22/02/2026
Sywell Airshow – Sunday 23rd June 2024
There had been persistent rumours circulating in the aviation community that something big was in the pipeline at Sywell for the last couple of years, indeed there was the Flying Legends show that almost happened towards the end of the covid situation back in 2021, but with the announcement that Flying Legends wouldn’t be taking place in 2024 it seemed to take no time at all until the news broke of Sywell 2024 which would be taking place over the weekend of June 22nd & 23rd.
Well January is always a pretty bleak month for us airshow fans but following the news of the Sywell show taking place we didn’t have to wait long until the what we thought were the first few acts were announced, except they just kept coming and not just the usual suspects, fantastic additions from all over Europe certainly kept the winter blues away from the aviation community.
A very entertaining interview from Richard Grace over on the UKAR podcast certainly kept the buzz building and although the daily additions of aircraft eventually finished, we were entertained by the history of Sywell and other bits of information over the preceding months.
Sadly of course with any large warbird line up there were several withdrawals as the show drew nearer, we lost 2 x P-51D Mustangs, a Spitfire, Tempest, Dakota, Fokker DXII as well as the crossed wires with the A26 Invader. Though whilst at the time this was frustrating to see, looking back on the day it was still a cracking show.
Though what about the show, well typically I attended on the Sunday which sadly meant I missed the opening flypast on the Saturday with a unique formation involving a Lakenheath based F-35A, P-47 and P-51D ‘Jersey Jerk’. Fantastic work by the Sywell team and the willingness of Lakenheath to something special really paid off.
Starting the show on Sunday was a set piece involving no less then B-17 Sally B, 4 x P-51D Mustangs, P-47 Thunderbolt and 2 x Hispano Buchons masquerading as ME 109’s. Credit must go to Cameron Rolph Smith who put the Thunderbolt through it’s paces with some splendid passes really showing the aircraft off to it’s best. In fact the whole segment was a great way to start the show and really got the crowd buzzing for what was to follow.
Up next was a graceful display by a pair of Hurricanes (P2902 & V7497) flown by Gabriel Barton and Trevor Dugan respectively. Sadly, the sun decided to sit behind a big cloud during most of their display making photography awkward but they certainly got the best out of the Merlin engine fighter.
There was a brief interlude of jet noise as the 2 Excel Aviation Boeing 727 made a single flypast, the commentary team were on the ball on Sunday after seemingly forgetting to mention it’s arrival on Saturday until after it had flown past. It does appear that many people expected this to be the return of an actual display for the type rather than just a flypast something that can maybe be mentioned before the event rather than on the day.
Following on from the 727 was a quintet of WW2 Naval Aviation. 3 Corsairs escorted by The Fighter Collections Bearcat and Wildcat. The Wildcat and Bearcat performed spirited solos while the three ship of Corsairs performed a tight formation display.
A UK airshow debut was next as Emiliano and Danielle del Beuno taxied out in the 46 Aviation Boeing Stearman. We’re all very familiar with the great guys and girls at Aerosuperbatics but this solo display was something totally different. There were lots of different moves we haven’t seen before including hanging upside down over the lower wing!
The legend that is Paul Bonhomme was up next in the Hawker Fury. A customary powerful solo display followed with the odd topside thrown in for good measure!
Another UK airshow debut was up next, this time it was Melanie Astles in her Extra 330. Lots of unlimited aerobatics and seemingly endless vertical figures showed off the performance of the Extra extremely well. It was nice to see several lower passes at the end of the routine for the obligatory topside photo.
The Lockheed Electra followed the Extra, Jon Corley put the charismatic twin through an elegant display showing off the lines of this classic twin to great effect in the Sywell skies.
More aerobatics and yet another debut as Steve Jones roared into the sky in the Tiger schemed Gamebird GB1. This was allegedly a one-off display just for Sywell but it was a fantastic display of this new type which surely has to be seen elsewhere. The colour scheme looked grrrrrrreat in the sky and Steve brought the Gamebird right down for probably the lowest passes of the day.
Up next was the highlight of the show for many of the crowd, a rare appearance by a quartet of the Red Bull Air Force. Their Corsair and Mustang had already been seen in previous segments but they were joined by the super shiny B-25 Mitchell and P-38 Lightning. After several 4 ship passes the B-25 performed its solo display with the sun glinting off of every surface. The Lightning was joined by the Corsair and Mustang for a cracking three ship aerobatic routine was produced some lovely angles for the massed ranks of photographers present.
Following the Red Bulls there was a total change of pace, Mikael Carlson and Stu Goldspink displayed a pair of WW1 Fokkers, Mikael gave a somewhat sprightly display of the Triplane whilst Stu plodded around in the D.VII, both were a delight to see though with the sun starting to become more of a hindrance it was difficult to capture the dramatic camouflage well.
So, it was on to the first of the days two 9 ships. Prior to the WW1 antics both Mk.XIV Spitfires took off and now they were both screaming in from the left in one of the days best passes. The sound of these two Griffon engine Spitfires was fantastic and they certainly gave Sywell a damn good old fashioned beat up. They were soon joined by seven others of various marks Mk.V EE602 and EP120, Mk.IX’s MH434, TA805 and ML407. Mk.XI PL983 and Mk.XVI RW382. Sywells big wing made several passes in formation before splitting. We got a brief three ship featuring MH434, EE602 and EP120 before the Spitfire segment was aptly rounded off by Ben Cox flying ML407 in a solo display.
The day was rounded off by the ‘world famous’ RAF aerobatic team the Red Arrows! Finally back to a 9 ship display in 2024 it was nice to see them go through the moves we have come to expect but haven’t seen for several years. To be fair they were a bit rough around the edges and there was a slightly dodgy moment as they performed a downward bomb burst distinctly over the crowd but none of that seemed to matter to the crowd who seemed to be happy with the days events and went home with a smile on their face after a very successful Sywell 2024!
Looking back this was a great event that sadly turned out to be Richard Graces last big show with his sad passing in October 2024. Richard and his team created a magnificent event that will long be remembered by those in attendance for many many years to come!
