Dear Friends, Fans and Followers!
Writing to you in the middle of summer holidays, we usually should be sharing our experiences from the first part of the air show season. But, and regrettably, not this year… And for the obvious reason that everybody knows.
However, we were still hoping that the mass events would be possible in autumn, and at least few aviation events could be organized. Unfortunately, now we already know that this would not happen. That´s why we have temporarily ceased updates of our list with cancelled air shows – practically all of them were cancelled.
Many of aviation events came up with the solution to go online, offering either the live broadcast of the show (Victory Air Show in Kubinka, Tag der Bundeswehr, NATO Days) or the virtual version of the programme (RIAT, Slovak International Air Fest, Aerobaltic). Therefore, the 2020 air show season became really exceptional, as this is the first aviation season one can watch most of the events while staying at home.
Although, we know about at least two shows that still are going to be organized, despite the coronavirus-related limitations and measures. First of all, the IWM works on the Battle of Britain Air Show Weekend (scheduled on 18th – 20th September), promising the show will be organized pursuant to all current Covid-19 regulations, including keeping the social distance in the area. Another one is a local aeroclub event in the Czech Republic, Letecký den Cheb (Aviation day in Cheb), planned on 22nd – 23rd August.
In contrast to the IWM event, the organizer of Cheb air show yet did not disclose any details regarding the way how they intend to organize a mass event in the middle of coronavirus outbreak. The coronavirus precautions in the Czech Republic currently are limiting the number of visitors to any public event to 1,000 participants. Both the related social media and website of the event, although regularly updated, are only informing about the show programme and ticket sale, without mentioning any coronavirus-related measures at all.
With the lack of air show events our eyes are now focused, even more than usual, on the military parades and flypasts. Traditionally, many of them are held in Russia – there were two editions of the Victory Day Parade (the aviation-only event on 9th May and the main parade on 24th June), and a Navy Day celebrations on 26th July. They offered an interesting review of Russian military aviation and were easily available to follow, as all were broadcasted live in the Internet. You may find our reports from those parades, by visiting the ´Military Aviation´ section on our web site.
And while speaking about our web site, those who follow it on regular basis certainly noticed some changes in the general layout. Fist of all, we have decided to highlight last article in each of four main categories, by placing them at the top of the main page. There is also a new section in ´Aviation History´ category – we have called it ´Dreamers and Doers´ and here we are going to tell you some interesting stories about the aviation pioneers, iconic pilots and some milestones from the aviation history.
Certainly, we will keep on updating our web page with other additions and changes, to keep it attractive and user-friendly. But the most important for us is, as it always was, the content of the page. And in this case – we can assure you that a lot is yet to come.
At the end, we would like to turn your attention on articles we are currently working on (and we think you might find them very interesting). One of them is an intriguing story of P-3C Orion, the German long-range naval aircraft – the first part of the story was already published last week, and the second will follow in August.
The second story will be related to the Red Bull Air Race, the great motorsport show that was suddenly cancelled last year. But do you know that air race is still alive…? Yes, it really is, and you would learn more about it next months.
We are wishing you the perfect second part of summer holidays, despite the coronavirus outbreak. Stay safe and enjoy the sun!
Jacek Domanski
Editor-in-Chief
