Whitehaven Festival 2012
Whitehaven Festival 2012 Festival Ships Food JetSki Airshow Red Arrows Music Night
The air show planned for Sunday afternoon was slightly hit by bad weather - ironically this was not so much the weather in Whitehaven which wasn't ideal with quite a bit of cloud cover but the weather further south which was very bad and prevented the wing walking display from taking off and also the Sea Fury.
The great news was that the Red Arrows would go ahead and there were still some of the supporting aircraft.
Many people left the main festival area around the harbour to get to a higher vantage point and the Candlestick was surrounded by spectators.
The first display came from a pair of RV8 kit planes called the RV8ors who performed a series of loops and passes in very close formation. Their figures included a heart shape drawn in the sky with their smoke trails.
The wings of the planes were painted with the Fly 2 Help banner which is a chosen charity of the Red Arrows providing adventure days for families that could be helped by taking some time away from their difficulties in life and getting the emotional boost of being treated as VIPs for the day and doing something out of the ordinary.
Albeit at a slower speed the two planes completed their tight manoeuvres with the kind precision normally seen with the Red Arrows.
The Strikemaster seen last at the festival in 2009 as part of the Viper team returned for another visited and made several passes across the harbour bay. Wearing the livery of the Omani Airforce to which it was once attached this 1886 BAC 167 strikemaster is a two seater jet powered by a single Rolls Royce Viper 535 jet engine.
Return to Western Lakeland Events
the official website www.thefestival.org.uk
Fly 2 Help charity www.fly2help.org
© WAWL 2012