Duxford 90th Anniversary Airshow

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Hi Everyone,

On Sunday 7th of September I went to the an Airshow at Duxford Airfield and musuem, celebrating 90 years of the RAF flying from Duxford. I went with a good friend, former flatmate, and ex-MFish colleague, Andrew Benton (a rare aircraft enthusiast).

The Airshow featured predominantly World War II aircraft with a few more modern planes thrown in for good measure. Some of the aircraft were extremely rare, including at least one plane that was the only surviving example of its type... It's rare enough for these planes to even exist, let alone for them to be in flying condition, because they use almost entirely original (ie 1940s) parts to maintain their authenticity.

The weather on the day was highly variable, but even the periodic torrential downpours couldn't put us off. In between the showers, we saw an amazing array of planes (and had some good sunshine). The drawback was some of the more highly anticipated planes like the Lancaster and Vulcan bombers couldn't make the trip to Duxford. I guess if you own possibly the only Lanacaster bomber still flying (Andy tells me there are only one or two left in the world) you don't fly in marginal conditions.

The day started with a flyby from a Hunter jet... the Hunter (from the late 60s through to the 80s) was a great way to kick off the show... it was slick and fast, and really loud! I loved the way it went past, then the sound followed it a couple of seconds later!

I think the highlight of the day was a formation of nine Spitfires flying over the field before splitting up and doing some high speed manoeuvers and playing follow the leader. They were simply awesome to watch, and surprisingly quick! The roar of the engines was a petrol heads heaven.

My other favourites were the P-51d Mustang, another WWII plane that helped turn the war in the allies favour and the F-86a jet. The P-51 was an American plane used for fighter escorts over Germany towards the end of WWII, and in true American fashion it was loud and obnoxious! When it climbed high and dived the wings howled and screamed inspiring a tingle down my spine...

The F-86a Sabre (the only A mark still in flying condition) was a fighter jet that was used during the Korean war. Like the Hunter jet it was fast and nimble (though not quite as quick...) and really loud. It put on an awesome display for us, and I was really happy to see it fly...

During the times it did rain, Andrew and I took cover in the large hangars that form the museum side of Duxford. Each of the hangars was chock full of planes, though not in flight worthy condition... My favourite hangar was the United States hangar which included a U-2 spy plane, a B-52 Stratofortress, and my personal favourite the SR-71 Blackbird. The Blackbird is another old American spy plane, that also happens to be one of the fastest planes in the world being capable of flying three times the speed of sound.

By the end of the day, Andrew and I were tired (with sore necks from staring upwards) but had smiles that were hard to wipe from our faces.

Anyway, till next time folks, stay safe!

Nick

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Photos

Privately owned Hunter in flight
This Hunter is privately owned, hence the mad colour scheme... He's actually flying with the canopy open on this run, kind of like a Hunter Cabriolet...

Spitfire I
I'm not even going to guess at which Spitfire is which model (or Mark)

F-86A Sabre
This is the only Mark A Sabre still flying

F-100
I think it's an F-100. I just took the photo because it looked funky

Bi-plane
I don't remember what this one was either, but it looks kinda cool