Kemble air day launches

2:10pm Tuesday 13th May 2008

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THE skies in the Cotswolds thundered this week as this year's Kemble air day took off.

At the press day yesterday, the Kemble team gave a sneak preview of what to expect at next month's event. It featured a number of aircraft performing impressive manoeuvres, one complete with on the ground pyrotechnics.

The 12th annual Kemble air day this year celebrates not only the RAF's 90th anniversary, but also the airfield's 70th birthday.

The day will mix state-of-the-art aircraft with classic wartime planes.

It is also the first year the event has adopted a charity, the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund.

Airfield manager Glen Moreman said: "The shows at Kemble just keep getting bigger and better."

RAF squadron leader Andy Pawsey told the Standard: "We have a great history with Kemble. The airfield itself is perfect, it's the right size, it has the right back-drop.

"We try and get the very best we can - and working with the team at Kemble, I think we get the very best we can."

The press day also gave Cirencester's wartime pilot Joy Lofthouse a chance to sit behind the controls of the iconic Spitfire for the first time since September 1945.

Delighted Mrs Lofthouse, 85, commented: "It was so nostalgic - the smell comes back to you more than anything else. Many memories, it's very kind of them to make such a fuss of me. I'm very privileged."

The Kemble air day takes place Father's Day, Sunday June 15.

For more information visit www.kembleairday.com