Some memories never leave us.

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brucemillar

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His is/was a truly memorable event. The two remains flying Lancasters, joins by a Spitfire & Hurricane in a very low fly past. Grown men wept.

Sent from my iPhone using sausage fingers.
 

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When we had our 50th birthday in Rolls Royce Hillington (1987) there was an extremely low level Spitfire fly past right down the central road of the factory , you could feel the hairs on the back of your neck standing on end as well as the road under your feet trembling.

We had two of the last remaining functional test beds for the Merlin engines and they were still in use until the early 90`s IIRC , it was our job to calibrate them (dyno / gauges etc.) and at the time it was just your job , thinking back it was a privilege.

Kenny
 
Just heard no Red Arrows at The Southport Air Show this year and of course no Vulcan. Its a no from John too.

What ever else you put in the sky it just does not hack it the same.

BBMF is there but they usually fly over our house any way.
 
For those interested, you can join the BBMF for a measly amount, end of season see a limited numbers day at conningsby with hanger access and flying displays subject to weather, I have been twice and on the flying day it was brilliant, all five together in formation and single Give it the beans displays from the fighters.
 
I took my 93 year old mother to see the Sunderland air show this summer. When the Lancaster made a very low pass almost overhead she burst into tears. She is not someone to be moved easily but she was a nurse in York during the war and looked after many of the "bomber boys". It all came flooding back.
 
Well Duxford Battle of Britain show is always good. (Late Sept each year)

Been when they had 16 and 17 spitfires flying in formation and tail chasing respectively in the past 5 years.

Here is the confirmed flying list so far this year.
13 Spitfires excluding the BBMF.

Confirmed to fly:

Avro Lancaster PA474 - Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
Supermarine Spitfire - Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
Hawker Hurricane - Battle of Britain Memorial Flight

RAF Falcons
Great War Display Team

Hawker Hurricane Mk.I R4118 - Hurricane Herritage
Hawker Hurricane Mk.I P3717- Hurricane Herritage
Hawker Hurricane Mk.XIIa 5711 - Historic Aircraft Collection
Hawker Hurricane - Air Leasing

Tiger Nine (9x de Havilland DH82a Tiger Moth)
Yakovlev Yak-3UA - Will Greenwood

Hawker Fury Mk.I K5674 - Historic Aircraft Collection
Hawker Nimrod II K3661 - Historic Aircraft Collection

Supermarine Spitfire TR.9 PV202 - Aircraft Restoration Company
Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vb BM597- Historic Aircraft Collection
Supermarine Spitfire HF Mk.IXe TD314 - Aircraft Restoration Company
Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXb MH434 - Old Flying Machine Company
Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk.Vb EP120 - The Fighter Collection
Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Ia N3200 - Imperial War Museums
Supermarine Spitfire TR.9 ML407 - Air Leasing
Supermarine Spitfire FR Mk.XIVe MV293 - Air Leasing
Supermarine Seafire Mk.III PP972 - Air Leasing
Supermarine Spitfire TR.9 SM520 - Boultbee Flying Academy
Supermarine Spitfire HF Mk.IX RR232 -Boultbee Flying Academy
Supermarine Spitfire FR Mk.XVIIIe SM845 - Richard Lake
Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XVI - Richard Lake

Bristol Blenheim Mk.IF L6739 - Aircraft Restoration Company

Hispano Aviación HA-1112 Buchon C.4K-102 - Aircraft Restoration Company
(ME109 to you and me)

Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress 'Sally B' 44-85784 - B-17 Preservation

Consolidated Catalina PBY5A - Plane Sailing

Curtiss P-40C Warhawk 41-13357 - The Fighter Collection
Curtiss Hawk 75 No 85 - The Fighter Collection
Curtiss P-36C 38-210 - The Fighter Collection

Grumman FM-2 Wildcat BuNo 86711 - The Fighter Collection
Grumman F8F-2P Bearcat BuNo 121714 - The Fighter Collection

