Countdown to London Skydrive 2021

Many events claim to be the best.  Who really knows?  And who really tabulates the information?  I've never been asked about ranking events.  Well, that's not really true.  I never answer anything.

All that being said, the London air show, on paper, looks to be really good.  London Skydrive 2021.  I bought a ticket last year, but that didn't work out so well.  I bought my ticket for the 2021 show in April, long before the border was open.  Have to have a little faith.

Well, the border is open.  Not just drive though open though.  There are still a few hurdles to clear.  First is to determine the requirements for border crossing.  From what I've read, you have to (maybe should?) register your trip or crossing.  There is an app for this.  So I've created an account.  My trip can't be registered until 72 hours prior.  And I can't register the trip until I have proof of a negative Covid test taken within 72 hours of my border crossing.  And there different Covid tests.   And not all of them are recognized for border crossings.

The pre-trip has been an interesting learning journey.

As to the show, there is a photo pit.  And there are still tickets.  But.....  From what I can see, there isn't much benefit from the location.  You're not by your car, there is no shade provided.  You're on the tarmac.  On a possibly sunny day.  Been there, done that enough times, it can/will get HOT.  I need to see this before I invest.

As to the show, part II:  Line up looks fantastic.  Headliners are the Canadian Snowbirds and the Blue Angels.  Supporting cast include CF-18 Hornet Demo Team, F-16 Viper Demo Team, E-2C Hawkeye, C-2 Greyhound, KC-135 Stratotanker, P-8 Posiden, Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin and HC-144 Sentry.  And a E-3 Sentry (AWACS).

Lots of first timers for me.  The CF-18 Demo team should be great.  They can decal up an aircraft.  And the Snowbirds are supposed to put on an excellent show.

This may sound odd, but the aircraft I want to see most is the AWACS.  The AWACS takes me back to Okinawa.  The AWACS had a detachment there.  This is a memory lane trip for me.

This is from the early 80's.  Yes. they had color film back then.  I would sit on a hill overlooking the runways to take shots with my Minolta XG-1.  And the film would be developed by a local Japanese firm.  I spent a lot of Yen on bad photos.  Hopefully another item off the memory lane bucket list.

So the airshow, for me, will begin Wednesday.  I'll get the Covid test.  I should test negative.  And that might be the easy part.  Then the pressure starts.  The hard part will be to capture the props and helicopters as always.

And then be able to cross back.