Crowds in their thousands watched mesmerised as Sidmouth’s 2019 air display was a soaring success.
Rows of eager spectators lined the beach and Sidmouth seafront as they waited for the RAF parachute team to drop from the sky onto the beach.
But time and tide wait for no man, and organisers and the RAF Falcons display team had to admit defeat when the incoming tide turned early and scuppered the planned parachute jump.
For safety reasons, it was decided to abandon the ten-man team dropping from 12,000 feet from a Dornier aircraft, performing manoeuvres on the way down.
Instead spectators watched in awe at the aerial aerobatics by the Twirlybatics and the Pitts Special biplane.
The arrival of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Spitfire drew rounds of applause from the waiting crowds and gasps of surprise at the aerial antics of the Strikemaster Jet Display Team.
The evening’s entertainment drew to a close with waves of goodbye from the crowds to the RAF Chinook Display Team, as they showed off their superb skills of manoeuvre high in the sky above Sidmouth seafront.
Visitors and residents were asked to give generously so the Red Arrows can return to Sidmouth in 2020.
Photographer and videographer Kyle Baker put together a film, capturing some of the highlights of Sidmouth’s 2019 air display.
