2007 had been my first and only taste of a Little Gransden show to date and on that occasion the day had dawned with crystal clear skies, which remained for most of the day. 2009 started in almost identical fashion, but within half an hour of the gates opening at 1000, most of the blue had been replaced by grey, and the accompanying wind left a real autumnal bite in the air.
The less than ideal conditions didn't dampen spirits, however, and as is always the case at Gransden, a fantastic mix of propeller and rotary driven aircraft were on display on the ground - in fact, at one point there must've been ten or more visiting pilots 'queued' waiting for a gap in the arrivals to allow them to cross the active to parking.
It was this increase in numbers that was the most striking difference over the 2007 event for me (I was unable to attend in 2008 due to being lured to Sweden by the promise of some SAAB classics). That comment wasn't restricted to the aircraft either. By the time the flying display got underway at 1300 the crowdline was rammed.
The airfield is owned by Mark Jefferies, Yak UK Ltd. Mark's well known amongst the enthusiast community for his aerobatic airshow performances in his Extra aircraft, and only the day prior to the show he'd been representing Team GB at the 2009 World Aerobatic Championships at Silverstone, where he achieved a highly respectable 10th placing in somewhat trying circumstances.
Mark used his connections to the aerobatic community to ensure a number of his fellow competitors and their aircraft were present at the show, including fellow Team GB-er Kester Scrope's Edge 540, Irishman David Bruton's Sukhoi Su-26M2, as well as a privately owned Sukhoi Su-29.
As mentioned (albeit briefly) at the top, aircraft were not the only things on display on the ground, but ask anybody that knows me and they'll tell you that I'm afraid my interest in cars stretches no further than in being able to get from A to B and back again... Suffice it to say there were lots of classic cars in attendance too!
The flying display was opened in rather unusual fashion. Thruxton Jackaroo (a modified Tiger Moth) G-AOIR owned by Ken Broomfield took to the skies with three on-board, including the pilot, but only the latter would land back with the aircraft; the other two having jumped out at altitude and parachuted to the ground. I think it's fair to say that the Jackaroo is not your typical jump platform!
One of my favourite aircraft from the 2007 event was added to the programme late on in the planning stages - Fiat G46 G-BBII/MM52801 - wearing a striking Italian Air Force scheme. I'd love to know why it's seen at so few other places because it looks and sounds great, and the pilot puts on a rather lovely display too. It really does deserve to be seen by more people.
One of the rarest items in the flying display was Belgian, Jean-Michel Legrand's Nanchang CJ-5 - a Chinese-built Yak-18 featuring a most unusual engine cowling. Jean-Michel initially performed a paired routine with Nigel Willson's Yak-52 before the two broke off into individual elements for solo performances. Apparently Legrand had been desperate to attend the event having seen pictures from previous shows! I'm sure the organisers hope he returns again too.
Since last year's show, Nigel Pickard, owner of Spartan 7W Executive NC17633, has added a second aircraft to 'the fleet'. The latest addition is NC17615, and the pair put on a rather pleasing display together with Mark Jefferies and Ian Austin at the controls.
John Elliot's autogyro display went down particularly well with the crowds as he flung his Rotorsport UK MT-03 around the sky. It was certainly different!
For me, like many, I'm sure, the addition of Maurice Hammond's most recent P-51D Mustang restoration 'Marinell' to the flying line-up alongside fellow stablemate 'Janie' in the week leading up to the show was a huge bonus, but sadly, at least from a photographic perspective, the displays by Dave Evans in the latter and Hammond himself in the former couldn't have been much more contrasting (it's not beyond the realms of possibility that it was done that way by design), and unfortunately for me it was Marinell's routine that proved to be the disappointment.
While Evans' display consisted of plenty of comparatively low, sweeping passes, Hammond would swoop down, pull up before reaching the crowdline and then barrel-roll at altitude on all bar one of his passes.
It would be interesting to hear which performance the non-photographers in the crowd preferred, but from my admittedly very biased angle, Marinell was almost impossible to photograph… Such a shame as she's a great looking example. Maybe next time?
No Little Gransden show would be complete without a trademark Jefferies' Extra display, and while the take-off won't have come as any surprise to the show's regulars, I'll bet it caught many of the first timers out! With smoke on Mark rotated, banked left immediately and applied plenty of right rudder, going down the crowdline showing off the top surfaces. Mark traded in his 300 model for a 330SC in preparation for the aforementioned tilt at the World Aerobatic Championships, and this current charge possesses an even greater power to weight ratio than its predecessor.
Another star item on the billing was Peter Teichman's Hangar 11 Collection Hurri-bomber, BE505/G-HHII. The Hurricane Mk.IIB - the only remaining airworthy example in the world - was discovered by Hawker Restorations Limited in the 1990s and transported to the UK. In 2005 she was bought by Peter, and a 28,000 man hour restoration was started, culminating in initial test flights immediately after Christmas 2008. Unfortunately she suffered a minor landing accident early in 2009 and has only recently arrived on the display circuit.
It was properly grey by the time Peter and his charge had made their way up from Dunsfold, where they'd displayed earlier in the day, but she was still great to see all the same. It's hoped that subject to CAA approval she'll be able to carry an authentic 'bomb fit' at some point in the future.
Clive Denney was kept busy towards the end of proceedings. Firstly, he took part in a paired 'training' themed set-piece with a Bulldog in Andrew Herbert's Chipmunk, before going on to fly a tribute to Ian Davies who, along with his pilot, had sadly been killed in a freak Christen Eagle landing accident at Seething in 2008, following a collision with a tractor on final approach. No sooner was Clive back on the ground he was required to crew into the 108 Flying Group's Me108 G-ETME, in which he closed the show.
The display of the day for me was provided by the penultimate item, Mark Hooton in the Vampire Preservation Group's Vampire T.11 WZ507/G-VTII, which seemed to be flown with far more vigour than normal. It was an absolute joy to watch and I'm not sure I've ever seen or heard a more impressive display by the type. Most excellent!
And so the curtain was lowered on another highly successful Little Gransden event. Initial indications suggest a crowd figure around 5,000 - representing the greatest attendance to date - and as a result the expectation is that a figure somewhere in the region of £25,000 will be donated to charity, smashing the previous best of £17,125 and taking the total raised by the show through the £100K milestone.
The weather en-route put paid to the scheduled appearances by the Rolls-Royce Spitfire and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight's Lancaster, but almost everything else on the list inside the programme made it.
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