This film is part of Free

Wings in the Sky

Eyes to the skies, an audience thrill to the spirit and speed of flying at Sunderland Airport.

Amateur film 1980 6 mins

From the collection of:

Logo for North East Film Archive

Overview

Feet firmly on the ground, plane spotters gather for the noisiest, largest and last Air Day held at Sunderland Airport on Sunday 15 June 1980. Once a favourite subject for the makers of 'interest' films, the romance of flight is still alive in these joyrides in the clouds, recorded by the Chester-le-Street Amateur Cine Club. Vintage planes on show include the Spitfire, Currie Wot and Fairey Firefly, and RAF fighter-bomber aircraft perform thrilling stunts for the crowd.

The Air Day was first held on 28 June 1964 to celebrate RAF Usworth's reincarnation as Sunderland Airport, which finally closed on 31 May 1984. The runways were then lost under the huge expanse of a new Nissan car factory that was built on the site.