A tripod usually won’t solve this at a crowded airshow. Community experience says tripods are often awkward because you need to pan far left/right, people get in the way, and tripod legs take up too much space. For fast, close passes, hand-holding is often the most practical option.

What helps most:

• Practice tracking moving subjects. It gets easier with repetition.
• Shoot with both eyes open: one in the viewfinder, one outside it, so you can relocate the plane more easily.
• If you have a zoom, start wider, acquire the aircraft, then zoom tighter once it’s centered.
• Build strength/stamina for hand-holding long lenses.

A monopod can be a useful compromise for heavy gear, especially to reduce arm fatigue over a full day, while remaining more mobile than a tripod.

For planes directly overhead: they often don’t make the best shots anyway, since the underside can be very dark against a bright sky and the aircraft may be too fast or too high to frame well. In many cases, it’s fine to skip those passes and wait for better angles.