A sad day – posting pictures of wartime era drains from RAF Winthorpe! 😮 😮

By no means an expert but here’s a ‘runway chronology’ for Station 51 – RAF Winthorpe:

Opened September 1940 with grass runways

February 1942 – concrete runways started to be laid down [gravel extracted from River Trent at Farndon by Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd – in part forming what is now Farndon Marina]

May 1944 – bituminous [tarmac] covering applied to 3 runways and taxiways

If you want to see a typical profile look at the approach road to the air museum; currently awaiting repair by the landlord! 🙁

It’s a shame about the disruptions that you’ve suffered. Still new pieces and the Chipmunk cockpit would be nice to see. 🙂

Newark’s Chipmunk project seems to be more or less complete, I think it looks rather swish – although I would have preferred something other than the red, white and grey scheme that was chosen. The one down at Bruce’s haunt is much nicer!

I recall the Queens Jubilee Flypast in 1977, I witnessed the practice over Chelmsford which involved 4 Vulcans with various escorts, though one was a spare and on the day 3 Vulcans took part, I’ll have to dig out my slides of the event as they passed right over my house, I presume that the escort was Buccs, Lightnings, Phantoms, Jags and the Reds flying Gnats.

Details of the Silver Jubilee flypast can be found here http://www.airsceneuk.org.uk/oldstuff/2007/425finn77/fin77.htm

Plus details of one aircraft that was nearly lost during the preparations for the celebrations in South Yorkshire http://www.airsceneuk.org.uk/oldstuff/2007/443shack/shack.htm