Farnborough International Airshow

The Farnborough International Airshow is a trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries, where civilian and military aircraft are demonstrated to potential customers and investors in Farnborough, Hampshire, England. Since its first show in 1948, Farnborough has seen the debut of many famous aeroplanes, including the Vickers VC10, Concorde, the Eurofighter, the Airbus A380, and the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. At the 1958 show, Hawker Hunters of the RAF's Black Arrows executed a 22-aircraft formation loop, setting a new world record.

The international trade show runs for five days. Until 2020, the show ran for a full week with the first five days reserved for trade visitors and the general public attending on the weekend.

The Farnborough International Airshow is the second-largest show of its kind after the Paris Air Show.

The event is held in mid-July in even-numbered years at Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre in Hampshire, United Kingdom. Flying occurs on all five days, and there are also static displays of aircraft outside and booths and stands in the indoor exhibition halls. The airshow alternates with the Paris Air Show, which is held in odd-numbered years and has a similar format, and is held in the same years as the Berlin Air Show. It is organised by Farnborough International Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the ADS Group. In 2012, it attracted 109,000 trade visitors over the first five days, and 100,000 public visitors during the weekend. Orders and commitments for 758 aircraft were announced, worth US$72 billion.

The Society of British Aircraft Constructors held its first flying and static display at Hendon Aerodrome in June 1932. An invitation only flying display was held on 27 June 1932 and some of the aircraft were on static display in the "new aircraft park" during the previous weekend when the Royal Air Force pageant was held.

For the sixth annual display in 1938 the event moved to the nearby de Havilland airfield at Hatfield, the last before the Second World War.

The show recommenced in 1946 at Handley Page works at Radlett in north London until 1947. In 1948, it moved to the Royal Aircraft Establishment field at Farnborough, Hampshire.

The inaugural show took place on the first week of September 1948 and all of the static aircraft and supporting display stands were concentrated in the NE corner of the airfield with 'A-Shed' as the main 'West Exhibition Hall' and the soon-to-be famous 'Black Sheds' housing a smaller 'East Exhibition Hall' and refreshments for guests on trade days and the public at the weekend. Among the many aircraft on display were the Armstrong Whitworth A.W.52 jet-powered flying wing and the prototype Vickers Viscount airliner. The de Havilland Comet jet airliner was shown in 1949. In 1950 the huge Bristol Brabazon airliner made its debut, powered by coupled Bristol Centaurus piston engines before the Bristol Proteus turboprops for longer ranges like London-New York nonstop. A modified Vickers Viscount was shown with Rolls-Royce Tay turbojets in a configuration mimicked later by the Boeing 737.