Cockpit made out of 55,000 LEGO bricks joins the jets at Airbourne

The cockpit, made up of 55,000 individual bricks, is being created by brick-building artists from Bright Bricks.

The UK company has produced creations for John Lewis, McLaren and Warner Bros, as well as being behind the record-breaking Tower Bridge LEGO brick structure, famously driven on by a Land Rover Discovery.

As well as the cockpit, young explorers can also look out for a larger than life mythical beast built from LEGO bricks, a replica of one of Airbourne’s famous Air Bears and some quick build aircraft kits available for sale at the Bright Bricks retail unit on the Western Lawns.

Eastbourne Borough Council Lead Cabinet Member for Tourism and Enterprise Councillor Margaret Bannister said, “This is an incredible opportunity for daring pilots and avid LEGO brick builders to enjoy up close, this jet’s first ever appearance.

“Many thanks go to the master builders at Bright Bricks for engineering this in time for Airbourne.”

The cockpit joins a wide array of ground attractions, including a military exhibition with climbing wall, a big wheel, simulators, children’s entertainment beaches and the opportunity to take to the skies in a helicopter pleasure flight.

In the RAF zone, keen fliers can experience life in the hot seat as the RAF open up the ‘Operation Virtual Reality’ dome at Airbourne for the first time. Fast jet fans can try out the brand new experience which includes flying the latest F35B Lightning II, overseeing a parachute drop of humanitarian aid and intercepting hostile aircraft in a Typhoon jet.

Flying attractions include up to 18 different displays each day, including the RAF Red Arrows, Typhoon, Chinook, Belgian Air Force Agusta A109, Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, The Blades, Wingwalkers, MiG-15, Spitfire, Blenheim and many more.

After flying ends each day, film fans can settle down for a packed programme of free, family friendly movies screened on the beach including The Secret Life of Pets, The Boss Baby, Paddington 2 and The Greatest Showman. Music fans can also enjoy a Bandstand concert with tributes to the sound of the Big Band, the 80s and Abba.

For a glittering finish in the 100th year of the RAF, Airbourne will see its first twilight helicopter display on Sunday night with smoke and pyrotechnics from OTTO of O’Brien’s Flying Circus. The FireFlies duo also return to bring magical night-time pyro-aerobatics to round off the four day flying programme, before a stunning firework finale at 10pm, by Frontier Fireworks.