Duxford opened its 2009 display season on the 17 May with the “Best of
British Air Show”, themed to reflect British design classics and aviation pioneers. Unfortunately the weather was not on Duxford’s side, with high winds and rain playing havoc with the display line up as many of the aircraft
simply could not take off in these conditions. But Duxford has a reputation for producing entertaining days against the odds and today would reinforce the reputation. The flight line walk gave many of the eleven and half
thousand visitors a chance to get a close look at the aircraft. The hangar displays are worth the visit to Duxford alone. The flying got underway with a workhorse of British design the Vickers VC-10 of RAF Brize Norton 101
Squadron. This ageing transport is soon to be retired by the RAF but at the moment is still a hard working airplane in its air to air refuelling role and transport role. Not often seen at
airshows but always appreciated when it is the VC-10 got the show off to a fine start during a break in the weather.
The Plane Sailing PBY Catalina followed the Vickers. The Catalina is a
regular at Duxford and has been covered many times by Checksix so we will not repeat ourselves here other than to say that the white aircraft made for a startling contrast with clear blue sky at one end of the airfield and
dark grey sky at the other, four seasons in one day and over one airfield. The break in the weather was taken advantage of by the B-17 Flying Fortress Sally B and the B-25 Mitchell Bomber of the Aircraft Restoration
Company. It was good to see the B-17 Sally B flying after the enforced grounding last season due to the engine replacement problems. The Chance Vought FG-1D Corsair of The Fighter Collection did get airborne and
offered its usual solid display. Its usual team mate the Grumman F6F Hellcat was a casualty of the weather and never got off the static line.
Helicopters were represented on the day by the Kennet Aviation Westland
Wasp, the Navy version of the Army’s Westland Scout. The Wasp was in service from 1964 until 1988 and saw active service in the Falklands conflict and was used to attack the Argentine submarine Santa Fe. A good display
from the small helicopter showing its agility and power. The other helicopter was of course the outstanding RAF Chinook display delivering as usual the surprising manoeuvres of the twin rotor heavy lifter. More British greats
were displayed in the form of the de Havilland DH60 Moth and the Blackburn B-2. The nine Tiger Moths’ formation was another early casualty of the wind. The two Chipmunks did make it and put on a good show in
poor conditions, a testament to the aircraft and the pilots. A pair of Britten-Norman Islanders produced an unusual if sedate display over Duxford, representing the best selling utility aircraft of British design.
Smaller jets were represented by the Folland Gnat pair, representing the
lightweight training jet of the 1960s and ex mount of the Red Arrows. We would also see the Hawk T1, the current mount of the Red Arrows. A larger and louder RAF jet was also to be seen with the Eurofighter Typhoon of the
RAF’s 29 Squadron from RAF Coningsby, ripping through the murky sky. Somewhat quieter affairs were the Swift Glider Display Team, the same aircraft as seen at Abingdon this year but performing in poor conditions.
Outstanding flying from the Swift team made all the more impressive by the conditions. Mark Jeffries from Little Gransden also gave an excellent account of himself in the Extra 330S showing the level of aerobatic skill that has
seen him win the UK national title for three consecutive years from 2005.
Another not often seen display was the British Aerospace 146 short haul
transport of Titan Airways, great to see this successful British design. Not a great display aircraft but it was an interesting addition to the flying display and had ample power to negate the high winds. The final displays of the
show were further hampered by increasing rain but performed anyway. The P51-D Ferocious Frankie of the Old Flying Machine Company performed a fly by with a Sukhoi from the Red Bull Matadors and a Spitfire pair displayed in
ever increasing rain as cameras were stowed away and then pulled out time and time again. Overall Duxford did well in very difficult conditions. With many of the participants not being able to display the team still
delivered a good day. Hopefully the mid range weather forecast for the summer will give Duxford a chance to show what it can achieve
We would like to thank the whole team at Duxford and in particular the small army of volunteers and the media team led by Esther Blaine for their hospitality.
Will Moore / CHK 6 UK
Release 1.0/2010
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Release 1.0/2010
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