Duxford Tuesday 8th January:
One of Duxford’s oldest residents departed today. After a stay of 38 years, 2 months and 13 days, the fuselage of Varsity T.1 G-BEDV / WJ945 was roaded out to Newquay. The last remaining parts (inner wing sections) should follow shortly:
The distinctive music of a Griffon 65 was very welcome, as TFC gave Spitfire FR.XIVe G-SPIT / MV268 some exercise:
Looking good in the winter sunshine was regular visitor, Chipmunk G-BCGC / WP903:
Duxford Friday 4th January:
Another mild and bright morning at Duxford, and more activity from the based trainers:
A brief ARCo shuffle revealed Spitfire Tr.9 G-ILDA / SM520 here for maintenance:
Whats the plan for the L39 david?
Nothing known about the L-39 yet. It has been a bit of a mystery ship since arrival in 2004 as N404ZA:
Duxford Thursday 3rd January:
A break in the weather, and based SNJ-5 G-CHIA / 85061 took the honour of being Duxford’s first warbird flight of the year:
A new resident in Hangar 2 is the L-39 G-CCWB, looking good considering its long spell of storage on the Southside:
Duxford Sunday 30th December:
Yes, it’s time to wind up this year’s Duxford Diary, and I hope everyone will indulge me if I provide a few closing comments.
It is very gratifying to get so much positive feedback for our efforts, both on this forum and elsewhere. Thanks for all the kind words and encouragement.
A quick check shows 2,271 photos, 2,766 posts and an incredible 539,524 hits so far on this year’s thread. It must be obvious that such coverage is a result of the joint efforts of quite a few people, and so it is time to roll the credits…
Thanks to Duxman for all his input (and regular company). His knowledge and photo-archive of past events at Duxford are second to none, and his generosity in sharing the material is a credit to him. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve asked ‘Do you have a photo of that?’, and the appropriate picture arrived promptly. And thanks to Mrs Duxman for letting him out of the house so often!
My thanks to Pen Pusher for his fantastic photo coverage. I have mixed feelings about my own efforts being constantly shown up, but I can at least credit him with making me work harder for that ‘extra special new angle’. For example, I’ve just discovered an HDR function on my camera that I didn’t know about.
To complete the ‘Last Of The Summer Wine’ set, thanks to Bomberflight for input and company (and more than his fair share of rumour and speculation).
Although we can’t speak for the IWM or other Duxford organisations (nor would we wish to), a lot of our coverage would not have been possible without their help. So thanks to IWM conservation staff and volunteers, ATC, Museum Assistants, engineers, other staff and volunteers at ARCo, B-17 Preservation, Classic Wings, DAS, DH Support, HAC, OFMC, Plane Sailing, TFC, and all the others who keep Duxford going. Their tolerance of our constant presence is appreciated. I won’t name names, but I’ve made a start on thanking them personally for their help over the last year. And thanks to the Restaurant staff, who actually look forward to our arrival. I reckon about 1000 coffees between us this year.
Finally, thanks to the many owners and pilots for their generosity in sharing their aeroplanes with us.
I’ll finish with my personal Duxford Top Twenty of 2012. Forum rules say only 20 pics per post, so there’s a lot left out.
