I haven’t posted before because I just didn’t know what to say. Many people who went for an enjoyable time at the races have been killed or injured and my thoughts are with them and their families. We have also lost and two air racing legends in a terrible accident which could have been even worse had the accident started a fire.
Having been a witness to two fatal display accidents myself I can completely understand that people may do things in shock that they wouldn’t do in normal circumstances so maybe some have been rather harsh in their comments about the lady who picked up the aircraft part.
The people who helped in whatever way possible after the accident like the Huey pilots have shown the best side of human nature and have my admiration for their actions at what must have been a very distressing time.

I think there was another thread about these two a short time ago. They were acquired and came to the UK for a film about the Berlin Airlift which was intended to focus on the pilot nicknamed “The Candy Bomber” who threw Hershey bars out of the cockpit window to groups of children on the approach into Berlin. I think the film was pulled because the finance disappeared and the two aircraft remained unwanted at North Weald.
As far as I am aware there isn’t a DC-4 in preservation in the UK. Considering that they were very much a part of the early days of independent airlines in the UK it would be a real shame to see these two scrapped. Now if we got a flyer and a static out of these 2 that really would be a bonus. Maybe Red Bull fancy a companion for their DC-6 and the AAM would be a good home for the other but as Duxford appear reluctant to take on large airframes sadly this is not likely to happen.

The trainer was a Beech Mentor. I was there too, heard the engine surge and turned round to look just as it flew into the ground – not a pleasant experience even as a spectator. We had some people with us who had never been to an airshow before and when the rescue crew didn’t attempt to extricate anybody from the wreckage ( having looked inside through the canopy) one of the women with us got very upset and pointed out that the pilots were someone’s sons.
By the way if the Mosquito you refer to was RR299 my understanding was that the accident was caused by a problem with the carburettors because the manual used by a contractor when overhauling them was missing a vital update which resulted in them being set up wrongly causing one engine to cut or lose revs meaning that the other engine pulled the aircraft into a spin with the pilot having no hope of recovery. Perhaps someone with more knowledge can confirm this.

Great display which reminded me of 70’s- early 80’s airshows in the UK but it also reminded me how close some airshow pilots came to running out of sky in those days. I was holding my breath a few times watching the video.
I felt the pilot pushed his luck with his display height and was just glad that his luck didn’t run out.

Thanks Dragon Rapide. At that time only part of Meteor WK991 was displayed at Lambeth (rear fuselage?) and I am sure that the article said that the rest of the Meteor was stored along with the two Beagle aiframes but it does seem that XF708 didn’t get to Barking – just goes to show you can’t always believe what you read in magazines.

Hi WJ244, I’m wondering if you’re thinking of XF703 that was kept at the RAFM store at Henlow before being scrapped in 1975?

I remember reading an article in an Aviation Mag probably Air Pictorial about the IWM store at Barking in Essex. It was probably when I was still at school so would be pre March 1973. As far as I remember the report claimed Shackleton XF708, Beagle Pup prototype G-AVDF and possibly one of the Beagle twins (don’t think it was a B.206) was kept there. I was surprised because Barking isn’t too far from me and I found it hard to envisage any space in a cramped Outer London borough like Barking for a store to hold a Shackleton. The article included photos and I am pretty sure it showed XF708 in one piece which seems even stranger as there was no airfield at Barking to take a Shack and it seems illogical to dismantle such a large aircraft and then reassemble it in a storage facility.
I don’t have any early copies of Wrecks and relics but maybe they would give a clue. It is possible that the article wasn’t entirely accurate and the plan was to send XF708 to Barking but the better option then became available to deliver by air to Duxford and that the photos of XF708 were taken at Kemble prior to delivery.
I know it was a long time ago but my memory of the article is still quite vivid and it would be good to know whether XF708 ever actually got there and also what happened to the other aircraft.

I think lines are getting a bit muddied here.
The way I see it is if I choose to do something dangerous without involving others or putting them at risk then that is my own choice so if I choose to participate in motorcycle stunts on my own field I can do whatever I want as long as I make sure I am well away from any innocent bystander.
If I choose to take part in a dangerous activity involving others I have a duty to make sure that my actions do not cause unreasonable risk to others participating or spectating. As an example those who race in the Isle of Man are aware of the dangers and possible consequences as are those who officiate and an overwhelming majority of the spectators. No one wants to see anyone pay the ultimate price but the risk is there. If you say would I do it the answer is that if I had the funds and resources I would like to have a go BUT if I got out there and felt I was lacking the competence to ride properly in those conditions and as a result my actions were likely to pose an unreasonable danger to other competitors or spectators I would have a good think about whether I should continue.
If I had the ability to fly as an airshow act I would rightly expect my projected “act” to be viewed by a safety board and would modify anything that they judged to be unacceptably dangerous to present before the public.
The person performing the Stearman to helicopter swap was obviously happy with the risks involved but if I were a member of the safety board I would not have allowed that act to have been performed in the UK unless the stuntman had a way out if he failed to complete the change. Obviously someone in the US felt differently. Sadly the stuntman paid the ultimate price because things went wrong and undoubtedly left his family and a lot of paying customers traumatised by his death.
At the end of the day if you put something in front of the paying public it has to be “safe” in that the risk of injury or worse to the paying spectators is minimised (ie don’t fly over or towards the crowd) and the risk to the participants has to be managed.
Having read the postings about the Bearcat I felt that it was inadvisable to carry out that manoeuvre at that height in a heavy fighter because there was no room for a plan B if it all went wrong but in a modern aerobatic mount there may have been a good chance of recovery although events of the past week have proved that this is not always the case. I would not have wanted to risk flying such a manoeuvre in something as rare and desirable as a Bearcat which is quite impressive enough flying more basic aerobatics. Maybe the issue is fly a Bearcat to show off the aeroplane and fly a modern aerobatic job to show off the more extreme of your aerobatic skills.
Airshows rely on attracting the public to make money. If we have accidents which injure and traumatise the public through the irresponsible actions of some participants then ultimately we will scare away the paying punters because you can be sure that the media will use every accident as an excuse to sensationalise thereby promoting the idea that airshows are unacceptably dangerous and the greens will join in with their view that airshows needlessly pollute the planet and add something along the lines that attending might just get you killed as well so don’t attend.
There were some great acts in the 60’s and 70’s but looking back one or two did make you catch a breath and hope that the ground didn’t come up to meet the pilot and his aeroplane. Unfortunately in quite a few cases pilots did run out of sky and/or luck but that level of accidents is not regarded as acceptable now just as we no longer have regular deaths in F1 as the cars and circuits are much safer. We have all had to move with the times.