After all the military airshows that I have attend this
year so far I decided that it was time for a change, I decided
to take a step back in time. I was looking for some warbirds.
In Europe you do not have to search a lot, there is only
o n e place to go: Duxford. With its Flying Legends airshow,
organized by "The Fighter Company" and the "Imperial
War Museum".
So I booked a flight and rental car and off I went. The
drive to Duxford does not take along time from Stansted,
the only thing I had to pay attention was not to become
a ghostdriver after the first roundabaout…
2 Highlights as a Surprise
I
already arrived at Duxford on Friday afternoon and was really
astonishedabout how much the IWM has changed since I have
been there for the last time, about 6 years ago. Shortly
afterwards I saw the first warbirds: a Mustang, a B-25,
a … ??? What? A P-39 Airacobra…??? Never knew
that a flying example existed in Europe. Of course I did
not know as this example arrived only some days before the
show and now belongs to the TFC after a long restauration
in Chino, California. The slim warbird was one of the highlights
of the show. After taking some photos of that highlight
I turned around and found another rare warbird that was
just unloaded from a container: a, errrrm…, well, some
kind of Polikarpov fighter. Discussion at the campingsite
in the evening revealed it as a Polikarpov I-15bis, the
only flying example of this type in the world, based in
Norfolk, Virginia.
The Show
The
showsdays in Duxford are also a bit different. You do not
have a static display as you will find it elsewhere. If
you are looking for static aircraft you can have a look
around in the museum. All the warbirds are parked on the
flightline as they will all be presented in the air. An
impressive line-up of more than 30 fighters and bombers
was really worth the 3 pounds extra to take the flightline
walk in the morning. Doing the walk you can step a bit closer
to the aircraft and take some nice photos of the aircraft
and the men and women walking in adequate uniforms. The
jazz music that is in the air all the morning just adds
the extra touch to step back 60 years in time.
The Flight Display
Finally
at 2pm the flight display started. 7 Spitfires hurled through
the air and performed, at least for me, the most stunning
display with good low passes for the crowd. Than for the
next three hours there an uninterrupted sound of piston
engines was in the air. If you were standing at the right
place along the crowdline the take-offs passed directly
over you and you couldeven feel the massive power that keeps
all the metal in the air. I think that my photos will describe
the rest of the flight programm a lot better than what I
could write now. Enjoy them and if you should go to Duxford
next year as well remember to put your camera away for the
mass fly-by called "Balbo" with all the planes
and bombers of the flightline and listen to the uncomparable
sound over Cambridgeshire!!
… and for sure it has not been for the last time!!
I
already arrived at Duxford on Friday afternoon and was really
astonishedabout how much the IWM has changed since I have
been there for the last time, about 6 years ago. Shortly
afterwards I saw the first warbirds: a Mustang, a B-25,
a … ??? What? A P-39 Airacobra…??? Never knew
that a flying example existed in Europe. Of course I did
not know as this example arrived only some days before the
show and now belongs to the TFC after a long restauration
in Chino, California. The slim warbird was one of the highlights
of the show. After taking some photos of that highlight
I turned around and found another rare warbird that was
just unloaded from a container: a, errrrm…, well, some
kind of Polikarpov fighter. Discussion at the campingsite
in the evening revealed it as a Polikarpov I-15bis, the
only flying example of this type in the world, based in
Norfolk, Virginia.
The
showsdays in Duxford are also a bit different. You do not
have a static display as you will find it elsewhere. If
you are looking for static aircraft you can have a look
around in the museum. All the warbirds are parked on the
flightline as they will all be presented in the air. An
impressive line-up of more than 30 fighters and bombers
was really worth the 3 pounds extra to take the flightline
walk in the morning. Doing the walk you can step a bit closer
to the aircraft and take some nice photos of the aircraft
and the men and women walking in adequate uniforms. The
jazz music that is in the air all the morning just adds
the extra touch to step back 60 years in time.
Finally
at 2pm the flight display started. 7 Spitfires hurled through
the air and performed, at least for me, the most stunning
display with good low passes for the crowd. Than for the
next three hours there an uninterrupted sound of piston
engines was in the air. If you were standing at the right
place along the crowdline the take-offs passed directly
over you and you couldeven feel the massive power that keeps
all the metal in the air. I think that my photos will describe
the rest of the flight programm a lot better than what I
could write now. Enjoy them and if you should go to Duxford
next year as well remember to put your camera away for the
mass fly-by called "Balbo" with all the planes
and bombers of the flightline and listen to the uncomparable
sound over Cambridgeshire!!