The 2008 annual Abingdon Air & Country Show was held on Sunday 4th
May and Checksix was invited to attend. The show supports the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance and opens the UK display season this year sharing the date with the first Shuttleworth display of 2008. The show
has plenty for the general public, in addition to the air display, with many classic car and bike clubs attending, military vehicles, armoured vehicles available for rides, the fun fair, Crafts and even the Dr Who Daleks! The
display is held at Abingdon Airfield / Dalton Barracks near Oxford. Originally opened as RAF Abingdon in 1932, the station has a distinguished war record and post war record with its runways launching the first aircraft of
the Berlin Airlift. The station was handed over to the British Army in 1992 but the RAF still have a presence with 612 Volunteer Gliding Squadron (VGS) operating the Grob 109B
Vigilante Motorglider. Pumas and Merlins are seen at the airfield quite often on exercise from RAF Benson near by. Apaches can also be seen visiting from time to time.
The Show has been an annual event since 2000 and has a growing
reputation in the UK aviation community. This year the weather was threatening to damage this reputation with thunderstorms to the North and dreary skies over the field. There were a couple of disappointments with
the RAF Chinook Display team, cancelling shortly before they were expected, due to a technical fault encountered during the transit from RAF Odiham. Several downpours courtesy of the UK weather put a bit of a damp
atmosphere on things. On the up side before the display started Delta Jets form Kemble made a dramatic entrance in formation with two Hawker Hunters, one Gnat and a Jet Provost.
Air Atlantique again this year held pleasure flights with the stunning De Havilland DH89 Dragon Rapide Tango Mike, built in 1944 and still selling out at airshows around the UK. Air
Atlantique was also scheduled to display the DC-6A but that too suffered a glitch and was replaced by the DC-3 Dakota
Due to the weather, around 30 visitors flew in on the day as well as some
that flew in leading up to the show for a weekend stay. These included a Jet Provost T3, Bulldogs, Chipmunks, Curtiss Wright Traveller, Miles Messenger, Robinson R44 & Bell Jetranger to the RAF Hawk from 208sqn in
90th anniversary marks, in its first public outing. Apart from the BBMF Hurricane, all display aircraft were also on view on the day. Merlin Hc Mk3 from RAF Benson was again on static display with the crew showing
members of the public around the aircraft. Due to operational requirements there are no Merlin displays in 2008. US UH60-A Blackhawk from Shape in Belgium, the interior fit of the aircraft was clearly not the standard, a
crewman explained that this aircraft was the VIP transport for the USAF in Belgium. That would explain the grey leather seats and panelling in the passenger compartment.Its crew was headed up by the boss, Major Dave Leach.
The flying display was started by Rob Davies flying his P-51K Mustang in the
colours of Col John Landers “Big Beautiful Doll” of the Duxford based 78th Fighter Group. Rob always delivers a competent display and is a welcome participant in any line up. Peter Teichman, in the P-40, lined up for fuel next
to Rob in the P51. The development gap between the two fighters was clear to see, with the P-40 being what the US had available when it entered WWII, and the P-51 being the outstanding US fighter of the conflict
. Both displays gave good views of top surfaces although the display line was a little distant. The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight provided a fly in display with Spitfire P7350, the oldest airworthy Spitfire in the world,
running in to display during light rain completing the distinguished trio of allied fighters. Not only the oldest airworthy Spitfire but the only Spitfire to survive the Battle of Britain and
still fly, P7350 survived but not without scars, repaired bullet holes can still be seen on the port wing.
