INSPIRING WOODFORD AIRSHOW BOOK


Publisher Runway 25’s book on this long-running airshow has been revised and updated… and is a fine reference for aircraft modellers, says CHRIS CLIFFORD.

INSPIRING WOODFORD AIRSHOW BOOK

One of the UK’s few northern airshows – and one of the most interesting – Woodford ran from 1949 to 2000. In that time it attracted a wealth of aircraft participants which, occasionally, brought a welcome helping of ‘exotica’. As you can imagine, the late 1940s and 1950s in particular ensured fascinating aircraft in attendance, across both military and civilian sectors; overseas air arms didn’t shy away from the former Avro/BAe airfield, either. Indeed, it was arguably the fact that the airfield owners’ presence in industry, and links with different air arms, ensured quality static and flying exhibits.

INSPIRING WOODFORD AIRSHOW BOOK

Now, there are many themes on which modellers can embark, and a popular strand is aircraft that the builder has actually seen. Airshows are the obvious route to this, and Woodford in Cheshire was up there with the best of them. Runway 25’s 263-page hardback book on this event series (first issued in 2021) offers a fabulous array of photographs, grouped by year chronologically and accompanied by extended captions and general narrative on each year. The thoughtful design allows more impactful images to ‘breathe’ and ensures a pleasing overall journey.

INSPIRING WOODFORD AIRSHOW BOOKINSPIRING WOODFORD AIRSHOW BOOK

The types shown are legion and the photos, ostensibly a great reference if building on the Woodford theme, are highly useful for any modeller who constructs aircraft from across the decades. Standout inclusions for me personally are the USAF Kaman Huskie from 1972 and the Central Flying School Westland Whirlwind HAR.10, which attended the following year. Winding back a little, Rolls-Royce’s Spitfire Mk.XIV, resplendent in pale/dark blue and white, is another choice attendee from 1966. Much later though, in 1982, a BAe.125 from Nigeria’s Civil Aviation Flying Unit was another attractive and exotic subject. Really, though, there are too many ‘stunners’ to mention.

INSPIRING WOODFORD AIRSHOW BOOKINSPIRING WOODFORD AIRSHOW BOOK

If you like building fast jets, the pages for the 1980s have everything from USAF Wild Weasel F-4Gs and F-16Cs, RAF Harrier GR.3s, Hawks, Tornados, Phantoms and many more types… when the UK had a much larger and more appealing air force from a modelling perspective. Some of the types that grace the pages here also attended other shows, so are extra helpful if you think to embark on your own airshow theme.

See more on Osprey's new Wild Weasel Phantom reference book

INSPIRING WOODFORD AIRSHOW BOOK

Company demonstrator and test aircraft (including Russian Test Pilots Team Flankers), warbirds and ultra-rarities – such as the blue and white French Air Force Puma from the Centre d’Instruction des Equipages d’Helicopters 341 – make this an incredibly rounded book. It will be a nostalgic walk down memory lane for some, but for others, simply a superb reference on many different aircraft types and their colour schemes. As such it’s highly recommended… especially as it costs just £19.99, direct from Runway 25.

The History of the Woodford Airshow 1949-2000
By: Mark Williams
Format: 249 x 175mm
ISBN: 978-1-7391548-0-6

INSPIRING WOODFORD AIRSHOW BOOK