Historic Aviation Highlights for 2014

4x MkI Spitfires airborne together, 2x Lancasters ditto, Seeing a Constellation airborne for the first time since I was in primary school. Watching Peter Holloway’s impressive display if the Fiesler Storch. All told a great year for me.
What would I like for 2015? Will someone please put a York back in the air?

Working on all English Based Beech 18’s. Flying in Union Dak Jack At Lee on Solent D-Day with a Beech 18 and D-17s for company. Meeting some crews from around Europe at Yevoilton and Culdrose while crewing on Andy Foan’s Ex Beech 18. seeing much progression at Sywell also. Go year all round.

A relatively safe year for historic flying in the U.K.

Lancasters, Buchon and Sea Fury deadstick landings, Old Warden’s ‘Air Race’ show, Aeroplane magazine revival/articles, Barracuda progress, HE51 check-in/progress, 109 work in Germany, Skua found in Norway, Blenheim airborne.

Highlight for me has to be the Lancasters. Seeing them for the first time from Beachy Head and then at East Kirkby seeing them finish with a break, both images etched in the mind forever.

The 4 Dakotas at the May Duxford show were another memorable moment. Shoreham airshow never disappoints and just gets better and better. Legends was still a great show despite the weather in Europe preventing a lot of participants arriving.

News highlights were first flights of the Blenheim and Comet Racer, both of which I look forward to seeing this year along with lots of Battle of Britain 75th themed shows.

What Mike J said 😀

I flew a TR9, that’s my life highlight I think!

Highlights from what I actually saw – two Lancs (twice) the C47s, Midair Canberra and the marvellous Great War display team (twice)!

2 X Lancs and the Vulcan

Taking a South African friend to Duxford for the first time and by pure luck a Spitfire was pre flighted and took off and displayed 10 yards from us and the look on my friends face–wonderful.

The Lancasters, re-flown Blenheim and recently found substantial Halifax in Norwegian fjord.

Have a happy and healty 2015.

Cheers
Cees

Elliott’s list pretty much sums it up for me, I’d just add the sight (and sound) of a pair of RAF-engined BE2es in the sky above Stow Maries for the first time in almost a century.

I’d have thought ‘Doc’ would feature high on anyone’s list. Close to flight too.

The Lancasters and the Comet are the obvious (and well-deserved) highlights, but there are a few others that spring to mind…

The big DC-3/C-47 gathering at Lee-on-Solent was something special. The quartet of D-Day veteran Skytrains at Duxford would’ve been my highlight of the year had the Lanc not come over and the Comet not flown.

The débuts of the Mystery Ship and David Beale’s Mew Gull, and their display together at Sywell (to say nothing of the Mew pair at Race Day in October), were fantastic. Likewise, seeing the two imported BE2s at Old Warden flying in the sun at the end of what had been a very wet day at Old Warden was a delight.

There’ve been some tremendous warbird solos this year too – at Flying Legends alone, the Gladiator, Nimrod, Mustang, Corsair, Hurricane and Bearcat were as good as it gets in 2014. Brian Smith nailed it in the Corsair at Shoreham, too.

There are plenty of other highlights – Peashooter, Super Constellation, four Mk.I Spitfires, Draken, Dutch Hunter at Waddington, Race Day (one of the best airshows of recent years), the Hurricane Mk.I/Spitfire Mk.I/Gladiator formation at Shoreham and the big D-Day set-piece later in the day… the list goes on. Proof, if we needed any, that the perception of British airshows being in “terminal decline” couldn’t be further off the mark.

I did promise not to mention it again, but as it’s that time of year….for me, my flight on board the Canadian Lancaster in August!

Dominie acquired and now displayed undercover. 🙂

Return to the air of the de Havilland 88 Comet, 80 years after winning the MacRoberson race….

Not forgetting restoration to flying condition of de Havilland 89A Rapide G-AHAG. Great to see it at Woburn in August. http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1463658/

PM

Lancasters
Blenheim MkI (or not) some may say.
All the dead stick landings this year, well done to the airmanship, Sea Fury, Buchon.

Lancasters…….