Review & photography by Simon Fenwick
Click here for the photo gallery
The first show of Duxford’s 2011 season saw a celebration of 100 years of Women In Aviation. In 1911 Hilda Hewitt became the first British aviatrix. Move on to a century later and the Spring Airshow brought together an excellent lineup of women pilots. RAF pilot, round the world flier, wingwalkers, champions from aerobatics they were all here and played a central part in the flying display following a group photocall. Some are familiar on the display circuit but for others this was a very rare opportunity for the general public to see these ladies of the sky.
This being Britain of course, all plans can go right out of the window if the weather doesn’t play ball and the wind which seemed to have been blowing for weeks, continued at a strength that played havoc with Display Director, Jeanne Fraser’s planned display schedule. Fortunately, with Duxford being the home of so many airworthy historic aircraft, gaps could be filled and a full afternoon’s flying resulted.
Click here for the photo gallery
The first show of Duxford’s 2011 season saw a celebration of 100 years of Women In Aviation. In 1911 Hilda Hewitt became the first British aviatrix. Move on to a century later and the Spring Airshow brought together an excellent lineup of women pilots. RAF pilot, round the world flier, wingwalkers, champions from aerobatics they were all here and played a central part in the flying display following a group photocall. Some are familiar on the display circuit but for others this was a very rare opportunity for the general public to see these ladies of the sky.
This being Britain of course, all plans can go right out of the window if the weather doesn’t play ball and the wind which seemed to have been blowing for weeks, continued at a strength that played havoc with Display Director, Jeanne Fraser’s planned display schedule. Fortunately, with Duxford being the home of so many airworthy historic aircraft, gaps could be filled and a full afternoon’s flying resulted.
The display opened with Flt Lt Dan Hayes in the specially painted Shorts Tucano from RAF Linton-on-Ouse. The highly photogenic colour scheme, which has hints of RAF training schemes of the past, was only made possible in these times of defence cuts through sponsorship from Babcock Ltd. Next to fly against a brilliant blue sky was Dan Griffith in Air Atlantique Classic Flight’s Meteor NF.11. It was nice to see one of their aircraft display once again at Duxford after quite a break and Dan put in a scintillating display.
A late addition were the RV8tors, Alister Kay and Andy Hill, in their pair of Van’s RV8s. This was one of their first full displays and once again the brilliant blue skies did full justice to this excellent routine which also showed off to full effect their support for the charity Fly2Help. Unfortunately, the Royal Navy Historic Flight’s Fairey Swordfish couldn’t make it due to ‘paperwork issues’ but its place was ably taken by separately owned Sea Fury T.20 which is being operated by The Flight and flown by Chris Gotke.
A late addition were the RV8tors, Alister Kay and Andy Hill, in their pair of Van’s RV8s. This was one of their first full displays and once again the brilliant blue skies did full justice to this excellent routine which also showed off to full effect their support for the charity Fly2Help. Unfortunately, the Royal Navy Historic Flight’s Fairey Swordfish couldn’t make it due to ‘paperwork issues’ but its place was ably taken by separately owned Sea Fury T.20 which is being operated by The Flight and flown by Chris Gotke.
There followed the first segment of women pilots with Zan Blundell showing her skills in a Yak-52 and Tizi Hodson with her Slingsby T67 Firefly. A few flypasts were also given by round the world pilot Polly Vacher in her Piper Dakota. It was unfortunate that having already lost Captain Neville’s Flying Circus earlier in the programme – which included Tricia Neville with the rare Thruxton Jackaroo – it was at this point that we lost Tract Curtis-Taylor’s Ryan PT-22 Recruit along with Melissa Saggers lovely Percival P40 Prentice, Clare Tector in the Chilton DW1 and totally understandably, Judy Leden with her hanglider which would have been towed into the air by Shelley Smith in her microlight.
