The build up to the annual Flying Legends airshow hosted by The Fighter Collection (TFC) at Duxford is always a very busy time, with aircraft from around the UK and Europe arriving, foreign pilots practising displays and the hangars a hive of activity as engineers ready the machines for the coming weekend. Every year it seems that more and more people are drawn to the airfield on the days running up to the show and this year I decided to go the whole hog, arriving on Wednesday for five days of Flying Legends fun.
There seems to have been a lot more 'Legends fever' around than normal this time, no doubt it has been fuelled by the activity starting at Duxford a lot earlier. The return to flight of the Richard Laker Buchon, TFC's P-47G being rolled out as 'Snafu' and the arrival of the Historic Aircraft Collection's (HAC) Hawker Fury for final assembly all got the ball rolling, with people pondering 'will they or won't they take part'. In a change to recent years there were some early press releases from TFC announcing that The Horsemen flight team from the US would be attending the show, bringing with them their own US based Mustangs, as well as the debut of the Red Bull Corsair and Lightning. The Horsemen's aircraft were shipped over in freight containers which were unpacked a week or so before the show after sitting outside Hangar 2 for a few weeks. 'Team Hinton' had made quick work of assembling the pair and the Mustangs in question, 'Fragile but Agile' and 'February', both flew on the Monday evening before the show.
On the same day TFC's P-40F arrived in a container after a long journey from Australia. This particular P-40 will sound different to those that we are used to due to the power plant being a Packard Merlin as opposed to the usual Allison, in fact it is one of only two Merlin engine P-40s airworthy worldwide. Come the Tuesday before the show it was already substantially assembled and, by the time I made my first visit on the Wednesday, the airframe was up on jacks and the undercarriage was being tested.
There had already been a couple of early arrivals with Meier Motors' Corsair resplendent in new 'Black Knight' scheme and the Air Fighter Academy Buchon touching down on July 1st, bringing the Buchon tally at Duxford to three for the first time since 1968 and the filming of the classic 'Battle of Britain' movie!
Before I left for Duxford it had been reported that the Red Bull Corsair and Lightning had departed their Hangar 7 base in Salzburg, Austria, but by the time I arrived at lunchtime there was still no sign of them. As I walked through the entrance Carolyn Grace started up in Spitfire T.9 ML407/G-LFIX for a practice display in the rather showery and blustery skies, performing effortlessly despite the conditions.
With the Spitfire display over it was time for a wander around the hangars with, of course, TFC's Hangar 2 first on the list! Walking straight through the doors to be confronted by the sight of two US based Mustangs gives you a real buzz - especially when they are as lovely as Fragile' and Febs'! I must admit to being slightly disappointed when it was announced which Mustangs would be shipped over, wishing for the likes of 'Double Trouble Two', but I can say for sure now that my mind has been well and truly changed and I much prefer these two gals! It is of course nice to see an old friend back with Fragile but Agile, which is of course TFC's former-'Twilight Tear'.
Being assembled along with the P-40F was Mikael Carlson's Fokker Dr.1 replica having been brought in by road on a trailer. Some work was also being carried out on TFC's TF-51D Miss Velma and Spitfire Mk.Vb, the latter having engine runs later in the day. An absentee from the hangar was the Spitfire Mk.XIV as it was basking on the flightline, being taken up for a practice display mid-afternoon. It was a joy to see MV268 getting reacquainted with the sky again. Meanwhile in Hangar 3, HAC's Fury, which by this time was fully assembled, had some panels off to allow engineers access to carry out some work.
Word at around 15:00 was that the Red Bull pair were due at 16:30, which could have been Central European Time misread as Greenwich Mean Time, actually equating to 17:30 local, and to top it all off a rumour went round they could also be 20 minutes away! The aircraft were due to have an air-to-air photo shoot over the White Cliffs of the south coast with renowned photographer John Dibbs en-route to Duxford, but unfortunately 16:30 came and went with no sign of them calling up on the radio and it was at that point we got the news that they had turned back to an unknown point on their journey due to weather without having crossed the Channel. To top it all off, just after I had called for a taxi to my hotel for the night the Amicale Jean-Baptiste Salis (AJBS) Skyraider which had arrived earlier went up for a practice display! If Wednesday had been a little slow, Thursday would more than make up for it...and some!
There are certain days in this hobby that you look back on and remember vividly above many others, this day turned out to be one of them. With plenty of high quality, high adrenalin warbird displays, giving a real flavour of what the weekend's show would bring.
Arriving at the airfield we were greeted by the sight of the Red Bull Corsair and Lightning sitting on the apron having turned up late on Wednesday evening. Hangar 2 was a buzz, full of warbird big names such as Stephen Grey, Mikael Carlson, Dan Friedkin, Ed Shipley and the Hintons. Pretty soon afterwards the Horsemen's Mustangs were towed out onto the flight line for a practice display - what a display it would turn out to be!
After seeing the Horsemen perform at Legends in 2009 as a three-ship routine, I couldn't wait to see them back in the skies over Duxford, even if it was just two of them for 2011. Having never seen the Horsemen pair, I expected the routine to be a carbon copy of the three-ship minus an aircraft but I have to say it really is something else! With only two aircraft it seems that Ed Shipley, as lead, can inject more action, turning tighter for example. Their initial practice had myself and fellow GAR colleague Elliott Marsh whooping and hollering like mad men down at the eastern end of the airfield, with the Mustangs whistling past so close and really getting down low; to quote Lt. Col. Paul "Max" Moga, they really do 'represent the damn plane the way it should'! We got some funny looks for expressing our sheer enjoyment by some lame faced men in cagoules, and it really is a shame that some people are like that - you should really enjoy your hobby!