Goodyear FG-1 Corsair BuNo 88297 - The Fighter Collection

Gloster Gladiator Mk.II N5903 - The Fighter Collection

Hawker Nimrod I S1581 - The Fighter Collection
Hawker Fury FB.11 SR661 - Air Leasing

Mikoyan Gurevich Mig-15UTI - Norwegian Air Force Historical Squadron

de Havilland DH100 Vampire T.55 - Norwegian Air Force Historical Squadron
de Havilland DH100 Vampire FB.52 - Norwegian Air Force Historical Squadron

North American P-51D-20NA 44-72216 'Miss Helen' - Boultbee Flying Academy

Douglas C-47 Skytrain - Percival Aircraft

Not a bad list, but I see no Red Arrows.. but that might be because they only fly on one day over the weekend and it lasts 2 days..

I wont be going this year :(.. will be in Denver lol.
 
Just heard no Red Arrows at The Southport Air Show this year and of course no Vulcan. Its a no from John too.

What ever else you put in the sky it just does not hack it the same.

BBMF is there but they usually fly over our house any way.

They've got a MIG and a Helicopter, plus a couple of planes with fireworks taped to them (actually I saw them at Silverstone Classic and it was quite good at dusk). :D

In all seriousness, they've got one of those flying fortresses if you want to see WWII era planes.

I'm just going to sit in a friends garden and watch whatever flies overhead.
 
All My apologies for my almost unreadable OP. Typed on my iphone, I never checked before sending. Whoops.

Anyway. On the day of the picture. We stood atop Detling hill and had advance warning that the flight would approach from the North. We first saw the Spitfire and Hurricane as they circled alone, for about 5 minutes, over the Thames Estuary . Then the two Lancasters appeared flying side by side and low, over the Sheerness docks. It was an an absolutely unforgettable sight to see the Lancasters gracefully drop into line astern, as the Spitfire and Hurricane both swapped positions from side to side as they made their way over the Estuary towards us. We had a good 10 minute view as they maneuvered at low altitude making their way inland towards us, before climbing up the tree line and directly over us. The sound was better than anything I could have imagined as was the sight. Yes the hairs on my neck did actually stand up and I openly wept as did (it seemed) everybody else around us. They made just the one pass (sadly) but the crowd stood almost to attention for about 15 minutes after they had gone. I think we all wished they would come back again.

My mind was on my very, very dear departed friend Gordon Levett, ex WWII Spitfire pilot and author. He was friends with Caroline Grace who very kindly flew her Spitfire, in several roles and tight banking turns over the church, at his funeral.
 

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This was the read as part of eulogy at my friends funeral, just (as I am not making this up) the Grace Spitfire appeared over us, as we stood in the perfect sunshine in a tiny village church yard in Sussex.

High Flight

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air… .​
Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.​
— John Gillespie Magee, Jr
 
I was just looking at the program for Southport tomorrow. - The Battle of Britain memorial flight (with Spitfire and Lancaster) is scheduled for 15:00.

There's also "Spitfire and Buchon" at 15:19, which appears to be a spitfire with a meschasmitt.
 
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Snapped this on Bank Holiday Monday At Lincs Aviation. The Lanc came closer to the crowd and gave it's four Merlin engines the full beans. Young children were almost sucked from the crowd in push chairs!
Health and safety? It's much safer than being shot at!
Only Griffin engined Spitfires flying that day, but I was working in the very factory where the Merlins were built in Crewe a couple of years ago. Fitting perhaps that it is now the largest producer of 12cyl engines in the world. They now carry a Bentley badge....and are owned by...well you can fill that in..:confused:
 
My recently departed father was a navigator in one of those so this picture brings some emotions and memories to me. Thanks :)
 
For those who share this interest lets not forget the third Lancaster,at http://www.lincsaviation.co.uk/. Interesting back story about the brothers and there mission to get her flying again. Been to a few concerts in the hanger, consider a day out, buy an ice cream of other trinket,take a taxi ride in the Lanc and help them realise there ambitions.
 
I was just looking at the program for Southport tomorrow. - The Battle of Britain memorial flight (with Spitfire and Lancaster) is scheduled for 15:00.

