If I can just find somewhere to hide them for the next 30 years…

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/502635/Battle-of-Britain-fighters-fly-again-after-40-years-in-barn

John Romain is unavailable this year, so the display is being carried out in the more than capable hands of Sqn Ldr (Retd) Ian “Smithy” Smith, former OC BBMF.

Went home before the Chinese Stirling was out then?

I think that only the display Vulcan had camoflaged under surfaces. I remember reading somewhere that this was done to make it more visible to the audience. The usual ‘Could be wrong’ disclaimer applies…..

When XH558 was a K2 tanker it had Light Aircraft Grey undersides and was like that when it was briefly on the dump at Marham. When it was subsequently selected to replace the Vulcan Display Flight’s then current aircraft XL426, it was ferried to Kinloss and given a major servicing at the Nimrod Major Servicing Unit. As part of this it was fully repainted in what was known as the “wrap round” scheme, similar to XL426 but in lighter shades and in a high gloss finish. This was seen as the best long term weathering and corrosion preventative finish to keep the airframe looking good as Vulcan support facilities were wound up forever. The wrap-round scheme was indeed chosen for XH558 to make it more visible in the sky to airshow audiences and to represent a Vulcan Bomber in “late” operational service. In fact the new scheme was immediately “wrong” as it was given a “feathered edge” to the over-lapping of the camouflage colours wheras the painting diagram for the Vulcan gives it the requirement for a “hard edge” finish, also notable on the Buccaneer at this time. In fact the whole presentation of XH558 is a bit of a “representation” of an operational Vulcan as it really should have the TF thimble radar fairing on the front of the nose to be correct to the period that it attempts to represent. I remember seeing one stored on the correct trolley in one of the ORP huts at Honington in the mid ’80’s shortly before they chopped the IX Sqn HAS site gate guard up! It’s probably still there…

I went Saturday and was appalled by the state of the site’s permanent toilets. By mid-morning it was like the boiler room on the Titanic at the ones west of Hangar 5! And the rubbish just spewing out of the bins and carpeting the floor all around the site. I’m sure that in years past the site services team have been roving around in their van, servicing the toilets and emptying bins and putting new sacks in. Perhaps in the light of this years new “domestic” arrangements at IWM Duxford, this has all changed and it relies on that bloke that pushes a shopping trolley full of mop, bucket, feather duster and squirters to take on the onslaught of a major airshow’s visiting hordes? I can’t see it was because the crowds were “so huge”. 2/10 IWM

Mitchell was good, not “Jeff Hawke”, but a nice display and a lovely sound. Peashooter? Novel, but would have been a GREAT performer at Old Warden, but was simply lost on the display line at DX. Spitfire Mk1 four-ship on Saturday? Well there was a three-ship and a “floater”. Constellation display… I think I grew a beard between fly-bys. I don’t recall the MATS Connie being quite so, err…

Don’t worry, the polish will be ready for you…

oh, and your mushed up food.

Tonight’s “nice and pretty weather Lady” says (for East Anglia) rain Saturday, cloud Sunday. I predict huge throngs on the DX corner by mid morning Friday…:highly_amused: