Brawdy

My heart sank when I learned of the crash of Red 4 and the tragic loss of Flt Lt Jon Egging. I wish to add to the many expressions of condolences and sympathy to Jon’s wife, family and colleagues.

The Red Arrows are held in great affection, not only by thousands of aviation enthusiasts as witnessed on this forum, but by literally millions of members of the public who are enthralled by the team’s courage and skill. Witness the outpouring of sympathy in Bournemouth in particular but also the many other places across the UK which have a close association with them. In time I hope that they will once again grace our skies as a fitting tribute to Flt Lt Egging in particular but also the many other brave men and woman who serve their country.

Yeovilton Air Day

Yesterday’s Yeovilton Air Day was the best for years and Sea Vixen XP924 and her team did not disappoint. In fact it was a magnificent triumph. We were first treated to a low level flypast along the crowd line on the Vixen’s arrival at 10:10. In the afternoon the highlight of the day for many – myself included – was the joint VixenVulcan flypast flowed by a solo aerobatics display as the Vulcan taxied into position by the crowd. See attached.

Quick question. Please can someone confirm the name of the current Vixen display pilot and his experiencebackground? Many thanks.

You mean like these?

Or this….

Taken at Lossie by my late father during winter 1962/63.

The Christmas 2009 edition of Aircraft magazine – out now – contains an article on Sea Vixen XP924/G-CVIX. This reports that a new company – DS Aviation – is being established which will hopefully take over responsibility for the Vixen and the A8-20 facilities at Hurn. Fingers crossed for 2010. The magazine features some fine air-to-air colour photos of XP924 plus an excellent article on Yeovilton’s ‘glory days’ of the late 60s. Some great photos of Vixen’s displaying are shown – particularly Simon’s Sircus.

More than recommended.

De Havilland Aviation have been very busy in recent months moving to alternative accommodation at Hurn. I see that they’ve just launched a new website at:
http://www.dehavillandaviation.com/file/Home.html

Things are looking promising for a successful 2009 featuring plenty of displays. Let’s all hope so as G-CVIXXP924 is a fantastic a/c.

This footage is taken from the ‘Sailor’ TV documentary series from 1976 and very good it is too. All the aircraft featured (Buccaneer S2809 Squadron and Phantom FG1892 Squadron) were 100% owned by the Royal Navy.

Ironically the pilot seen bolting all those times was on attachment from the RAF! Whilst his Commanding Officer, Lt Cdr Keith Somerville-Jones, appears very relaxed here, apparently he later gave him a right grilling!

The displays by the preserved XP924 this ‘summer’ have been very impressive (and loud!). For those of us too young to have witnessed the sight of six Vixens in formation back in 1968 it’s hard to imagine just what it was like but it must have been magnificent.

Does anyone know if any footage of Simons Sircus has ever been released on video or DVD? I’ve been looking high and low for several months now but despite the number of appearances the team made during ’68 – including Farnborough – I can’t find anything. Well apart from a frustrating few seconds (literally) at the start of the Farnborough 1968-1988 DVD – an opportunity missed!

I’m sure that there is plenty of film footage ‘in the can’ but has any made it into the public domain? Any help or advice will be gratefully appreciated.

Many thanks,

Mark