It would have been nice to welcome in my own personal start to the airshow season without needing the waterproofs but the weather gods were never going to allow that to happen for Duxford’s first airshow of 2009.
The show titled ‘Best of British’ showcasing a mix of military, civilian and historic aircraft inadvertently extended its invitation to the best of British Spring weather to provide a testing day for families, enthusiasts and photographers alike. It would be safe to say that nobody was to be more tested than the pilots who flew some of the displays, whether fixed wing or rotary the conditions presented a real challenge with gusty crosswinds and showers thrown in for good measure.
For many the Duxford show opener of the season offers the chance to see what might have changed at the airfield over the winter months. Without doubt the most welcome sight was seeing B-17 Sally B with four engines, crew busily preparing her for a public display to put the memory to rest of last season’s engine difficulties.
Other notable inclusions on the flightline included only a second public outing for 208(R) Squadron’s attractively painted Hawk T.1 and rather unusually for Duxford and indeed any show in the UK, Titan Airways BAE 146-200 G-ZAPN.
It was understandable that there were a few gaps on the flightline as predictably the windy weather had ‘grounded’ some of the performers. The BBMF couldn’t risk the crosswinds at RAF Coningsby and a diamond nine of Tiger Moths was never a possibility in the conditions on the day, whilst the Leopard Moth and Hornet Moth were also absentees. Other losses included a Hurricane and two De Havilland Rapides but despite this the three hour flying programme kept its shape together well and looked none the worse for the understandable withdrawals.
Thankfully the heaviest spell of wet weather occurred late morning and the sun prevailed from noon onwards to the commencement of the flying display. A real star attraction for the show was the appearance of a 101 Squadron VC-10 from RAF Brize Norton, seldom seen in the air even at the most prominent of military airshows in the UK. After two passes and associated noisy climbs she departed as the more traditional Duxford performers took to the scene.
Plane Sailing’s PBY-5A Catalina was next to take to the stage before arguably the most ‘punchy’ routine of the day was flown by the Aircraft Restoration Company’s B25 Mitchell also known as ‘Grumpy.’ The shallow dives performed at the M11 end of Duxford airfield were quite spectacular revealing the topside of the aircraft to good effect. Sally B then returned to display in front of her home crowd and here’s to a much happier year for the aircraft and her dedicated team in 2009.
The displays were coming thick and fast with slick interchanges between landing and displaying aircraft. The Fighter Collection’s FG-1D Corsair displayed with some gusto followed by the first rotary offering of the day in the form of Kennet Aviation’s very attractively painted Westland Wasp complete with the markings of HMS Endurance.
Sadly the clouds were starting to gather at this point and the scheme wasn’t done justice by the retreating rays of the sun. Participants such as the Wasp and the next duo, the Blackburn B2 and De Havilland DH-60 Moth were really having to work hard in the conditions, the turns particularly difficult against the blustery wind.
Although relatively small in size the Red Gnat Display Team of two Folland Gnats faired better against the conditions, offering a sense of what the Red Arrows display used to be like for those not old enough to remember life beyond the familiar sight of the Hawk. Another two ship followed in the form of two De Havilland Chipmunks, unfortunately the display had to be reduced from a three-ship due to serviceability.
It’s hard to imagine a more difficult aircraft to fly on such a day than a glider but the Swift Aerobatic Display Team really pulled out all the stops. The addition of the Silence Twister to the display adds a new dimension and I can see this act being well received wherever they display in the coming months. The landing of the Swift S-1 glider was quite spectacular as were the low altitude loops performed just moments before.
The first public Typhoon display heralded a major contribution from the RAF in the closing stages of the show. New display pilot Scott Loughran will be hoping for a much higher cloudbase in the months ahead but the orange burners were nonetheless an impressive sight against an ever darkening sky.
The Chinook is particularly impressive displaying along a relatively small crowdline whilst Flt Lt Matt Barker took the distinctively painted Hawk through its paces. The sun did briefly present itself during the closing stages of the show but sadly only on the side of the Titan Airways BAE 146 which performed one particularly welcome topside pass down Duxford’s runway.
Sadly the weather was closing in and the Spitfire duo from the Old Flying Machine Company (OFMC) and Spitfire Ltd just about managed to get through their routine. OFMC’s P-51 Mustang Ferocious Frankie got airborne but in the wet weather decided against taking any risks. This spoilt what would have been an unusual display with the Sukhoi Su-26 of the The Matadors display team but the weather deteriorated rather quickly and many of the spectators made for cover at this point.
It’s fair to say that given the weather forecasts leading up to the show most of the spectators would have taken the conditions we were given on the day. Even in inclement weather Duxford provides an excellent day out for the public, with musems such as AirSpace not only a welcome shelter but a fine collection of aviation heritage to boot. Another packed year of events beckon with the highlight of Flying Legends scheduled for 11th and 12th July. One can only hope that for that weekend the weather is truly the best it can be.
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