Wings and Wheels: Red Arrows steal the show as thousands enjoy event

The nine arrows roared overhead in their trademark arrow formation as crowds at the Wolverhampton Halfpenny Green Airport in Bobbington, Stourbridge screamed and clapped their appearance - all be it a brief one.

Although there were no acrobatics involved – which was never going to be the case regardless of the Shoreham tragedy the previous week – the pilots released smoke out of the back of their planes to further entertain the crowds.

Not even the poor weather conditions which included a spot of heavy rain could dampen the spirits of the thousands of people in attendance.

Although the Red Arrows were the star of the show, the event offered more than that to keep families and enthusiasts alike entertained.

Throughout the day various planes and helicopters did their own flyovers, but there were no acrobatics as seen at the Shoreham air show which turned to tragedy.

This was never going to be the case as organiser Vaughan Meers pointed out, 'we are an entirely different event'.

Over 50 planes flew into the airport and landed and became static aircraft on the ground for crowds to enjoy, the more exciting aircraft, such as the Chipmunk, did flypasts.

Micro planes, controlled by remote controls, were also a crowd pleaser as they whizzed through the air.

Away from the sky and there was plenty going on on the ground for the crowds to enjoy.

A huge selection of cars were out in force ranging from the modern Subaru Impreza to a selection of old American muscle cars, including a 1960 Ford Mustang and a 7.4 litre Dodge Challenger.

Black Country Live Steamers were also in attendance at the show, giving crowds a glimpse of their replica steam and traction engines as they drove round the grounds at Bobbington.

The event is hoping to raise over £6,000 for charity.

Between 2,000 and 2,500 people were in attendance yesterday, with more expect to turn out today for the bank holiday Monday show.

Parking was free for the event but it cost £6 for adults, £5 for OAPs, £3 for U5's or £15 for a family ticket.