I have to agree with RobAnt,I didn’t see anything resembling a Derry in the last moments of the Firefly’s flight. It seemed to me that the pilot was trying to pull the aircraft through a half loop, from which I would guess he intended to roll off level at the top and thus find himself heading back towards the airfield. The rolls and oscillations which the aircraft performed occurred after the stall and departure from controlled flight.I think any notion that the pilot was attempting a Derry manouvre ought to be knocked on the head.
I don’t really like to get involved in the speculation surrounding this acident,but I witnessed the accident first hand and I feel it’s important to get things right and prevent misinformation from spreading.

…and here’s a picture to prove my point…:)

IMHO,warbirds should have a ‘used’ look about them.By this I do NOT mean that the paintwork should be attacked with wet & dry paper, screwdrivers etc,I just mean that wear and tear that occurs naturally shouldn’t be ‘corected’,the wear and tear itself IS correct!
Someone mentioned the weathering on the Pearl Harbor Spits looking nice,but if you ask me it was overdone,and to some extent in Memphis Belle and BofB aswell.Wear and tear should be allowed to happen and stay put,but faking it often looks a bit daft.
With regard to the comment about D-Day stripes,I’d love to see PL965 with matt D-Day stripes painted on her underside,perhaps using a none-too-durable type of paint so as the stripes are allowed to wear and fade,just as the real ones did.
Just my tuppence worth…

Hi Galdri,
It sounds very much like the Museo Dell’Aviazione at Cerbaiola, near Rimini. There was an article about the museum in Flypast quite a few years ago now,which included a complete listing of what’s on display. Unfortunately,being as it was so long ago I can’t garauntee that I’ll still have the issue it was in,but I can have a look if you’d like.
Among the exhibits is Gloster Javelin FAW.9 XH768,formerly a gate guard at an RAF station in Germany.From the pics I’ve seen it appears that most of the machines on display are more than somewhat the worse for wear,the poor old Jav included.
On a somewhat distasteful note,the museum also has on display a large amount of wreckage from the MB339’s which collided in mid-air at Ramstein back in 1988 (the Ramstein Disaster as it’s become known). 🙁

“ML417’s a beauty – wish we still had her over here “

If the promotional artwork for this year’s Legends is anything to go by,it looks as though Mr. Freidkin will be sending her home for the show.Now he has the Mk.14,perhaps ‘417’s stay will be longer than just a fleeting visit for Legends weekend?

Although the Victor isn’t included in the published floor plan,it WILL apparently be included.I’ve heard that it will go over to the conservation area of the new hangar for some long term restoration work,and will then be found space in the new building.
I certainly hope that’s the case.

Those air-airs of the Seafire are absolutely stunning,and the other shots are great too! She’s an absolute beauty,huge congratulations and many,many thanks to all involved!

You have to remember how densely populated the UK is,South Africa is a much larger country and the Thunder City guys work in close co-operation with the military,using restricted airspace for some of thier flying.If a Lightning comes down in SA,it’s far more likely to come down in an open area.The CAA have to legislate in a utalitarian manner,with the public’s safety as the top priority. Bear in mind that the Lightning did have a poor safety record during it’s early career,and there were still a number of accidents in the later years of service.