A FORMER Ringwood School pupil will have a bird's eye view of one of his childhood haunts when he brings the King Air plane to the Bournemouth Air Festival.

Flight Lieutenant Leon Creese, who joined the RAF as a direct entrant after attending Ringwood School and Brockenhurst College, is tipping the More Bus Bournemouth Air Festival for great success.

The free four-day festival, which takes place along the seafront between Thursday, August 28 and Sunday, August 31, will see some of the world's most renowned planes visit Bournemouth - including a record three appearances by the Red Arrows and the return of the Avro Vulcan.

The King Air - a twin-engine turboprop monoplane which is used by the RAF as a multi-engine advanced pilot trainer - might not be as exciting as many of the others but it will be flown close to its performance limits in a "surprisingly dynamic display".

Leon said: "Regulations prevent me from performing true aerobatic manoeuvres; however, the crowd should see the aircraft in attitudes that would not be expected of a King Air, which is normally used in the civilian world for executive transport."

When asked whether he was excited about bringing the King Air to Bournemouth, he said: "Yes, very much so. Every show is exciting; some because they are in difficult locations, others because of their enormous crowds and some because I know the display will present new challenges.

"Having grown up in Ringwood and enjoyed many childhood trips to Bournemouth's beaches, it is great to come back and be involved in what I hope will be one of Bournemouth's greatest events.

"By appealing to many members of the public who might not attend a normal on-airfield show, seaside shows allow display pilots to reach a much wider audience.

"The displays planned for Bournemouth will get kids interested in aviation, of that I'm sure.

"Those children, and hopefully a few parents too, will want to come again in future years, so with sufficient drive from the organisers and continued support from the display teams, the Bournemouth Air Festival should go from strength to strength."

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