Sometimes you are better no going into the official part of the show at all.

If you are lucky there is a field that you can gain access to on the far side of the airstrip away from the crowds there you can record everything from where hopefully the tannoy and the people will be masked by the aircraft.

For Bournemouth how about renting a boat and anchoring off the coast a bit. A rowing boat would be big enough. Take lots of towels, as you can soak them and tie them round anything that is moving on the boat.

I go to Southend Airshow to record and my main problem has always been the apparent need for annoying tannoys giving a running commentary of everything the jet is doing. Unfortunately the sound travels quite far so is hard to get away from. Saying that, the sonic dominance of the four Rolls Royce engines in that vulcan will shut it out on the fly by. This is a jet well worth recording as many say it has another year, maybe two left flying at airshows before being retired forever. I record with shotgun mics following the jets so far into a 702 which gets some nice enough results. Unfortunately, this year I ran down from my house to record the Vulcan and was using my back up recorder (FR2LE). I quickly went to turn it on and realised batteries were dead AAAAHHHHHHH, when your panicking those 4 AA batteries in the FR2Le can be real fun. As always be prepared

I'd personally go either shotgun or MS and track the jets as they go by.

Also, a very light and mobile rig that you can carry easily will probably be best since you may need to move around quite a bit to find the best spot.

Inline pads can be useful, especially if you're cutting to a device with a post A/D limiter.

Crowds and announcers will hound you constantly if you're at the airshow proper.

I've only done one field recording at an airshow so far, but here's what I know from that.

First, check the event website and read the media policy. Are there copyright restrictions? Do you need to register for a media pass?

With military aircraft present security will be tight. However, they should also be used to seeing people with SLR gear so sound recorders shouldn't stand out too much. Expect metal dectors and fenced off areas as you search for a crowd free spot to record.

Get a copy of the schedule, but don't expect things to run on time. Allow for a whole day to record if you can.

Finding a place to record can be tricky. You have three main forces against you. First is the crowds of people making noise. Second is the speakers playing music nearly everywhere. Third is that aircraft are sharing airspace so it can be tricky to find a helicopter flying without a jet being audible in the background.

But good thing is the airshow space is huge, so you just need to find an outer area away from the intersections of aircraft. I found car parks and places and along the long driveway in were both people free and had isolated aircraft flying overhead. Expect to have to walk around a lot to find the best spot.

Onto the actual mics, I just used a shotgun on a boom pole in an attempt to get a directional mic above the noise level of any people. This seemed to work well, but time permitting I would have added a pair of stereo mics to this. The soundwaves bouncing off the ground is what really adds to the power of a jet - but you may need an assistant if you are going to move all this gear around

Obvious thing also if you're following the aircraft with a directional mic you'll aim a bit behind the aircraft, especially for jets. Lastly pre-rec is your friend for when that massive bomber flies low overhead. (Oh well, it sounded amazing so at least I got to hear it if not capture it.) Again obvious, but watch your levels, wear ear protection and record at the highest rate you can do.

Great tips so far.

I'd add, instead of going to the official show, some airshows have a more informal "fly in" or "fly out." Usually the day before or after the main event, when the planes arrive/depart the site the show. You might find that a more useful time to record as you won't have to contend with crowds, music, or announcers...the enemy of sound effects recordists. Plus one for getting away from the site of the main event.