Legends – Sunday

Mike Donnet, DFC, the daughters of Roland Beamont, and ‘Cheval’ Lallemand, DFC*.

Jim Stewart, DFC with a Sea Hurricane

Aha, my honoured company for the weekend (even more so than you guys!).

Jim Earnshaw, AE. ‘609 at War’ is Jims book.

S/Ldr LWF ‘Pinkie’ Stark, DFC*, AFC*. 609’s last wartime commander.

F/O Jim Stewart, DFC. Shot down an FW200 as a ‘Hurricat’ pilot after they had been disbanded and were on their way home. (And bloody good company too!)

Between Pinkie and Jim is Glen Bull – a cracking girl, with a Mini One. She looks after Pinkie.

Lancman:

The Forum team is Ashley and Kev. If you need me to tell you which is which I’ll start to worry.

Snapper will fill you in on the old warhorses when he gets a moment I hope.

Philo:

By the end of Legends I had relaxed. But my train of thinking as I drove past the crash site ran like this.

If the RNHF came to me and said “We are buying Dikc Melton’s Walrus, will you fly it in displays for us knowing there is a danger you might die in the aircraft” I wouldn’t hesitate for a second before accepting.

I would feel it my right to make that decision.

It will never happen to me, but I don’t feel we can take the opportunity of display flying away from keen young pilots by an arbitrary ban.

My tuppence

Moggy

Moggy,
I know how you feel / felt, I was the same after the incident at Coventry and I too was not going to go to Legends yesterday despite having planned it with folks.
I was pottering around at home on Saturday (enjoying the free show put on by the RAF for BZN families day, as things were in the hold over my house) when my wife shouted from the house that she had just heard (2 pm Radio news)that there had been an accident at Duxford and that there had been a loss of life. My heart imediately sunk, I started thinking of all of the possible scenarios, tried to contact people that I knew were going that day,then watched the news and ……well I was completely knocked sideways.
I said that I would not go the next day, phone my mate to say not to bother and he accepted my decision but said he would go and that I could always change my mind.
We had friends around that evening and they could see that I was not fully taking part in the fun. I had a few beers and was in a relective mood, when my mate phoned to see if I had changed my mind, my wife took the call and said that I would go and she would make sure I was up in time to go.
She did and I did go, When I got to my spot (as close to the press enclosure as I could get on the M11 end) I scanned the horizon to look for the crash site, not out of any morbid rubbernecking, but so as I could quietly direct my respect in my way.
I enjoyed the day , but still have a niggling feeling that something else will happen that will further detract from my enjoyment. I am becoming of the mind that any life lost does not justify the whole air display scene and that if it were to stop , or be stopped as per Skynews web site suggests, that I would not be too upset.

Who’s who in the shot then?!

Hmm,

Feeling better now!

Loved the show yesterday, superb weather, accomplished display flying (Those Breitling boys are something else) and good company. Kev, Ashley, Snapper & Lofty.

Just one thought, partly related to something I read last night on another thread that asked why they didn’t screen off the wreckage.

I think that would have been wrong. Putting up a few bits of canvas and trying to pretend it never happened would have been way off the mark in my view – others may differ.

I would also have appreciated some mention made at the begining of the show, with perhaps a one minute silence just to think. It didn’t happen and I missed it did it? Maybe a missing man formation would have been appropriate too.

Quick image of us bothering some great old guys here.

Moggy

Re: Legends – Sunday

Moggy.

“I’m a flyer in a very minor way. I wouldn’t ever want my death to affect the human races fascination with defying the laws of gravity, to affect our poor imitation of the swallows and swifts I have watched scything through the darkening skies tonight.”

I know. And that is almost certainly the view of all those who flew at Legends today. That is why you’re going tomorrow, and although it is hard to comprehend, that is exactly why you will continue to visit airshows and enjoy seeing these aircraft in their element. And you’ll spare a thought for the crews and their families. It’s all we can do.

And, one fine summers evening, cruising in the Colt through a ‘matchless East Anglian sky’, you’ll smile to yourself at the sheer joy of taking flight, of sharing the same sky that the Firefly crew enjoyed, or the veterans of Bomber Command, or the 8th Air Force and the 388th.

I’ll see you in the morning.

Regards,

kev35

Yes Moggy, it is extremely difficult to comprehend at the moment 🙁

See you in the morning

Becka