Herne Bay’s next air show will be “bigger and better than ever” when it returns in 2017.

Organisers of the spectacle – which attracted tens of thousands of people last month – today confirmed they have already started planning the much-anticipated event.

But with an estimated £100,000 cost, the BayPromoTeam says it needs more time to turn the show around.

The voluntary group’s Gerald McCarthy said: “People have asked how on earth August’s offering can be bettered, but we think it can.

“We’ve lost the Vulcan bomber now which will be retired next month, but we still want to bring the Lancaster Bomber back to HerneBay after our two previous unsuccessful attempts.

“Last year poor weather meant it was grounded and this year an engine fire was to blame.

“With the historic links this aircraft has with the town, bringing it back here is something high up on our list and we’re sure thousands of others would like to see it here again too.”

Last month’s Amy Johnson Memorial Air Show attracted record crowds to Herne Bay and featured iconic aircraft, including the Red Arrows and the Vulcan bomber in its last flying season, as well as the Eurofighter Typhoon and a host of stunt pilots.

For the 2017 show, the team hopes to include a parachute display – which was originally set to open last year’s event but was also cancelled due to the weather.

They say there is also interest from international teams keen to show off their skills over Herne Bay.

Mr McCarthy said: “Staging something along the lines of what the town witnessed last month takes lots of time and costs tens of thousands of pounds.

“We believe that to bring what we have in mind for the next air show will take more time – both in terms of further planning and to raise the funds.

“We'd like to bring the B-17 Flying Fortress to Herne Bay - the aircraft used in the 'Memphis Belle' movie - and we've had interest from international display teams too, including the Patrouille Reva team, from France, and even the Swiss Hornet team.

“In our view no air show would be complete without the Red Arrows of course, and we would be attempting to bring the red, white and blue smoke trails back to Herne Bay for what could even be a two-day air festival with an international flair.”

Mr McCarthy says the team is already working on bringing its plans to life.

Mr McCarthy added: “The work starts now to put something like this together, and we'll need businesses and the wider community to help us fund this mammoth event, and help Herne Bay both further establish itself as one of the UK's top air show locations, and showcase our wonderful town and seafront to as wide an audience as possible.”

Longer term, the team are watching developments with the Concorde plane as plans progress to return it to the skies for air show flypasts.

For more information on the show and how you can help email baypromoteam@gmail.com, visist www.baypromoteam.co.uk or search 'baypromoteam' on facebook.