THE weather might not have been kind to yesterday’s Jersey International Air Display but the event was as successful as ever, the skies over St Aubin’s Bay being filled with a procession of iconic aircraft ancient and modern.

As always, the faultless precision of the Red Arrows stole a massive share of the limelight. That the team’s pilots are mere mortals like the rest of us seems implausible given the levels of skill that are so clearly necessary for their inch-perfect routines.

Also deeply impressive was the Avro Vulcan, that relic of the Cold War which, during the stand-off between West and East, carried Britain’s nuclear deterrent. Its present role is, of course, peaceful, but even if the technology it represents has been superseded, it continues to create an impression that combines power and menace with surprising elegance.

But the real significance of the Air Display was perhaps best encapsulated by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the assemblage of a Dakota transport and the victorious fighters of the aerial conflict between the British nation and Nazi Germany, the Hurricane and the Spitfire.

These aircraft remain potent symbols of the sacrifices made by aircrew not only in the Second World War but also in the years since the end of that struggle. Injured and incapacitated airmen and women and their families still benefit greatly from the work of the Royal Air Forces Association, the charity at the centre of yesterday’s superb occasion.

Meanwhile, if low cloud was no show-stopper for the aircraft that assembled for the show, the heavy rain that fell before the Vulcan and the Red Arrows put in their appearances also failed to deter the crowds of spectators. As display organiser Mike Higgins has pointed out, they held their ground resolutely in anticipation of the arrival of the event’s principal stars.

This week there has been much talk of the difficulty of funding the Air Display. It is, quite obviously, a difficult matter to raise the £250,000 required to make it viable. However, the sheer quality of the spectacle should surely mean that the organisers will find the sponsors they need to safeguard the future of this great event.