Close to 1,000 votes were received this year, however with 50+ disregarded and deleted, the final tally of valid votes was 918. While most who voted did vote in every category, there were around 70 or so that voted in only one or two categories only. Best Airshow 1st) RIAT (344) 2nd) RAF Cosford Air Show (239) 3rd) Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow (212) As Airscene reviewer Lee Chapman said ‘A welcome return for the World’s biggest Military Air Show’, a couple of years without an Airshow to visit could very well be the reason for the enthusiasm shown for RIAT this year, and most definitely a well deserved 1st place. Best Free Airshow 1st) Rhyl (198) 2nd) Eastbourne (163) 3rd) Bournemouth (149) This is the first of 2 categories where voters seemed to be out in force for a venue that has barely featured in Airscene Awards in the past, and despite issues on day 2, the first day of the 2022 Rhyl Airshows seems to have made a big impression on those that attended. Best Display Team 1st) ROKAF Black Eagles (330) 2nd) Red Arrows (311) 3rd) Frecce Tricolori (194) I missed seeing ROKAF perform this year, and I am even more gutted now as you have put them in 1st place above the Red Arrows who are nearly always on top of this category. Well done ROKAF! Best Solo Display 1st) Belgian F16 (288) 2nd) Czech AF Mi-24 Hind (235) 3rd) RAF Chinook (203) Two heli’s in this years top 3, with the Czech Hind just pushing the Chinook down to 3rd place. The Belgian F16 did have the best colour scheme and many of you feel the solo display matched this. I need to give a mention to the Austrian QRA demo, which received votes in both the Display Team and Solo Display Category for some reason – if the votes were all added together, they would be a very close 4th in each category… And finally Best Aviation Museum 1st) RAF Museum Midlands (279) 2nd) Duxford Imperial War Museum (258) 3rd) RAF Sculthorpe Heritage Centre (84) RAF Museum Midlands (Cosford) are placed 1st again in the Airscene Awards, which I think is testament to the hard work that they put in the keep it relevant, with a packed calendar of events throughout the year – well done to the team at Cosford. RAF Sculthorpe have never received this many votes before and a last minute rally around kept both Newark Air Museum and RAF Museum London out of 3rd place (they tied on 81 points each by the way). I’d like to close by sharing a quote from one of those who voted for RAF Sculthorpe Heritage Centre: “My father was stationed there from 1958-61. I was twelve years old when we arrived. It was a wonderful assignment and we made some lifelong friends while there. Ian Brown and Family and Friends have worked very hard and have done a great job. A visit from Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth was an amazing event in and of itself.” – John Witzell

2016 results