2009 Articles

Duxford's American Air Day 2009 The American Air Day held at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford showcased the work of the United States Air Force in Europe and in particular the Third Air Force, partially based in the UK. Glenn Beasley dropped in for GAR.

The Imperial War Museum’s American Air Day is a brave step in the August aviation events calendar. I say that because the show is held in the busy airshow month of August with seaside events such as Eastbourne in full swing, plus a number of different other shows being held at venues such as Shoreham and Dawlish. The show is also competing with a myriad of other attractions available to school holiday children and their families, however with adults admitted at £18 and under 16s free, for a full day’s entertainment the show offered good value at first glance.

I’m not quite sure what the weather gods have against Duxford at the moment but the majority of events seem very adept at attracting at least one spell of bad weather. Fortunately only one band of really well organised rain came through early in the afternoon and did not impact on the flying programme. Indeed conditions improved throughout the day, though the gusty wind in the afternoon did create a challenge for some of the prop driven participants.

The American guests for the day were keen to stress the importance of the event and the opportunity to interact with the public on the day. Major General Mark Zamzow, United States Air Forces in Europe, said, "This is our opportunity to thank our British friends and neighbours for their fantastic support of us and our mission. We get to show them our training, and get to talk to them one-on-one. We think this will be a great show with a little something for everyone to enjoy."

Major Robert A Lindblom, 48th Fighter Wing, RAF Lakenheath, said, "It's a pleasure to bring this third annual American Air Day event to the people of East Anglia and the surrounding areas. It's an excellent opportunity to bring citizens of both nations together in the spirit of friendship, to honour our deep ties and enjoy a fun-filled day. It's also a chance for us to showcase what we do every day as American airmen and to educate the public on our mission and roles."

Certainly the USAFE crews deserve full credit for allowing the public unrestricted access to their military assets flown in for the show. An MC-130P Hercules from the 352nd Special Operations Group based at RAF Mildenhall arrived mid-morning and spent the day on the Duxford ramp available for interior inspection by the paying public as did the HH-60G Pavehawk from nearby RAF Lakenheath.

The Pavehawk was also involved in a combat rescue scenario with additional cover provided by the 492nd Fighter Squadron and their F-15E Strike Eagles also from Lakenheath. From an enthusiast point of view this was certainly something many a major military airshow would love to have on their programme. It was a busy day for the Eagles as they later returned for two passes in a four-ship and also a fly-by with a KC-135R Stratotanker of the 100th Air Refuelling Wing at RAF Mildenhall.

Of course Duxford had enough resident participants to heavily contribute to the tribute to the USAF operating in Europe. Mark Linney was first to take to the sky in the F-86A Sabre of Golden Apple operations and returned from the hold into a typically punchy routine. Another pilot from the Golden Apple stable Cliff Spinks CB, CBE flew the aircraft he owns, the Stearman now registered as G-RJAH, whilst the Piper Cub demonstrated its amazingly short landing performance. Both prop displays deserve great credit for their efforts in the gusting wind.

Much more stable were the P-51 Mustang ‘Ferocious Frankie’ from the Old Flying Machine Company flown by Anthony Kay and the welcome sight of B-17 Sally B back where she belongs. A formation pass with the Mustang as escort to the mighty bomber was followed by individual displays, the Mustang whistling audibly around the airfield in very welcome afternoon sunshine.

Thanks to one of the helpful USAFE crew members on board the Hercules I was aware that one of the real highlights of the day was to be saved until the very end. The MC-130P flew through trailing the refuelling hose with the HH-60G in very nice photographic conditions. Certainly not something you see every day at an airshow in these modern times; another feather in the cap of the American Air Day. The crowds who did stay that bit later also had the opportunity to witness a number of Duxford’s resident aircraft departing for Shoreham and their airshow the following day.

Although a relatively short flying display, hopefully this had given the audience enough incentive to visit a full blown airshow at Duxford in the very near future. It was probably the right length for an event such as this, as there were a multitude of ground attractions to visit, plus the must see American Air Museum and Airspace. American classic cars, birds of prey and the USAFE’s own rock group Touch ‘n’ Go were all highlights of the ground based displays.

Considering the difficulties many airshows experience in attracting American assets to their displays, the American Air Day deserves great credit for providing an entertaining family day out. Two further shows remain for Duxford this year, the Duxford Air Show on the 5th & 6th September and the Autumn Air Show on the 11th October. Visit duxford.iwm.org.uk for further details.

Global Aviation Resource wishes to thank Esther Blaine, Public Relations Manager for her kind assistance in the writing of this article.

GAR wants to interact with its readers so if you have a question for the author or a comment to make on this feature, please click on the button below. The best comments will appear right here on GAR.