Duxford - Flying Legends
 

Some may realize I am interested in aeroplanes.

Today I went to one of the two days that Duxford Airfield runs it's annual Flying Legends Airshow, which for the last six or seven years has clashed with the Royal International Air Tattoo at Fairford.

Parking as I had remembered it had been getting more organized, so imagine my horror to find it now absolute chaos once more.

The show consists mainly of Second World War aircraft types and the weather,, well, was pretty overcast all day, so lighting was diffused.

First set was twelve Spitfires airborne together

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Well worth going to if you can, now next year, and by then, I should have sorted out a different hosting site.

I worked at the shows for 9 years along with my late wife. We belonged to the unit that looked after Lost Children, and believe me there were lots. Many happy memories and a few sad ones. Saw a couple of pilots get killed.

I too sadly witnessed some losses.

I always had this idea that, as they announce the "lost childrens tent", the ideal thing would be to drop them off when you get in the gate, and pick them up at the end of the day.

My nephew has just passed his single engine licence at Stapleford & commences his commercial training in a few weeks.
He failed his driving test a couple of days later however. :D

Well done to him, hopefully on the road to a satisfying career. The majority of the pilots in the first picture above are employed full time as commercial aircrew.

You will likely have been there during the time of Roger Brooks then. :shower:

Was there a Lancaster there by any chance? I only ask because one flew over my house today. 😎

Sent from my H8216 using Tapatalk

No, the BBMF were not present, I suspect they were on their way to Yeovilton for the Navy Day. The Red Arrows were based at Brize Norton for that reason, and displayed at Duxford at noon.

Trying to remember the name of the pilot that took the P-38 Lighting into the ground. Kept looping the loop but was too low.

Then there was the Air Commodore who ground looped the Messerschmidt 109f.

Or The Phantom who buzzed the wrong airfield. Flying into either Lakenheath or Mildenhall the pilot mistook Stanstead for Duxford.

Lots of stories from a time we enjoyed.

Sadly, a great pilot Hoof Proudfoot was in the P38 , a terrible crash in front of the crowd (1996).

I was there when Sir John Allison was piloting the Bf109 (1997), and we were already discussing his loss of power when he tried to land; therefore due to loss of hydraulics and the museum looming, he hopped the M11, only to find a freshly ploughed field. The aircraft flipped, but luckily did not catch fire; he chose to remain in the aircraft until it could be lifted so that no more damage was caused to it.