By Stephen Bridgewater
The on-off saga of the world-famous Flying Legends airshow continues with the organisers announcing today, December 19, that the event will not take place in 2024. Following a semi-successful move to the former RAF Church Fenton (now Leeds East Airport) in the north of England in July 2023( HERE is our article), hopes were high that the relocation would be permanent, but that appears to now be in question.
The final Flying Legends airshow took place at Duxford in 2019, with subsequent events being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and, later, the inability to reach a suitable commercial agreement with Duxford airfield owners, the Imperial War Museum. While no details have been given regarding the reason for the decision, The Fighter Collection’s Nick Grey posted on social media that “soon we will meet again, and until then, let us stay optimistic and acknowledge that the Show Must Go On.” He also thanked the team at Church Fenton for their “energy and professionalism”, adding that the Flying Legends team was gathering their thoughts for 2025 and beyond.
Those who attended the 2023 event at Church Fenton raved about the venue’s arching flight line and virtually unlimited airspace, however, several factors worked against the event and led to far fewer spectators than hoped for. The late confirmation and the date clash with the Royal International Air Tattoo meant many enthusiasts had already committed to tickets and hotels for the latter event. Meanwhile, Flying Legends took place just a week after the popular Great Yorkshire Show meaning that local visitors had possibly already spent their budget for attending big events.
Finally, the apocalyptic weather kept all but the most hardy enthusiasts from attending the show. While there will be no Flying Legends airshow in 2024, warbird enthusiasts are eagerly awaiting details of the recently announced Sywell Airshow. Scheduled to take place on 22-23 June at the Northamptonshire airfield which is home of Richard Grace’s Air Leasing organization, hopes are high that gems such as the newly restored Hawker Tempest II and other aircraft will make this one of ‘the’ warbird events of the season.
Really needs to be at Duxford again. Don’t understand what went wrong with Sywell either, but Leeds?
Come on, seriously!!