It was at this point that we got the chance to see some of the Duxford residents starting with the Catalina from Plane Sailing which operated from the grass runway and served as the show’s contribution to the 70th anniversary of Search and Rescue. This was followed by the first chance in a couple of years to see the Curtis Hawk 75A and Pearl Harbour veteran P-40B Warhawk from The Fighter Collection. Stephen Grey and Pete Kynsey were at the controls of these famous fighters. Also flying from their home base were John Romain and Dave Harvey with the Hispano Buchon and Hawker Hurricane XII in a Battle Of Britain pairing, while Brian Smith and Alister Kay who were immaculate as usual with the OFMC’s Spitfire LF.IXE MH434 and P-51D Mustang ‘Ferocious Frankie’. The final local representative was the world’s only airworthy F-86A Sabre in the hands of Cliff Spink. The Sabre had taken a new ‘look’ with temporarily applied ‘tiger stripes’ which were applied after Cliff was invited to attend the recent NATO Tiger Meet at Cambrai in France
It was at this point that we got the chance to see some of the Duxford residents starting with the Catalina from Plane Sailing which operated from the grass runway and served as the show’s contribution to the 70th anniversary of Search and Rescue. This was followed by the first chance in a couple of years to see the Curtis Hawk 75A and Pearl Harbour veteran P-40B Warhawk from The Fighter Collection. Stephen Grey and Pete Kynsey were at the controls of these famous fighters. Also flying from their home base were John Romain and Dave Harvey with the Hispano Buchon and Hawker Hurricane XII in a Battle Of Britain pairing, while Brian Smith and Alister Kay who were immaculate as usual with the OFMC’s Spitfire LF.IXE MH434 and P-51D Mustang ‘Ferocious Frankie’. The final local representative was the world’s only airworthy F-86A Sabre in the hands of Cliff Spink. The Sabre had taken a new ‘look’ with temporarily applied ‘tiger stripes’ which were applied after Cliff was invited to attend the recent NATO Tiger Meet at Cambrai in France
Then there was the second segment of female fliers. With a wind gusting at +/-30knots, any pilot displaying was worthy of full praise, but to stand on the top wing of a Stearman biplane takes something a bit special and that’s what the Breitling Wingwalkers gave us. With Danielle Hughes and Sarah Tanner on the wings and Martyn Carrington and Dave Barrell at the controls, these guys put on a stunning sequence which totally belied the conditions. Also defying the winds was Diana Britten who gave a rare opportunity to see her jaw-dropping gyroscopic aerobatic routine in her diminutive Cap 232.
She was followed by a fitting tribute to those brave women ATA pilots of WWII. This was certainly a highlight with Anna Walker flying Kennet Aviation’s Seafire XVII and Carolyn Grace in her Spitfire TR.IX ML407. Following a single loose formation pass they went into a delightful pair of solo routines.
The final female flyer of the afternoon was something altogether faster. Flt Lt Juliette Fleming has already served on Tornado GR.4s in Iraq and Afghanistan but since last year had been a Qualified Flying Instructor with 208(R) Sqn at RAF Valley. For 2011 she is the Hawk T.1A display pilot. Unfortunately, the actual display aircraft was not available but the fact that she was flying one of the ‘standard’ aircraft did not detract from her display
The final female flyer of the afternoon was something altogether faster. Flt Lt Juliette Fleming has already served on Tornado GR.4s in Iraq and Afghanistan but since last year had been a Qualified Flying Instructor with 208(R) Sqn at RAF Valley. For 2011 she is the Hawk T.1A display pilot. Unfortunately, the actual display aircraft was not available but the fact that she was flying one of the ‘standard’ aircraft did not detract from her display
Jules was due to be the finale to the flying display, but throughout the afternoon, the Black Cats had been watching the conditions to see whether they could fly. In typical Duxford tradition, the weather cleared right at the end and the two Lynx HMA.9s were able to take of in glorious late afternoon sunshine. For many years the Black Cats have been renowned for their excellent shows and to my eyes this year’s routine is exceptionally good and the crowd – which was down in number compared to some shows, but understandable given the cold – were vocal with their approval.
So ended the first Duxford show for the year. An excellent start and with Flying Legends, 75th Anniversary of The Spitfire in September and Commemoration of the Korean War in October, it looks like being another good year.
Many thanks to Esther, Gabriella and the team for their help
So ended the first Duxford show for the year. An excellent start and with Flying Legends, 75th Anniversary of The Spitfire in September and Commemoration of the Korean War in October, it looks like being another good year.
Many thanks to Esther, Gabriella and the team for their help