March saw a Press Call for the IWM Vampire T.11 roll-out. A dismal day, but a successful showcase for a significant (and colourful) restoration. Nearly three years work in conserving where possible and renewing where needed. The finished aircraft, now in Hangar 4, is a credit to IWM and is a benchmark for future projects:
Another IWM landmark was the return of their B-17 to the American Air Museum. Re-assembled without fanfare, the work had been completed in a mere 15 months. There are still a few finishing touches to complete, but she has resumed her rightful place on public display. The debate about nose-art is still ongoing:
The day after the Vampire roll-out saw the delivery of Harrier GR.9A ZD461. Currently intended for South Lambeth, the Harrier unofficially marked the start of a massive project to upgrade IWM London. 2012 saw the arrival of a large number of objects for survey and conservation which will take up most of the IWM workload for 2013:
By an odd coincidence, the arrival of the South Lambeth stock coincided with a review of IWM collection policy, and luckily enough airframes were declared surplus to provide the room for the lodgers. ‘Storch’, Mil 24 and Sea Vampire have departed, Varsity, ‘Ju52’ and Sea Venom will depart soon. At the moment, Amiot AAC.1/Ju52 6316/4V+GH is attracting a lot of attention on the flight-line:
DAS had another busy year. Work was suspended on the Herald to allow assembly of the Ambassador. With the repaint of the BAC 111 deferred to next Spring, G-ALZO will be parked for all to admire on the old hangar base for a while. Truly unique, she has brought up again the age-old problem of finding secure hangarage for larger historic aircraft:
The completion of the Rolls-Royce Spitfire PR.XIX in October was another ARCo triumph. Rather different to their last Spitfire completion, she turned just as many heads:
The Blenheim I G-BPIV got some fresh air this year. She remains hangared with ARCo, but progress towards flight continues:
April 21st was a big day for TFC, with SNAFU’s first flight. The usual Gremlins that such a beast attracts didn’t prevent a starring role in 2012’s most significant public event (that’s Legends, not the Olympics):
My personal ‘Magic Moment’ this year was in September. Returning from Goodwood, P-51/P-47 and Spitfire blasted past the corner in the evening sunshine in very, very tight formation. There were signs that I was not alone in enjoying the moment:
My favourites from Legends 2012 included the return of the Red Bull P-38, an early arrival looked after by the TFC crew:
From towing one classic to hitching a ride with another:
A legends debut for this French Sea Fury:
Most unusual participant this year was Osa’s Ark:
The Spitfire I 3-ship display was a very memorable event:
For a short time, Duxford was home to both an authentic RE8 survivor and a magnificent reconstruction. Together with the Albatros, Fokker and Nieuport replicas, the September airshow was one of the few chances to see the TVAL duo before their move to Hendon:
Sally B had a short but successful season. Flying at airshows since 1975, it could be easy to take her presence for granted. She deserves special support next season, the twin problems of finance and red tape make every year more difficult:
If you have watched a Sally B display, you will know that the smoke pass is a way of saying thankyou to the B-17 supporters group. I hope the crew won’t mind this shot being used to say thankyou to all the volunteers who make Duxford the success it is.
Of course, everyone at Duxford is a volunteer. Certainly no-one can be doing it for the money….
Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.
Look out for the new thread on Tuesday.
Today’s event was a huge success and very well attended. It was great to see some of the work in progress out of season, and even better to have the Shuttleworth team on hand to pass on their wisdom. Tradition and innovation are equally important these days.
Thanks as always to the engineering staff and volunteers for creating an outstanding atmosphere, I hope the event can be repeated.
I’m sure there will be some interesting photo coverage, here’s two to start with. The Spitfire and Comet were easily the favourite projects with the photographers:
Duxford Friday 28th December:
Nothing much has happened in the last week at Duxford, so in the best traditions of Fleet Street, it’s time to make something up.
All the IWM conservation staff are still on holiday, so we thought we’d help them out by assembling the P-51 for them. Our resident aircraft pusher helped position the Mustang for some photos before we put her back indoors. I hope they don’t mind…
Duxford Friday 21st December:
The IWM exercise to move objects from South Lambeth to Duxford was completed this lunchtime, just in time for the Christmas break. The ex RCAF P-51D 9246, marked as ‘Big Beautiful Doll’ from the 78th FG, is in a very different state from the previous arrival. Last restored in the eighties (by an ARCo team), the Mustang is in immaculate condition and looks spectacular. It is presently planned to stay at Duxford until the AAM upgrade, so may stay dismantled for a while.
Duxford Wednesday 19th December:
In Hangar 2 today, there are signs that the massive TFC housekeeping event is nearing completion, with some repositioning taking place. A monopod allows a clear view of the sadly dormant Beaufighter project:
Duxford Monday 17th December:
Two of the DAS fleet share a birthday today. Britannia G-AOVT and Concorde G-AXDN both made their maiden flights on December 17th, in 1958 and 1971 respectively.
Concorde 101 ‘DN had a short career in test and development, her landing at Duxford on 20-8-77 was only her 269th, but she remains the fastest Concorde, having achieved Mach 2.23. Her arrival was a mere two days before the bulldozers moved in and shortened the runway for M11 construction. In the 35 years since, more visitors have walked through this aircraft than ever flew on Concorde in service.
Always a challenging aircraft to photograph on the ground, but ‘DN remains one of Duxford’s main visitor attractions:
Britannia 312 G-AOVT had a much longer career, serving with BOAC, British Eagle, Monarch and Invicta Cargo. After 35497 hours and 10760 landings, she was delivered during a Duxford Airshow on 29-6-75. That’s 37 years of care by DAS:
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