Much like Cosford, this was an airshow I did not initially plan on going to, but having heard so many good things leading up to the show in terms of announcements and excitement from the likes of the Avgeeks Assemble Podcast, I knew I had to go. The decision to get a ticket was prompted by the “if you go, I'll go”. I couldn't be letting anyone down so a ticket was bought.

I was really looking forward to this show, with it giving me the same kind of impression as the Duxford shows which I have many fond memories of which I went to many times when I was younger.

It was the usual 0500 start to get on the road leaving good time for gates opening. Traffic was non-existent so brunelheritage and I arrived earlier than expected at about 0715. We were near to the start of the queue, just as planned. When gates opened at 0900, the flow moved quickly and we were in in no time.

It was a bit of a rush to get to the fence first before all the front row spaces were taken. Thankfully we had managed to secure a space in front of the Corsairs in the Spotters Corner. Not quite sure what made this corner for the spotters but there we go.

Camping chairs in position, holding the spot, off to the statics we went. There was a great selection of warbirds, ranging from Spitfires, the Flying Bulls, Placid Lassie, Hurricanes, Mustangs, Corsairs and more. It would be rude not to do the flightline walk for £5 which provided a nice opportunity to tick off a lot of the serials and get up close to the aircraft.

One of my favourite static aircraft was the C-47 “Placid Lassie” which flew over from the USA. It was amazing to speak to the crew who flew with her over here to show her off in 2024, the 80th anniversary of D-Day. I made sure to get a T-shirt to help out with the enormous but well-worth costs of running this gorgeous aircraft. Going inside the aircraft, it was interesting to see the two massive additional fuel tanks used to fly her over, as well as all the kit to support her and the crew while in the UK.

I enjoyed seeing the start up of these warbirds right in front of me, spitting out all the smoke as well as some of them taxiing out before heading to the hard runway.

In terms of the flying display, the show featured the Oil Spill response 727 conducting a single pass, Sally B with a solo display and a few passes with Nellie B, the P-47, and the Corsair trio.

There was also a display from the Lockheed Electra.

Highlights of the show for me were the P-38 Lightning from the Flying Bulls, an aircraft which sadly was not able to come to Midlands Air Fest a month or so prior. The 9 ship of Spitfires was very emotional, and I and those I spoke to were very grateful that the organisers decided to turn off the event music for this portion of the display. I felt that the commentary for Sywell 2024 was much better put together and informative than that of Midlands, which admittedly was a show aimed at the family demographic. This show on the other hand catered for both the enthusiast and the family with neither group feeling disappointed that the commentary was either too technical or too family friendly.

The show itself started fairly late, 1300, which initially I thought was going to be a poor decision. In fact, I was glad to be proven wrong, with this turning out to be a really wise choice. It allowed those who wanted to explore the plethora of statics to explore those without missing the display, as well as allowing ample time to complete the flightline walk. Any more aircraft and I would have felt it would have been hard to complete the show in a single day, and any less and we would have had time to kill.

I tried my hand at videography, having only really ever done photographs. The R7 with its in body stabilisation provided excellent footage which I was proud to release in my second YouTube video.

After the show had finished, we stuck around for the crowd to dissipate and to take one last look around everything. It was nice to be able to get some photos of Placid Lassie without people in it. On the other hand, the crowds did make for some nice shots showing the atmosphere of the show.

On the whole, Sywell is everything I feel an airshow should be:
- Amazing lineup of both flying and static assets
- Brilliant and enticing lead up to the show on social media
- Commentary suited to enthusiasts
- Lighting was pretty good for photography, although towards the end of the day it was starting to get a bit tricky but still workable
- Parking was well thought out with entry and exit from the show being speedy and hassle free
- Good variety of aviation related stalls, unlike some airshows which have a wild range of unrelated vendors

This is of massive credit to the organisers of Sywell 2024, hopefully this years success will lead to many more events here with this year being its first. I would whole heartedly recommend this airshow, with no points for improvement from me. Having been delighted with the show from the inside, I would see no benefit in viewing the show from the outside or round the back, unlike my review of Cosford and Midlands.