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48th Farnborough International Airshow, advertised as Britain's greatest air spectacular did not disappoint for 2012!
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The week long Farnborough International Airshow is one of the largest aviation trade show concluding with a two day public air show in the world. Farnborough International Airshow (FIA) is held once every two years. The seven day long affair is the place to be for aircraft manufacturers, aerospace, defence, space and security sectors to showcase and demonstrate aircraft, equipment and technologies. The show known for its environment specifically designed to facilitate tailor-made and unrivalled opportunities to meet, negotiate and announce business deals. This year over US$72 billion worth of commitments and orders were announced throughout the week by various companies at Farnborough covering a total of 758 aircraft. |
The US$72 billion represent a 53% increase from the previous show in 2010, but off by US$16 billion when compared to the 2008 figure when sales peaked at US$88billion. To add further credence to the shows success, 20% of the 1500+ exhibitors have already rebooked for the 2014 show. |
Over 150,000 people attended during the course of the week; over 70 military delegations from 46 countries attended with a further 13 delegations from the civil sector. A flypast by the Red Arrows kicked off this year's FIA, in Hampshire, which was officially opened by David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and further 6 Cabinet members making keynote speeches. |
Over 140 aircraft took part in the static and flying displays at the Farnborough Aerodrome in Hampshire including the Boeing 787 Dreamliner which flew on the first three days of the show – a Boeing and FIA first – and the Airbus A380 in attendance for the full seven days. Flying display highlights included the Bell Boeing V22 Osprey, a Saab Gripen Fighter and the Korean T50 jet trainer. |
| Now let’s highlight a bit of the public days and the air show portion of the FIA. The spectacular 5 hour flying display was on Saturday and Sunday 14 & 15 th July. The display included aerobatic teams demonstrations by the included the incomparable Red Arrows, the Breitling Jet Team and the Blades Aerobatic Display Team. Additional airborne entertainment was provided by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and crowd favourite the Avro Vulcan, contrasting with the cutting edge technology of the Yak 130, the AAC Apache Helicopter and the giant passenger jet: the Airbus A380. |
Of course there were many static aircraft but what has really stood out from the rest at the show; first European public appearance of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo replica. The public had the opportunity to get up close to see the future of commercial space travel at FIA. A prototype Mars Rover named ‘Bridget’ was on display in the show’s Space Zone in Hall 3. |
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Over all FIA was a roaring success, the scale and popularity of the show continues to have a positive impact on the economy with an independent report estimating a contribution of over £30 million to the local economy. ASR would like to thank Farnborough International Limited, the organizers for their kind cooperation and media passes. We look forward being back to the FIA in 2014!
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Rating: 9 out of 10 for the airshow portion. |
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