As the aerospace industry this week gathers at the Farnborough International Airshow, Ben Dunnell presents a series of stunning photos from 60 years ago
This year sees the Farnborough show at a crossroads. No public weekend, the first event for four years after missing 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic — it will undoubtedly look very different. Time was, decades ago, when the Society of British Aircraft Constructors’ exhibition and display was renowned as the greatest spectacle on the scene.
The alterations implemented in the wake of a much-criticised 2018 edition have, in a sense, acknowledged what many had long felt: that Farnborough, through the inevitable march of urban encroachment, is no longer a venue suitable for the staging of a flying event with broad spectator appeal. The Red Arrows being rendered unable to perform a full routine seemed to be something of a bellwether.
But while that wasn’t the case 60 years ago, the 1962 SBAC display itself marked another turning-point. Hitherto, ever since the move to Farnborough in 1948, it had been an annual affair, but before 1962’s show, staged from 3-9 September, the society decided that should change. One spokesman was quoted in The Aeroplane and Commercial Aviation News as …