There's also "Spitfire and Buchon" at 15:19, which appears to be a spitfire with a meschasmitt.
It is normal for them to fly over the dam on the way home from Southport, it is always rammed, The road below is nigh on impassable.
 
  1. This thread takes me back to MY hero and a true hero of WW2.
Our primary school teacher ex RAF Sgt Pilot Green. Taught English, Math, and Geometry.
Go back to about 1956, and a teacher with hardly a face! We called him Mr NoNose. Yes No nose!
He just had two holes and facial skin like tissue paper.
Introduced to him at the new term he scared the crap out of me.

Doing hand writing I was asked to approach his desk and show my work. Williams boy your handwriting is disgusting and I want you to follow how I have written on the board! Your Ps, your Q's and your R' s.
I want you to start right here! As he thumped it with a green chalky finder on my exercise book , leaving green chalk marks all over it!
Off you go boy!
Having got back to my desk with the other "two horrors" I sat with, a kid called Firmage commented --I wonder how it got like that? Shall we ask him?
Well you can I'm not! Yeh youaskim!!
Well after about 15 minutes of banter I got the short straw! --Williams Boy--come up and show me your work! Yessir.
A few minutes perusal---- Hmm better and now carry on & continue!
I stepped back a little and pondered.
He looked up --Yes boy?
Stuttering with fear I blurted out How did you get like that Sir?
Like what BOY? As I pointed to his hands and face--- Like that----- Sir?

Oh I was a fighter pilot in the Battle of Britain on Hurricanes.
I got shot down and my cockpit blew up with fire, I saw my flesh burning through my gloves as I opened the canopy and jumped out!

The sea was cold and it soothed my burns I remember! I got picked up by a naval patrol semi conscious !

We kids were stunned--speechless! Gobsmacked!
I didn't expect to have a real WW2 Battle of Britain pilot as a teacher a real live hero . It bothered me at the time & my boyhood expectations. The Eagle Comic I got every Wednesday never showed RAF pilots getting killed and wounded! That was for the enemy in the comic strips not our heroes coming home safe sound after every sortie in the comics!

Then a girl in the class asked
Did you ever fly again Sir?
No! They made me a navigator on Sterlings and Lancasters.

My hands have taken years to repair I couldn't control anything for ages .

I admired the man as a 7 or 8 year old boy. I didn't see his dreadful disfigurement from that day forward .
He introduced us to rudimentary Trig, Calculations and how to basically navigate using a sextant and the stars.
Never in my wildest dreams would his instructions come in useful later life flying my Goonie Bird in Venezuela or in fact opening a door to the basics of engineering .
Sgt Pilot Green gone to fly in the stars. A member of our finest generation!--Now gone but never forgotten.
Tuercas Viejas
 
I was at the Scampton airshow last weekend and I have to say I was distraught when the BBMF was cancelled because the wouldn't risk those precious planes in less than ideal weather. I was distraught but nevertheless it was the right decision. Of course I've seen them before, but the fascination never ceases.
Scampton was the last Red Arrows display of the season and as always I stood in awe watching what I regard as the best jet display team in the world. Their precision was breathtaking.

I also had the pleasure of seeing Vulcan XH558 several times before she was finally retired. The sound of the Vulcan howl and the ground shaking as she flew past was a feeling I will never forget. You can check out the Vulcan howl on YouTube if you have never heard it, but I guess like most experiences, nothing beats the real thing.

If anyone fancies a fabulous and free day out then you could do a lot worse than visit the Cold War planes museum at Shifnal. It's free to get in (apart from a small parking charge) and they have all sorts to see. Lancasters, spitfires, hurricanes alongside harriers and lightnings. Check it out on Trip Advisor or google it. They even have James Mays 1:1 size model spitfire.

Brian
 
That Typhoon made plenty of noise at Southport yesterday, and the manoeuvrability is amazing. - It seemed to go from full speed to near-stopped in a fraction of a second, before changing direction and repeating the procedure.
 
Stumbled on this today...thought you might like it.

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