Duxford Friday 22nd April:

Cold wet and windy, but still plenty happening.

Hangar 3 is looking rather splendid at the moment:

The F-100 and T-33 are packed and ready to go in Hangar 5:

The poor weather didn’t prevent sorties from Catalina, Spitfire SM520 and TFC’s Hawk 75:

Two of the Classic Wings fleet were busy again:

Duxford Tuesday 19th April:

Part of the Aero Legends fleet were engaged in some photo sorties this afternoon, with the Devon, Texan and Prentice airborne:

Some of today’s visitors, starting with a classic. Cessna 195B N3064B, all the way from Audley End:

Duxford Monday 18th April:

Congratulations to the Plane Sailing team, who took delivery of the Historic Aircraft Association’s Conrod Trophy today. Here’s the citation:

The Historic Aircraft Association is pleased to announce that the Conrod Trophy for 2016 has been awarded to Plane Sailing Air Displays Limited.

Plane Sailing Air Displays Limited was formed in 1984 by Paul Warren Wilson, John Watts and Arthur Gibson in order to acquire a Consolidated Catalina for film work and air displays in the UK and Europe – an aircraft long absent from the skies of Europe at that time. Eventually, a suitable airframe was located in South Africa and ferried home to the UK in early 1985 by John Watts, Keith Sissons and Paul Warren Wilson, ably supported by their engineer Pete Rushen.

Plane Sailing’s first airshow was undertaken in Rotterdam in May 1985 and it subsequently appeared at a UK airshow for the first time at that year’s Biggin Hill Air Fair. Plane Sailing operated G-BLSC throughout Europe until 1998, including many, many airshows and undertaking considerable film and TV work; highlights included participation in the flypast over Buckingham Palace for the 50th anniversary of VE Day (1994); a tour of South America for the Peter Stuyvesant Travel Odyssey (also in 1994); flying the Czech President Václav Havel (1993); and promotional work in the air and on the water around the Italian coast for the Peroni beer company (1995 and 1996). Unfortunately this Cat was damaged in an accident on Southampton Water in July 1998 and was deemed beyond economic repair.

A replacement aircraft was secured from Canada in 2002, purchased by Catalina Aircraft Limited (to whose 20 shareholders thanks are also due for their financial support), and ferried to Duxford in 2004. Since then Plane Sailing have successfully operated the Cat G-PBYA – now named Miss Pick Up after a wartime USAAF Catalina based in Suffolk – uninterrupted for the last twelve years. She has been the most active Catalina in the world during this time, traversing most of Western Europe from Moscow in the East and Greenland to the West – visiting hundreds of airshows; highlights have included regular water operations from France, Austria and Switzerland; participation in the 70th anniversary flypast over London in 2013 to commemorate the Battle of the Atlantic; an award-winning flight around the coast of the UK in Summer 2013 to mark the 100th anniversary of the similar (but unsuccessful) attempt by Harry Hawker in 1913 and, most significantly and recently, providing support for the Worksop College expedition to Greenland – Operation World First – in the summer of 2015, taking personnel and supplies from the forward base at Constable Point, Greenland to the base camp at an inland lake.

During all this time, Paul Warren Wilson (Chief Pilot and HAA member) along with the dedicated Plane Sailing team of support / groundcrew (the ‘Catpack’) have successfully operated the aircraft, such that it has been seen and enjoyed by countless thousands over the last 30 years. Indeed, it could be said that so well have they succeeded, that the Plane Sailing Catalina has almost become part of the furniture of the UK / European air display scene; a complete testament to the enduring achievement of their engineering and operational skills through all these years, which the HAA are pleased to recognise with the presentation of the 2016 Conrod Trophy to Plane Sailing Air Displays.

The presentation coincided with the first engine runs of 2016:

Another milestone today was a flight from TFC’s P-40C, the first since engine problems in July last year:

Aero Legends’ Texan was also up today:

Visiting Tiger Moth G-ANFM:

Finally, yours for £26-30,000 ?

( 1981 De Lorean for auction on Wednesday )

Duxford Saturday 16th April:

Poor weather delayed the Classic Wings Spitfire rides today, but the forecast for tomorrow suggests a full day of flights should be possible:

Otherwise:

A forthcoming attraction (may appeal to Pram Pusher):

Duxford Thursday 14th April:

Today’s entertainment came late afternoon, with a splendid practice display by TFC’s Hawk 75:

Crew ferry:

Duxford Sunday 10th April:

This German Harvard is an occasional Duxford visitor, today she was on a day trip from Aachen:

Bulldog G-JWCM was another visitor:

Another view of Hangar 2: