The Air Display Association was founded in 1987 by a small group of dedicated enthusiasts to bring together both Organisers and Pilots and represent them in dealings with the Civil Aviation Authority who, at that time, was considering introducing new legislation to regulate the Industry. Since then it has grown into a pan-European organisation whose members include the organisers of practically all the major UK Airshows and a majority of those arranging smaller events. Some 20% of the Association membership is drawn from mainland Europe, from as far afield as Finland and Malta, hence the inclusion of Europe in its current title.
The Association has considerable experience and expertise in all aspects of staging a major Air Display and, because of this expertise, is acknowledged by the Civil Aviation Authority as the industry body for display organisers. It also maintains close links with the Historic Aircraft Association and the Associations of the other display-related disciplines such as BBAC, PFA and BGA. Both SBAC and IAT are members.
AIMS
The aims of the Association are to bring together, in a loose informal grouping, members from all sides of the Display Industry - organises, pilots and what could be loosely described as supporting interests. These aims can be summarised as:
to PROMOTE to outside organisations
to REPRESENT with CAA, other disciplines, JAA etc
to DISSEMINATE newsletter, articles, publications (later)
to TRAIN as required
to NEGOTIATE with CAA, public organisations etc
All those who seek the furtherance of the Industry are welcome to join.
If you're involved with the air display industry, and you want to see it prosper, you should be a member.