VIDEO: A majestic return from the Vulcan on day three as thousands flock to Bournemouth Air Festival

The wind had dropped after a blustery Friday and the scene was set for a perfect day as the sun shone at lunchtime.

See how day three unfolded, plus more pictures, in our rolling coverage of Bournemouth Air Festival 

And although the clouds stayed around all afternoon, it was a near-perfect programme, with only the Rolls Royce Spitfire falling victim to technical trouble.

It began with a bang as the Royal Marines stormed the beach in their amphibious assault and didn’t look back, as the mighty Typhoon roared in to set the afternoon’s flying off to a cracker.

The RAF’s top front line fighter showed off all of its gravity-defying moves with afterburners alight and devastating speed and noise.

And after that it just kept coming, with the Black Cats helicopter team, the Tucano and Tutor training aircraft and the Army Air Corps Lynx helicopter.

The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight – a Lancaster bomber and two Spitfires – made a welcome return after being grounded because of high winds on Friday, bringing joy to the huge crowd on the beach and cliff top, swiftly followed by another World War Two hero, the Dakota.

The Chinook showed just how versatile it is, despite its size, before the first parachute action of the weekend.

The Tigers dropped at 120mph in freefall before letting their parachutes open, with smoke pouring and flags flying – three of the six-strong team connected together, falling in unison before breaking off and landing perfectly on the beach in front of the masses.

The Merlin helicopter showed why it is so important to the Royal Navy, before B-17 Flying Fortress Sally B swooped over in all her glory to give the history buffs another highlight in memory of the brave American bomber crews of WW2.

See all our pictures from Saturday in a gallery

The afternoon was heading for its climax – and what a climax it was.

Hunter jet Miss Demeanour howled in with her trademark scream, her colourful paint job catching everyone’s eyes as Jonathon ‘Flapjack’ Whaley put her through her paces.

As if that wasn’t enough, there was anticipation in the air as an iconic shape could be made out over the Isle of Wight.

After falling victim to technical problems last year, Cold War Vulcan bomber XH558 – the world’s only flying example – majestically swept over the seafront.

It was a welcome return and one that left the crowds cheering loudly.

But there was still time for one final explosion of noise, colour and precision flying.

There could not have been a better way for a flawless afternoon to end than with the Red Arrows.

The team – down to eight aircraft after Red 3’s wife went into labour – dazzled the thronging crowd with big loops, close passes, plenty of red, white and blue smoke and the crowd favourite – the red heart in the sky.

The people came in their thousands and were not disappointed.