The Loss of Steve Young was a huge one, I only had the pleasure to meet him once, But remember fondly his sense of humour that shone through in his posts here on the forum.
We had a accident free Airshow season in the UK, But sadly we lost Ray Hanna in the close season, Next year Biggin Hill and Duxford will seem so empty.
I pray 2006 will be accident free in the UK and in Europe and America too.

I thought i would like to share some of my photo’s and memories of Ray in MH434, They were taken mainly at Biggin Hill this year and 2004 also.

Nobody flew a Spitfire like Ray, He was part of the Spitfire and understood exactly what it could do,I had been watching his displays since 1982 and saw him as a true idol and hero and every year including this year i looked forward with excitement to his Solo’s at Biggin, This year on the Sunday i was alone for the whole show at Biggin and confess to having a tear in my eye when Ray closed the show, I could not have realised it was be the last time would see him fly.
Everytime i saw him fly was like the first always exciting always safe, I saw him fly a number of different Aircraft all of them you could tell it was Ray at the controls instantly,He had a style and a class about his display much the same as a great guitarist has. I remember particularly his Duo Displays with Mark and a duo Display in Corsair at Duxford in the 1990s at Legends(date fails me) i think that time it was Stephen Grey in other Corsair i maybe well wrong though, Of course nobody who saw Ray do the valley dive at Biggin will ever forget it, He gave me and many other members of my family many hours of enjoyment and his passing has upset my sister in particular she has been going to airshows since 1999 and saw Ray as a hero too. I was thinking how Lucky everybody who went to Biggin this year were, We saw Rays last solo at Biggin in MH434 and saw Stephen Grey display his Bearcat too, Two Legends at the same show with arguably their favourite Aircraft, During Stephens display Ray was watching with intrest from the tail of 434 it was a sight to see.
I think Ray is with Mark now and i expect they have started some formation team with the Angels in Heaven, A era ends but i hope and pray MH434 will carry on in Lee Proudfoots hands as a Tribute to the Hanna’s .
RIP Ray you were the best.

Sadly i will not be able to make it either, I will be thinking of Steve at this time, I intending to be there but work would not give me the time off, By a cruel twist of fate i am now sick from work after losing my voice, Something i have never had happen before, But thats another story.
I hope to meet people very soon, And still want to pay tribute to Steve, This forum is not the same without him.

I’m wondering if its Turkey’s realising Christmas is coming soon and that they won’t be seeing it, So they came up with bird flu to scare us off eating them, Surely its no coincidence that it appears only a couple of months before Christmas :p .
Seriously though i think the Newspapers are over hyping the risk just like they do with everything, Yes there is a risk and potentially it could kill a lot of people but in the last year we have had huge natural disasters killing people in numbers that are beyond belief, The world feels a more dangerous place recently and you don’t know whats round the corner, Hell i say “Live life for today”.
Remember “Live everyday as if its your last,Because oneday you will be right” 😀

Here’s a few from me,

1) WHY is a Building not called a Built?

2)HOW did we come to know Flats as Flats and not as apartments as in America?

3)WHERE did the names for colours come from?

4)WHEN did languages such as English, Russian, French, Chinese etc begin?

Sad Sad news, Awful to see such a thing happen again to a lovely pier, The damage looks huge far worse than the damage that finished off any hopes of Brightons West pier being restored, I am glad to see the Southend council say they will restore the pier to its best again, If it proves to be arson like it has in cases of other piers i hope they string the git who did it up.

Thanks for your comments guys. As I get older the more I’m removed from political correctness that is taking over our lives. My thoughts are to represent the guys that flew these fantastic machines under very trying circumstances in an historical sense and to help preserve our history of aviation as well as have some fun. Who agrees???

Totally agree with you, Your B-26 should represent a true scheme to honour the crews of these lovely Aircraft, I hate seeing history changed to suit how we feel now, History should be remembered as accurate as possible not watered down.
Have fun flying her Oscar i really love A-26/B-26’s theres something very beautiful about them, If you fancy bringing her to the UK and some sponsership can be obtained i think she can be a star here.

Sad Sad news,
I like most people here are very very saddened by Ronnie Barkers passing, He was a Legend and for me he is my All-time comedy hero, A talent like his a doubt we will see again.
As Fletcher in Porridge he proved that even a prison setting could be funny and even now i feel they stand the test of time and are still funnier than most modern comedies are, They are special.
Another classic Open all Hours showed a completely different character to Fletcher and with Ronnie’s coaching it brought to the limelight another true Legend of Comedy and Drama in David Jason, I feel you can see Ronnie’s influence in much of David Jason’s work.
Of course with the Two Ronnie’s he had more classic moments as mentioned “Fork Handles” is legendary in itself, A great writer, great actor and a funny funny man, Never smutty( was always innuendo,never offensive) never using swearing like some other commedians do, And always in good taste.

R.I.P Ronnie Barker we will be laughing at you for many many years to come, Thank you for Brightening our lives.