Under the captaincy of David Marshall, next year's Farn-borough Air Show looks set to be a bumper event.
Marshall, the director-general of the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC), was riding the crest of a buoyant aviation industry as he launched his show at Dubai '97 on two Royal Navy warships docked in Port Rashid.
More than 300 local business leaders, exhibitors, senior British military officers and the Red Arrows aerobatic display team members were saluted by a Royal Navy honour guard as they boarded the Type 23 frigate HMS Westminster and Type 42 destroyer HMS Nottingham for the SBAC funded event.
Marshall says Farnborough is "Épretty well booked out on chalets" and there is a lot of interest in stands.
"Not only are the big guys looking at Farnborough, it is more of a trade show for the smaller guys and you've got the industry from around the world there - you can't get that anywhere else in the world," he says.
"Next year is our 50th anniversary," says Marshall. In co-operation with the Royal Aeronautical Society we are making 'Young People in Aviation' the theme of the show."
Guest of honour on the helicopter deck of HMS Westminster was UK defence procurement minister Lord Gilbert, who predicted very large orders in the hundreds of millions of pounds "very soon" for the British defence industry.
"It gives me great delight and is a further example of government working with British industry to bring success to our country," he says.
Sir Charles Masefield, head of the Defence Export Services Organisation, says last year was a record-breaker for the UK defence industry with sales of $7.5 billion, which amounted to some 25% of the world market.
"It will be a job to beat last year but 1997 is actually going to be even better than 1996," he says.
Source: Flight Daily News