thoughts on airshows and other "military" events

Last weekend I went with some friends to the Sunderland International Airshow. Airshows, I am told, are popular in Britain. On googling, I found an online 2009 calendar for airshows in Britain - in July alone there were more than 20 airshows in different parts of Britain. The Sunderland International Airshow, which is held on the coast in the city of Sunderland, and is organized by the Sunderland city council, is apparently the biggest free airshow in Europe. There were literally thousands of people the day I went.

I have to say that some of the stuff was a beauty to watch, especially the two teams of jets which flew in choreographed sequences which required precision flying. One of these was an aerobatic team known as the Red Arrows, known for their pink and blue smoke (which is actually vapour, which not only has decorative value but is also used by the team leader to judge wind speed and direction).

However, I could not reconcile myself to the fact that these and most of the other aircraft that I was looking at are basically made for war, or to train soldiers. The Red Arrows is "the public face of the Royal Air Force" and within the UK, they exist to "demonstrate professional excellence of the Royal Air Force and promote recruitment to [it]" (the Red Arrows explained on the RAF website). The aircraft that the Red Arrows fly are basically the RAF's advanced fast jet trainers. The commentary on the loudspeakers at the event informed us that some of these pilots had recently come back from Afghanistan and Iraq.

Not all the aircraft belonged to the military anymore. The photo above is of The Blades, the UK's only full-time civilian-formation display team, which is part of an aviation-based communications business that was started by two ex-RAF men. Most of the pilots are also ex-RAF. The Blades do a lot of corporate flying events such as this.

Then there was the Vulcan (photo below) which was made during the late 1950s as part of UK's/NATO's Cold War defence strategy: it was essentially designed to carry atomic bombs to Russia in the event of a Soviet nuclear attack. Later it was used as a display aircraft by the RAF. In the early 1990s, it was sold to a family firm who wanted to maintain her (a friend pointed out that I've used the feminine to refer to the Vulcan - I can't imagine why I did that. I'm tempted to change it but I won't). In 2005, it was bought by the Vulcan to the Sky Trust, a registered charity which has restored it to fly again, to preserve its heritage. No matter how grand it might look in the sky (its quite huge compared to the jets we saw), I cannot see the point of spending millions so that a military aircraft from the Cold War (or any other time) can fly again. Although the trust argues that a flying Vulcan (as opposed to one sitting in a museum) has an educational value, what kind of education are we talking of here?

Serving largely as an interface between the military and the general public, I cannot help but feel that the airshow is a bizarre form of public recreation.

The display that really took the cake in this "bizarre" and even "disturbing" regard was a helicopter that flew in some 8-9 soldiers armed with rifles/machine guns. Two of them descended first near the water and ran inland to the end of the beach and positioned themselves on the ground. These were the "enemy." Then the remaining soldiers descended and the entire exercise showed the audience how soldiers advance toward enemy combatants and take them down while covering each other (so there were rounds fired, empty I am sure, but still). At the end, the two enemy soldiers pretended to be shot and dropped dead.

As if this wasn't enough, some days later at the local public library, I picked up a pamphlet put out there by the DLI Museum (which is a military museum near/in Durham) which is going to organize its Annual Military Vehicle Rally at the end of August - this is the 36th annual rally; the day is a bank holiday in the region. Also they have other one-day events planned for the rest of the year: family activities which cater to all ages: such as "Make a DLI Soldier" in which you can "learn about the different uniforms of the DLI and make your own soldier" (why would I want my kid to do that, I am sure I don't know); "Stories from the Front" in which you can "listen to or read Stories from the Front, then draw a picture to take home" (hmm... I wonder what these stories are going to be and what sort of pictures children will draw); and here's the one that really stunned me: "Wartime Games and Past Times Day" which is described as "Who still plays hopscotch or dominoes or pick-up sticks? Try your hand at a selection of wartime games and crafts." I am really tempted to go check it out... but unfortunately or fortunately, I'll be back in Mumbai by then.