These photos were taken  on Saturday September 12, 1998.  This is Public Day One of the two Public Days.  The show started on Sunday September 6, 1998.  The first six days are reserved for the Industry Professionals and the Media.  The Airshow occurs every other year.

That morning, I awoke early for my one hour train ride to Heathrow.  This was basically painless as we were staying just outside the Tube on Tottenham Court Road.  I was scheduled to meet up with a few other friends at LHR.  This was not to be as first, the Tube closed after I exited the train.  it was now closed indefinitely.  Our rendezvous time came and departed.   As it was getting late, I decided to go over to the Queens Building, the departure point for the Farnborough coach.  A big double decker bus awaited.  As I boarded, I kept looking for my friends, but still no sign of them.  Oh well, we'll just meet up at our third rendezvous point.  We had already missed each other the day before.

As we left the airport, I tried to take some photos with the little outdoor camera I had, the results were as cheap as the camera.   One key reason may have been the ugly weather we were having.  It was not raining, but it was foggy and about 60 degrees with a stiff wind.

The ride out to Farnborough was actually spectacular.  I really love the English countryside.  As we neared the exit for the airfield, it started to rain heavily, bummer I thought.  This rain continued until we arrived at the field and for about another half an hour or so.  Luckily, from previous Farnborough experiences, I brought an umbrella.

I bought the entrance ticket, entered, and between the inclement weather had, what turned out to be a spectacular show.  Enjoy the pictures that follow.

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This airplane was flown by Boeing with 16 employees from Everett Washington USA for the show. It featured a US registration N5028Y and a Thai registration of TKA.  Visitors were allowed to walk through the airplane.  The first and business class cabins featured Boeing display seats, while the coach cabin featured TG's economy seats.  Boeing also set up a section to show how much smaller the cabin of the A340 was.  Note the guy in the raincoat.  It was a rainy and cold day as usual.  it was about 57F with a bad wind chill.

Is that a huge tail or what!  You can also see the Taca Group's A300B Freighter.

This is the view from the stairs leading into the B777-300 (nicknamed SRIWANA).  The line you see curves around the A300B and kept going for a long way.  The wait was about 30 - 45 minutes.  It was cold, wet, but worth it.  You can see the Airbus A300-600ST Super Transporter with it's nose open.  The tail of the Flying Hospital's L1011 is also visible.

Another view.

Here is the tail of the Super Transporter.  Yes, It is as big as it seems.  The airplane is actually built on the frame of the A300.

The Super Transporter up close.

On the left is  European Airlines' BAC111, the Super Transporter can be seen with its nose open, and the Flying Hospital's L1011 is on the right.

The Airbus A330 sits off to the side at Farnborough after performing a spectacular aerial display.

British Airways' Concorde is aligned with the ten membes of the Red Arrow after their aerial perfromance.

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European Airlines was showcasing the fact that their BAC111s are fitted with Stage 3 engines.

The Red Arrows put in a dismal showing.  The rain may be responsible though.  They pretty much flew across the skies once, the red leader broke off first, then the others followed.  They then returned to the field one by one.

This is the right side of the Airbus display showing all their production and planned production models.

Here are the other models.

Traditionally, Boeing does not do a display of this kind.  Thank God they did this year!  The range is from the B747-400 to the B737BJ.

Here is the view from the other side.