English Riviera Airshow 2025
The English Riviera Airshow held in the Devon seaside resort of Paignton returned with a three-day event in 2025. The event got underway on Friday evening with live music on Paignton Green and for the first time since the very first Torbay Airshow in 2016, a twilight flying display. The weekend saw a full afternoon of flying with a varied mix of military and civilian flying displays within the beautiful amphitheatre of Tor Bay.
Paul Johnson/Flightline UK reports. All photography by the author and video by Aeroview.tv
Together with the Midlands Air Festival, the English Riviera Airshow marks the start of the main airshow season with the first full display appearances by the UK military display teams. For seafront airshows, it has been and will continue to remain a challenging time with shrinking council budgets and increasing event costs. However, Torbay Council together with the English Riviera Business Improvement District (BID) have conducted some significant work to keep their annual airshow a viable and sustainable event. For 2025, they have even managed to grow the event into a full two-and-a-half-day event with ground based as well as aerial entertainment.
Though centred on Paignton, the English Riviera Airshow has an impact throughout the Tor Bay region. In a BBC article, English Riviera Business Improvement District chief executive Carolyn Custerson said “The airshow is going to be worth at least £5m to Torbay’s visitor economy and we see a great return on investment. “For every pound we invest, we see £15 returned. “So, we’ve got now in a good position to take the event forward.” This is certainly very welcome for the air display community in a time when the number of events and audiences continue to decline. In the same article, Councillor Jackie Thomas, cabinet member for tourism, culture and events at Torbay Council, said “holding such an event when other airshows, such as Bournemouth and Teignmouth, were either not happening or unlikely to happen this year due to funding issues was a big boost.”
Throughout the weekend, Paignton proved to be a very noisy place. The Green saw the local BBC radio station host live music on a stage surrounded all the usual traders and military displays. It was certainly very welcome to see Paignton so busy and vibrant when there are visible signs of the challenges the tourism trade is going through just on the periphery of the show site. The weather played ball as well for the most part though winds did force the withdrawal of the Red Devils Army Parachute Display Team.
For 2025, Evening flying displays were added to the Friday evening for the first time since the inaugural Torbay Airshow in 2026. Opening the flying was Matt Jones flying the stunning Supermarine Spitfire IX G-IRTY – “The Silver Spitfire.” It had originally been scheduled to have been Spitfire RR232, but the substitution of the globe-trotting G-IRTY was an inspired choice for the evening flying with the large embers of the sunset highlighting the shape of the Spitfire against the inky blue evening sky. The Spitfire was following by The Firebirds team of Nigel Reed and John Dodd. Flying a pair of Vans RV4, the pair lit up the sky with their brilliant white aircraft catching the sun before firing a range of colourful pyrotechnic effects. Both displays returned for daytime displays across the weekend and were joined by a colourful array of crowd favourites.
The historic theme was continued by the return of the NavyWings Heritage Flight with their Canadian Car and Foundry Harvard IV on the Saturday and the Fairey Swordfish appearing during Sunday’s display. The pair of historic aircraft contrasted well with the Royal Navy’s current Leonardo Wildcat HMA2 which was displayed over Tor Bay by the Black Cats Helicopter Display Team from 825 Naval Squadron. Sunday’s display saw the return of well regarded ‘Taranto Formation’ with the Swordfish leading the Wildcat in close formation.
It was particularly pleasing to see the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight back at full strength and performing full displays across the weekend. They presented the Avro Lancaster B1 (a late addition in place of the Dakota which still has not returned from a major servicing at Duxford) plus Supermarine Spitfires XVI TE311 and PRXIX PM631.
Completing the historic line up was the immaculate BAC Jet Provost T5 owned by Jeff Bell and now operated under the Viper Classic Aircraft banner. It was flown across the weekend by former RAF Hawk solo display pilot Phil Bird who gave a very smooth routine of flowing aerobatics under the cloud base.
As well as the Fireflies, there was a fine selection of civilian acts to add some colour to skies. British airshow favourites Team Raven, the Aerosuperbatics Wingwalkers and Rich Goodwin and his Jet Pitts all put on eye-catching displays in the breezy conditions. However, one of the highlights was Melanie Astles from France flying her very distinctive Extra 330SC. Melanie is perhaps best known for her participation in the Red Bull Air Race World Series winning the Challenger Cup race in Indianapolis, USA during the 2017 season. She is also a champion aerobatics pilot having become UK Champion in 2019 and competing on the world stage. She made her UK flying display debut at Sywell last year and in 2025 will display at several UK venues. Her routine combines gyroscopic tumbles, crisp aerobatic figures and punishing negative-G manoeuvres and was greatly appreciated by the crowd.
But the big draws of the weekend were the modern-day Royal Air Force displays. Squadron Leader Nathan Shawyer completed his first full displays of the 2025 season at the English Riviera Airshow in the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4. He has made several changes to the display sequence starting with a crowd rear arrival in full reheat. It is a spectacular start to his display which highlights the power and agility of the RAF’s main multirole fighter aircraft.
It was also the first weekend of public displays for the Red Arrows. Squadron Leader Jon Bond returns for a second season as Red 1 and has introduced further innovation to the display. One such change is the full display finale seen on Saturday, the Palm Split which involves both the main formation and the synchro pair. Saturday’s display also saw a bizarre mistake during the display when the synchro pair both seemed to fly the same way off the top of the heart! Cue a quick decision to turn off the smoke and short gap while the aircraft repositioned to recommence the display.
It was great to see the English Riviera Airshow look so buoyant and attract such large crowds – it certainly seemed busier than usual. It also appears to have gone down well with visitors too with plenty of positive comment on the event’s social media feeds.
