ALL eyes were on the skies at the annual Yorkshire Air Show at Elvington - among them those of York's most famous plane spotter, Andy Jenkins.

The first day of the two-day event, which remained dry despite a chilly wind, attracted thousands, including Mr Jenkins and a party of VIP war veterans.

Attractions included acrobatic displays, by the Yakovlevs Display Team and Khalifa Jet Team, deafening fly-pasts by the Panavia Tornado F3 and Hawker Hunter F.58A, wing-walking on the Utterly Butterly Barnstormers, a P-51 D Mustang flight accompanied by Glen Miller tunes and the nostalgia of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

A large party of Bomber Command veterans from across the country were joined by Battle of Britain and WAF veterans in a VIP marquee.

They were brought to the show by Doncaster Council, in recognition of the fact that they all served at four Doncaster airbases during the war. This year has been designated as the 60th anniversary of Bomber Command.

For York Bomber Command veteran, Joe Musgrove, of Huntington, the day was a treat.

"I'm an ex-RAF man," he said. "I enjoy it. I suppose it's nostalgia, isn't it?"

Andy Jenkins, the 32-year-old planespotter who was convicted of spying by the Greek courts after being arrested with 11 other Brits and two Dutchmen, said Elvington was very much a family show, rather than a spotting venue for an enthusiast like himself.

"I've been doing this for 22 years and it's a bit of a dying hobby - the average now is 35 to 45," Mr Jenkins told the Press.

"There will be some young plane spotters starting off here. This is the kind of place that gets people started."

He said the Greek experience had not put him off travelling - he had been abroad since and would soon be visiting the Czech Republic.

The plane spotters are back in court at Kalamata on November 4 and Andy said they had no idea what would happen.

"We could do the three years' sentence or it could be increased - we could be given a suspended sentence or a total discharge or something else," he said.

A fundraising benefit concert of folk rock, called Air Aid, to help with the Kalamata 14's legal fees, is to be held on September 13 in Leamington Spa. For more details telephone 01926 334418.

Donations to Planespotters Legal Fund, c/o Fawley, Judge and Easton, 1 Parliament Street, Hull, HU1 2AS, sort code 20-43-47, account number 5052235.

Updated: 11:14 Monday, August 26, 2002