SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, sees RAF Leuchars stage its annual Battle of Britain Airshow.

Not only is this year’s display going to be “truly spectacular” but for airshow manager Martin Barnett it will be his last in charge.

Martin has been manager of the Leuchars airshow since 1993 although his involvement goes back to the early 1980s when he was still serving in the RAF as a navigator on 43 (Fighter) Squadron.

Yesterday Martin said that, as an event organiser, managing the airshow for the last 10 years had been a “wonderful and rewarding” experience.

He said, “Over the past decade RAF Leuchars has developed the event into a major international airshow with a first rate reputation for putting on high quality displays.

“Our reputation is such that foreign air force display teams want to come to Leuchars not only because of the facilities we provide but because the Scottish public attending the event is so appreciative and welcoming.

“This year we have a truly exciting flying display and we are hoping for a record attendance, which, from a personal point of view, would be a great way to bow out.

“We have six nations taking part in a seven-hour non-stop flying display—Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland with some fantastic displays. The US will be adding to this with a major presence in the static display.”

For the first time the Swiss Air Force will be appearing with the F-18 and Austria will be taking part with a Draken and a Saab jet trainer.

The two top display teams will be at the show—The Patrouille de France in their 50th anniversary year, and the Red Arrows.

Martin joined the RAF direct from school in 1963 and two years later was flying as a navigator on Canberra BI 8s in Germany followed by a tour on Vulcans with 617 Squadron at RAF Scampton.

In the mid-70s came a complete change of direction when he was posted to Phantoms in the air defence role—initially to Wattisham, Suffolk, and then in 1978 to RAF Leuchars where, other than for three years in London, he continued to serve until leaving the RAF in 1993.

His first involvement in the airshow scene was back in 1987 when he was charged with planning the flying and static displays for the Leuchars airshow. He was effectively given free rein to make the display bigger, better and more exciting than those traditionally put on.

In that year the scale was doubled and the process began to develop the airshow into a major Scottish event.

Today RAF Leuchars is the last remaining RAF base to hold the traditional commemorative At Home Day over the Battle of Britain weekend.

Martin said that inevitably the airshow has had to change with the times and is run as a business. It costs more than £500,000 to stage the event and every penny has to be covered from the public entrance charges, fees to the commercial traders and by sponsorship.