Abingdon Air & Country Show
The Abingdon Air & Country Show has been a very popular event on the air display calendar for over 20 years. Over those two decades, the volunteer organisers have faced many challenges. However, 2024 saw perhaps their biggest obstacle to overcome when an administrative change to the status of Abingdon Airfield came to light in the final build-up to the event
Neil Porter, lead organiser of the Abingdon Air and Country Show, reports on the rescheduled 2024 event and the impacts on 2025.
The event this year has been to say the least full of ups and downs which tested our patience but, in the end, we persevered and put on a smaller adapted event on 21st September.
As with the previous events over the last 23 years, we start planning for the event the previous September. Military bids are submitted, infrastructure starts to be booked, and we open bookings for the trade stalls and classic vehicles. We look review and update all the internal paperwork. All of this is completed in our spare time away from our daily lives.
We were planning a full show to beheld on Saturday 18th May which would have featured the usual afternoon 3 hour flying display program with aircraft operating from Abingdon, static aircraft, a civilian multi-type aircraft fly-in together with military ground displays, the country show and associated attractions.
Then under two weeks prior to the show I had a call from my flying display director George Bacon saying the Military Aviation Authority (MAA) were closely looking at Abingdon with the potential that no civilian aircraft would be allowed to and at Abingdon whether they were part of the flying display or the fly-in. This as you can imagine was a shock to receive such bad news and so late in the planning process. It forced us to have an emergency meeting on what to do as effectively half the show was suddenly pulled from under our feet!
We decided to postpone the event, and all ticket purchasers were given a full refund.
Dalton Barracks (Abingdon) used to have personnel that were aerodrome qualified. Abingdon Airfield is required to be compliant with MAA regulations like all military airfield establishments with associated paperwork up to date and signed off. Up until a year ago all the paperwork was in place which allowed civilian aircraft to land either by PPR or for our event. Military assets such as Boeing C17, Airbus A400 which use the airfield at times as a Tactical Landing Zone (TLZ) are exempt.
However, as personnel have been posted on, the paperwork disappeared or lapsed and as such the airfield did not comply with MAA regulations and it lost its tiered status which would have allowed civilian aircraft to land at Abingdon.
We held a meeting in June with the Head of Establishment to see if the Barracks could do something to try and restore some kind of compliancy which would satisfy the MAA in the hope the new date of 21st September would see some of the civilian participation operate from the airfield. However, as time got closer, we realised this was not to be and as such we ran the event on 21st September as a smaller adapted event and to think out of the box.
So, the country show element ran with some different and more interesting attractions on offer such as a thatching demonstration. Thelp fill the void of no civilian aircraft to land we had transported in a replica Hawker Hurricane which looked authentic which sat next to period WWII re-enactors, a Westland Scout and a clutch of gliders (Schempp-Hirth Ventus, ex Empire Test Pilot School Elliott EoN Olympia and Schleicher KA-6).
The RAF returned with the awesome sight of the 99 Squadron Boeing C-17A Globemaster III for the static display. On show day, it appeared into view late morning with an overhead join to land on runway 35. Once on the ground, it was parked on the cross runway and opened for public tours of the cavernous cargo hold and cockpit. Just like in 2023, it proved to be a big hit with our crowd.
RAF C17s and A400s use Abingdon regularly for training operations. Just two nights prior to our event, an A400M Atlas was using the airfield in the dark with the crew utilising night vision googles as an training exercise for a group of Air Traffic Controllers for operations at austere landing areas. Therefore, having 99 Squadron participate at our show was a great public relations exercise allowing locals to learn about the aircraft, aircrews and the missions they train for.
We trialled a classic vehicle parade which took place on part of the runway and down the main crowdline. The collections of Jensens and Ford Mustangs proved popular. As well as the full-sized aircraft, the fantastic radio-controlled model jets were given two slots during the day interspersed with the main flying display.
The full-sized flying featured displays from the de Havilland Vampire T11, Yakovlev Yak-52 piloted by Jon Windover, Hawker Hurricane I R4118, Iain Smith flying the Jubilee Pitts, the Westland Scout AH1 from Historic Army Aircraft Flight, the NavyWings Heritage Flight Fairey Swordfish and the four Westland Gazelles from the Gazelle Squadron who are based locally, All the display operated from their bases for their displays so effectively we ran a seafront airshow with the bonus of the static C-17. Sadly, we did lose the Fighter Aviation Spitfire FRXIVe and a Harvard display on the for various reasons as well as the Westland Lynx and Jet Provost which cancelled in the run-up to the show.
Our crowd numbers were down for three reasons; firstly, we had poor weather during the morning which undoubtedly put some people off. Secondly, we clashed with the major Newbury Country Show which was just 30 minutes down the road from us. Finally, the lack of aircraft on the ground meant we did not attract as many enthusiasts as we do usually. However, we persevered putting on the best show we could. Despite all the challenges we feel proud we were able to stage the event for the public and all our volunteers thoroughly enjoyed being part of the event. Best of all, the pubic all had smiles on their faces which is what counts the most.
Regrettably, with the rising costs and reduced income from 2024 we do not have the funding to stage a full program for the 2025 Abingdon Air and Country Show on the 14th June. We will take a break from hosting a full afternoon flying display and instead incorporate flypasts which are in the planning stages, and we hope to include RAF and USAFE participation. We also hope to have a limited static display of military aircraft, and a more diverse country show which will include parades of classic vehicles. The event will also move back to the west side of Abingdon Airfield where we will also welcome the return of the Tank Rides which proved so popular at previous events.
We will also be talking to Dalton Barracks over the winter to see if they are able to work with the Military Aviation Authority to at least allow civilian rotary aircraft to land on the Airfield. Rather than allow the event to fade away into the history books, we are excited to take the show to a different level giving the public a good day out at what will be the event’s 25th Anniversary so your support is vital to its future survival.
