I am pleased to report that the Royal Air Force Association Airshow held on August 31 and September 1 was again an undoubted success.

The event was held solely in aid of the Wings Appeal charity and looks likely to have raised a similar amount to 2001, which was more than £100,000.

The need today is greater than ever because of the welfare needs of many former RAF personnel and the costs of the upkeep of homes such as Sussex Down in Storrington, which have escalated beyond belief.

An event such as this annual air show is one source of revenue the association has.

There is no government assistance, although most of the residents in the homes fought hard for their country. The only way to create a profit from this air show is to have total reliance on volunteer helpers.

The Shoreham branch is so lucky to have a force of assistants, many of whom are not connected with the association or the Royal Air Force.

May I, together with the association, express enormous thanks to everyone of them for giving up their time and energy in helping to produce such a well-organised event.

The hub of the organisation is centralised within the main air show committee and my personal acknowledgement and appreciation for the hours of hard work and sincere loyalty is extended to them.

We are all proud of the work we carry out, knowing our efforts and the funds raised are so well appreciated by those in need. We are indebted to our main sponsor, The Argus, for really putting the event on the map.

It has supported us with ticket sales, programme and poster design and print, and the back-up of a fantastic marketing team.

I would like to pass on the appreciation of all at Shoreham, together with the association, to the management and staff and to all the retailers who sold advance tickets and programmes. May I make a special mention of Margaret, who organised the credit card hotline. She did a brilliant job. What would we do without her?

We were also assisted by many other companies throughout the area, including SouthCentral trains, Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach Company and Shell Aviation Fuel. We are indebted to them all.

Finally, I would like to express our thanks to all who attended the show and generously helped to achieve this wonderful result.

We like to feel we give value for money, not only with an international air show but also with the added entertainment on the ground.

This year, we featured the arena with lots of displays, including the Royal Marine Commandos unarmed combat.

This proved a great success and will be bigger and better next year, when the show is planned for August 30 and 31.

-Don Bean, Hon Airshow Organiser, Shoreham