts exhibitors from all over the world — with the exception, during the Cold War, of countries behind the Iron Curtain.
From 1996 the show has had its own official radio station operated by the staff and students of nearby Farnborough College of Technology, although it did not operate in 2012.
See also
References
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Farnborough Airshow. |
- Farnborough Airshow website
- Society of British Aerospace Companies
- Farnborough Airshow Coverage from Flightglobal.com
- Farnborough and the future of aviation by the Royal Geographical Society's Hidden Journeys project
