by Alan Jacques
THE 2015 Foynes Air Show will open with one of the largest search and rescue (SAR) training exercises ever undertaken in Ireland on July 26.
Search and rescue teams from all over the country will join the Irish Air Corps, Naval Service (LÉ Samuel Beckett) and Irish Coastguard to carry out their annual exercise in front of the estimated 15,000 people expected to attend the second annual air show in County Limerick.
Hosted by Foynes Flying Boat and Maritime Museum, the air show will also feature aircraft displays from across Europe, along with some of the world’s top aerobatic pilots.
“We look forward to hosting a thrilling and exciting air show of an international standard which will feature even more aircraft and participants than our hugely successful inaugural show in 2014,” said Margaret O’Shaughnessy, director of Foynes Flying Boat and Maritime Museum.
“The air show not only provides a wonderful day out for aviation enthusiasts and people of all ages but it also celebrates Foynes’ historic place in world aviation history,” she added.
Taking to the skies over West Limerick and the Shannon Estuary as part of the event will be a Russian Mini MiG, authentic World War Two aeroplanes, a Hawker Hunter fighter, a P51 Mustang and James Bond’s BD-5 Micro-Jet as seen in ‘Octopussy’.
Meanwhile, Aer Lingus’ first plane, the Iolar, will be flying in formation for one of the first time’s ever at a public display with three de Havilland Chipmunks in Air Corps colours.
The stunning spectacle will also feature the world’s only formation wing-walking display team — The Breitling Wingwalkers. A sequence of formation loops and rolls will be performed while wingwalkers carry out acrobatics on the wings.
The air show will get underway on Sunday July 26 at 1pm and continues until 6pm. It will also feature live music, food stalls and children’s entertainment. Organisers say that Park and Ride services will be provided throughout the event to enhance access to and from the air show site. For more details log onto Visit www.foynesairshow.com.
