Torbay Airshow today announced the world renowned display team, The Blades, to its line up.

With a breathtaking military and civilian flying programme planned and exciting on the ground activities for all the family on Friday 10 June, 2pm to 10pm, Saturday 11 June, 10am to 10pm, and Sunday 12 June, 10am to 6pm - this is an event you will not want to miss!

The Blades are a full-time civilian aerobatic display team based in the UK and is made up entirely of former RAF Red Arrows pilots.

Renowned worldwide for flying close formation aerobatics to the highest level within a dynamic and cutting edge display, The Blades currently hold a world record in formation looping.

A Torbay Council spokesperson said: “With over 30,000 hours of flying between them, The Blades are amongst the most experienced display pilots in the UK. Add to the fact that all are former RAF fast-jet and Red Arrows pilots and it is little wonder that their air display is renowned world-wide and very much in demand. The display is a fantastic, jaw-dropping sequence of over 30 separate manoeuvres to be flown and yet still leave the audience wanting more.”

During the display, aircraft will perform an opposition cross at combined speeds of over 400mph followed by extreme gravity defying solo ‘gyroscopic’ aerobatics, synchronised rolls, twists, double-tumbles and knife-edge spins. What sets The Blades apart is that there is never a quiet moment in their display, you will be captivated from start to finish.

The Blades fly Extra EA-300s. They are low-wing, high performance aircraft designed for the most adventurous aerobatic manoeuvres and created with advanced aerobatic flying in mind. A competitive aerobatic display pilot during the 1980s, Walter Extra decided to design and build the ultimate aerobatic aeroplane, with optimum structure, weight and performance and the forerunner of today's aircraft was born.

Since it was first produced, the Extra has undergone many modifications and the current design utilises the most advanced materials and construction techniques to provide an extremely light-weight and agile aeroplane.

The Blades have flown over 600 displays throughout the UK, Europe and the Middle-East. The aim is to showcase the amazing capabilities of the Extra 300 combined with the skill, experience and heritage of the pilots. The Team is very much in demand as the display adds a real ‘wow’ factor to any airshow.

The military aircraft have been confirmed and so far the line-up includes the world’s premier aerobatic team The Red Arrows, as well as the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4, King Air B200, and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight aircraft - the Hawker Hurricane, Avro Lancaster and The Spitfire as well as The Tigers Freefall Parachute Display Team, the flagship team for the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.

A brand new aerobatic team with pyrotechnic formation flying team AeroSPARX. AeroSPARX, unique in airshow circles as it has special clearance to fly at night with pyrotechnics will also be taking to the skies.

The Gyro flying display, also known as a Gyrocopter or Gyroplane, can also be seen over the weekend. This unusual aircraft is great to watch and is described by the pilots as fun to fly. The rotor blades of the gyro are completely freewheeling in flight, being driven solely by the air going up through the rotor disk.

This year will be the first time Torbay has held an air show and over 150,000 visitors are expected to watch the action unfold over the weekend.

To date, Bristol Street Motors, Devonshire Windows, Hyundai Torbay, Our Garage, Inter-Line Building Supplies, Francis Clark, Budget and TDA have been signed up as official sponsors by the official event commercial team Rocket Fuel Media.

Bristol Street Motors is sponsoring the Hurricane Hangout hospitality marquee and Devonshire Windows the VIP hospitality marquee. Francis Clark has sponsored the night flying element of the airshow.

Hyundai Torbay and Our Garage have shared sponsorship of the Fly-by Family Fun hospitality marquee and Inter-Line Building Supplies is sponsoring the Airshow Live Stage.

The Coastal Communities Fund has provided a start up grant to part-fund the cost of the airshow. Other income is being generated by Rocket Fuel Media, from the sale of sponsorship, concessions and exhibitor space.

Sponsorship and exhibiting opportunities are still available, to find out more visit www.torbayairshow.com.

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