Do you like old aircraft?

The Harry potter experience is on the site of the leavesdon airfield outside Watford.After the war rolls Royce built aircraft and helicopter engines there, my first job after leaving school was at the machine Tool dept, where all the tools were being sent to India. I also managed to get in to the volunteer fire brigade and drove the crash tender

 

Here's another Merlin for you (Caution Contains Strong Language)

 

I worked on one of these once, and no I 'm not that old.

 

If you like cars & planes go to Goodwood Revival, one year they had a spitfire doing acrobatics over the race track, absolutely fantastic.

 

i have several bits of wwII aircraft, part of a Mosquito from the first gestapo raid, part of a wellington engine, part of a Hurricane fuselage and part of Z Zebra from the dambusters raid. still waiting for the right bit of spitfire to come along but have my eyes on a beaufighter article at the moment.

The battle of britain memorial at capel le ferne has flights overhead as part of their annual events down on the kent coast. if you head from folkestone towards the west on the A20 you can turn off through the cliffs at samphire hoe and watch the planes from the beach under the cliffs as the actual memorial site gets very busy and can be a challenge to get a van through the parked cars in the narrow roads.

site here http://www.battleofbritainmemorial.org/


Spitfire Spring Event (Spitfire)Friday April 25 and Saturday April 26 (from Lydd Airport)


Dogfight Duo Event (Spitfire and Me109)Friday May 9 and Saturday May 10 (Goodwood, West Sussex)

D-Day Landing Beaches (Spitfire)Friday June 6 and Saturday June 7 (Caen, Normandy, France)


Father’s Fighter Weekend (Spitfire and Hurricane)
Sat 14 June and Sunday 15 June (Lydd Airport/Pent Farm)

Steve’s Spitfire Weekend (Spitfire)
Saturday 26 July and Sunday 27 July (Lydd Airport/Pent Farm)

Battle of Britain 74th Anniversary (Spitfire and Hurricane)
Saturday 20 September and Sunday 21 September (Lydd Airport/Pent Farm)

 

A modern take on this involving a Typhoon at Waddington.

 

Anybody working at a base during an airshow is likely to get roped into working, so there is little point handing out tickets. It takes a massive number of people to pull an airshow off successfully, having spent 23 years on military aircraft, it's just part of the job, and keeping the general public on side.

The upside of working is that you can get closer than a punter to the aircraft everyone is coming to see and often get shown round inside by the crew. So it's not all bad!!

 

Spent @6 years working "old" aircraft perhaps the greatest performing fighter (and can still match some of the more modern aircraft) the Lightning

 

Here's a video of my old team!!

(And I'm on the right at 3.00)

That was a definite highlight 3 years in my life

 

Here you go Merlin fans

 

It was his family and mother he was hoping to get tickets for.

 

Most of us have been there and I'm not saying I like the way things are done all the time, but it tends to be the way, there are often chances to get free tickets from welfare, local papers, competitions etc, so all is not lost just yet. Just see it as a challenge to get past the rule makers!! They often have a classic car area at waddington, as with riat, so it may be worth trying to get in with a club!!

Csma run run classic area at riat!!

 

He was at wittering before where they got deals or free tickets (I think) everything is better when its free.

 

Lovely. I do like the Mossie. Believe the (rebuilt) Kiwi one is the only one flying.

 

As far as I know it is the only airworthy Mossie in the world.

 

Lovely. I do like the Mossie. Believe the (rebuilt) Kiwi one is the only one flying.

We used to have one in the 90s (believe it belonged to British Aerospace), but it unfortunately crashed at an airshow - gruesome business. Kermit Weekes in the US used to have another, not sure if it's still flying.

 

The mosquito is one of my favourite aircraft well designed looks good and sleek the other is the P B Y Catalina, again beautiful lines and one of the few true amphibians love to look around the one at Duxford fabulous.

 

I agree - love the Catalina. Paid a fiver to go inside one at Middle Wallop: extremely claustrophobic up front! Unfortunately, it almost sunk in Southampton Water shortly afterwards .

 

This one is based at Albion Park Airport near where we used to live, it's painted to represent the Black Cats that flew against the Japanese in WW II
It belongs to H.A.R.S. (http://hars.org.au/) This photo was taken over Lake Illawarra on the south coast.

 

Very nice. If an aircraft looks right, it is right! Another of my all-time faves...