Some of the passes were simply sensational, with one in particular tearing down the grass runway in formation at low level and another coming along the B axis for a low run across the far side fields, as well as formation aerobatics such as the slot roll - really a very dynamic display. As someone who has met both Ed and Dan I can tell you for sure they are some of the friendliest warbird pilots you could ever wish to meet, being so enthusiastic and passionate about what they do, and I believe that really shines through in their flying. Not once did I think that any of their five displays at Duxford this July were lacklustre and I could have very happily watched many more.
In typical Legends style of inviting wartime pilots to see their aircraft fly, Mustang ace Jim Brooks who flew February with 307th Squadron from Italy during the war was in attendance at Duxford for a few days. It's always great to see veterans on site; the aircraft themselves mean nothing without the brave men who flew them into battle all those years ago.
To kick off some of the based warbird flying, Nick Grey took TFC's Sea Fury T.20 up for a stonking practice. After coming topside round the M11 end of the airfield and pulling straight up into a loop, streamers started trailing off of the wingtips which is always impressive to see, but it was the vapour flashing over the tops of the wings as he pulled out of the loop which really got me - never have I seen a piston warbird pulling vapour; a quite incredible sight!
Next up was the pair of TF-51D Miss Velma and the AJBS Skyraider with a number of formation flypasts before Steve Hinton performed a solo in the Mustang. Meanwhile, down on the ground, out of the Aircraft Restoration Company's (ARCo) workshop came the three Buchons, towed out and parked in a line, before Cliff Spink took the desert schemed example up later in the afternoon.
The time soon came for what we had all been waiting for - The Red Bulls turn to validate! I had never seen a P-38 fly before, so this was a big moment for me as an avid warbird fan. What initially struck me about the Lightning as it performed power checks on the taxiway right in front of us was the sound and just how quiet and smooth it was for an American fighter, as they're usually all about huge engines and lots of grunt. The two practice displays we were treated to were wonderful to watch, with the aircraft doing much more than it does in its displays in mainland Europe. We got numerous close and fast topside passes, derry turns, aileron rolls and even a four-point roll all flown beautifully by its pilot for the week, Raimund Riedmann. There are some people out there who have shunned the Lightning for its unauthentic colour scheme - a complaint which I do not understand at all - if that ensures that the aircraft stays airworthy then I'm all for it.
Shortly after the Red Bulls, Stephen Grey took the Spitfire Mk.Vb up for the best display I've seen of EP120, showing the nimble 'baby Spit' off and looking as if he was really enjoying it, as did Steve Hinton in TFC's Mk.XIV a little later in the day. In a break from the piston warbirds the two British-based Fokker Dr.1s and the Neuport 17 replicas bounded around in an impressive mock dogfight which, in the gusty winds, can't have been easy.
To finish off the day, Nick Grey and Frédéric Akary decided to give the sky a good beating, practising their Sea Fury/Fury ISS duo in the clear early evening skies, expressing all of the grunt and snarl of the aircraft in taking them from sizzling low and fast passes one moment into upward bounds of large wheeling aerobatics the next. Unfortunately Christophe Jacquard's Sea Fury FB.11 was unable to join the party due to engine troubles, but with an increasing number of Furies/Sea Furies in Europe there will be plenty of chances in the future to have more than two flying together.
On Friday Duxford once again turned back into a ghost town until 14:00, at which point it was as if someone had suddenly reminded the remaining participants to turn up - in reality the weather had improved in Europe allowing all of the others scheduled to take part from the continent through, bar the Meier Motors' TF-51D Mustang and Spitfire Mk.VIII which had scrubbed, and it was back-to-back arrivals for a good few hours. The Swiss contingent of Morane-Saulnier M.S. 406 and Yak 9 was closely followed by the Jacquard Spitfire PR.XIX and the AJBS P-51D Mustang 'Nooky Booky IV' and P-40N Kittyhawk. It's interesting to see all of the European warbirds arriving with their pilots wearing life vests after crossing the Channel as it really does make it look as if they are just returning from a wartime sortie, only a small detail but not something you see every day.
Kennet Aviation's newly painted Skyraider surprised us all by diving out of the sun for a display, before Rob Davies arrived in a shinier than before 'Big Beautiful Doll', after over-nighting at Woodchurch, followed by a host of heavies including Lufthansa's Junkers Ju-52 and three DC-3s.
There was a rather interesting non-Legends related roll out in the afternoon as ARCo's Spitfire Mk.1a P9374 was brought outside the hangar where it has nestled, unseen, during most of its restoration for its first public viewing and a quick engine run. I must say it does look superb in its 92 Squadron colours, with black and white underside markings, and, as a Battle of Britain veteran, was shot down in May 1940 and crash landed on a Calais beach, where it laid buried in the sand until it was found and recovered in 1981. When this Spitfire flies it will take over from the BBMF's Mk.IIa P7350 as the oldest flying example of the type.
As the clock neared 18:00 the action really began to hot up, with TFC's P-40F being towed out for engine runs - Steve Hinton even taking her for a quick taxi around - Miss Velma going up for a very tight display just before the Horsemen saddled up once again - just at throwing out time. So it was a quick dash to the lay-by opposite Duxford's car park to watch the Mustangs dance in the evening sun.
If you would like to discuss using any of our imagery or feature content please contact us.