With the cancellation of the Chinook display the helicopter flying display
was left to the Royal Navy Lynx display. The single Lynx (not the Black Cats) from RNAS Yeovilton, filled the helicopter gap superbly with an aggressive display that only falls short of the back flip performed by the Army Air Corps
because of the sensitivity of the equipment on board. The Pembroke replaced the Avro Anson as a light transport and was used for flight crew training too. Today’s display by the Bournemouth based aircraft of South
Coast Airways G-BNPH/WV740 gave the crowd good views of the aircraft top and underside and was a real crowd pleaser. The Pembroke was hardly designed to be graceful but its display surely was. This was one of the best
displays of the day. The Air Atlantique DC-3 Dakota puts on a terrific display with steep climbs and banks that really take the breath away. You may think that it’s not easy to show the
top surfaces of the big war time transport but Air Atlantique make it look easy. Unfortunately when recovering from one of these outstanding manoeuvres the aircraft left the display line and flew over the
crowd line. The rules at UK airshows are enforced without hesitation and before the Dakota had finished crossing the crowd line the safety officer was calling “stop, stop, stop” and the display was halted and the
pilot instructed to land. After a conversation with the safety officer the rest of the display was allowed to re-start but the Dakota crew did not look happy as they left the control tower.
Hawker Hunter 'Blue Diamond' T.7 XL577 (G-BXKF) of Delta Jets based at
Kemble provided a taste of the cold war with its fast jet display. Built in 1958 she first flew in 1958 before being delivered to RAF Chivenor. She remained in service until the 1980’s then became an instructional airframe
at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell. Purchased by Delta Jets in 1996 she has been lovingly restored to glory over seven years. This is a beautiful aircraft and a welcome addition to any flying list or static display. Delta Jets
are facing a battle of a different sort with the local government in its area who are trying to stop flying operations at its base in Kemble. A petition is available to sign to help keep flying operations at Kemble at http://www.deltajets.com . First flown in 1964 this light weight two seat Folland Gnat XS102 trainer is presented in the colours of the RAF Yellowjacks who were the display team of No 4 flying
school. The Gnat went on to be the first mount of the RAF Red Arrows and was eventually replaced by the Bae Systems Hawk. After 15 years of flying service this aircraft was retired in March 1979 but remained as an
instructional airframe. XS102 was added to the civil register in the early 1990’s and was owned for a time by David Gilmore of Pink Floyd. Delta Jets operate the aircraft owned by Ronan Harvey and Martin Gadsby, and if
any Checksix reader would like to part own this fine aircraft the Delta Jets web site reports that shares are available!
The training theme was taken over by the Tucano with Flt Lt Stew Cambell,
1 FTS in the special colour scheme celebrating the 90th Anniversary of the RAF . A regular performer at UK shows the Tucano delivered a competent display that we will see many times during the 2008 season. Two civil
displays made a good impression on the audience. Steen Skybolt and the Silence Twister both produced good displays but due to their size these did appear a little distant. The Twister made good use of its underside profile
that presents more than a passing resemblance to the Supermarine Spitfire. Although our regular readers tend to like the war birds and high energy jets I would strongly advise trying to see the Swift Aerobatic Display Team.
Displaying three aircraft with only one engine between them is something a little different. A PA 25 Pawnee flown by Paul Moslin tows a S-1 Swift glider piloted by team leader Guy
Westgate and a vintage Wolf Hirth Lo100 piloted by Ian Gallacher. The team perform a number of low manoeuvres while still under tow that is quite impressive before gaining altitude for the release of the gliders and their display.
The soaring display is excellent with the pilots trading altitude for energy all the way down, and just when we think the display is finished due to lack of altitude a roll is squeezed out of the last few meters of height, truly outstanding flying. All in all the display was well worth the visit and it was easy to see why Abingdon is gaining a growing reputation in the UK aviation community for its air display. Even with the disappointing cancellation of the Chinook and the strong cross winds and occasional rain the Abingdon team delivered a very entertaining afternoon and gave a great start to the UK 2008 display season.
Checksix UK would like to thank Neil Porter, Colin Smith and the rest of the Abingdon team for their help and cooperation. We look forward to next year’s event, in early May 2009!.
Will Moore / Checksix UK
Release 4.0/2008
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