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Shuttleworth Wings &
Wheels 2026 |
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| ‘From the serene to the ridiculous, the awesome power and aerobatic skills of Rich Goodwin Airshows G-JPIT is always something special.’ |
| On my much-anticipated return
to Shuttleworth, following my first visit for the season premier,
I looked forward to what was a brand-new show for the collection
at Old Warden, ‘Wings & Wheels 2026. Inspired by and in celebration of the collections founder, Richards Shuttleworth, also known as ‘Mad Jack’. It is because of his interest and passion for all things aviation and automotive that he collection exists and why we are here today. The show promised a mixture of vintage aviation, motorcycles, motor cars and farm machinery. |
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| There would be super-cars to movie stars,
such as ‘Lightning McQueen, the Delorian time-machine and Herbie
rides again. The audience were treated to some dynamic stunt riding from the ‘The Extreme BMX Bike Battle Team’, demonstrating a ‘Stunt-off’, between a BMX bicycle and a trials motorbike. With many other activities to fill the visitors day. |
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Apart from the many visiting attractions
there was also plenty of activities going on in the 6 hangars,
Swiss Gardens and Mansion house with a variety of visiting
showground stalls selling aviation themed merchandise, food &
drink, as well as many free children’s entertainment, fairground
rides and live music. There really was a lot going on to entertain
the many visitors to this inaugural show hosted by the collection
team and their many enthusiastic volunteers at Old Warden. |
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| The flying display consisted of multiple aircraft flypasts, duets, and individual routines. We saw a four ship of Chipmonks, which included the ‘Royal Chipmunk’ which King Charles III learned to fly in, a Royal Navy DCH-1 from Navy Wings T.10, and the WD292 Ltd DCH-1 T.20. |
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The first duet of the day was the resident Avro C19 Anson and the visiting de Havilland DH.89a Dragon Rapid G-AGSH in British European Airways livery. The pair provided us with a series of close formation passes before their individual and elegant individual displays. |
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| We were then treated to some traditional ‘Barnstorming’, where multiple aircraft, including the resident Southern Martlet and Parnell Elf would attempt to fly under bunting goal posts, held up by willing (and brave) volunteers, I guess to simulate the open doors of a barn that daredevil pilots flew through in post WWI America. |
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Following on from the Chipmunk display, the ‘Trainer’ theme continued with the visiting Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3 and the Ryan PT-22 ‘Recruit’, both long serving American WWII primary trainers for the US Navy and USAAF, both very rare, if not the only examples of their type, once again, something seldom seen at other airshows and by Shuttleworth’s commitment to heritage aviation. |
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| The pace then slowed down a bit with the
display of the resident Fauvel AV.36 glider - basically a flying
wing, which performed some serene and elegant aerobatics before a
perfect and gentle landing. The Fauvel was swiftly followed by some rotary action in the shape of a pair of Aerospatiale Gazelles, from the Gazelle Squadron display team. The pair performed a number of close formation passes, individual maneuvers and cross overs. |
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| Moving on to the resident WWI contingent, which today consisted of the Bristol F.2B Fighter, Sopwith Triplane and the Sopwith F.1 Camel... |
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| Now for one of my personal favourites;
the iconic ‘Grosvenor House’ de Havilland DH.88 Comet (another
Shuttleworth resident). Such a beautiful and elegant machine,
worth a visit to Shuttleworth just to see this. |
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| From the serene to the ridiculous, the
awesome power and aerobatic skills of Rich Goodwin Airshows G-JPIT
is always something special. This Jet Pitts S2SE is an absolute one off with its especially adapted
airframe utilizing the addition of two ATM Lynx Jet turbines
running on sustainable fuel, giving a total of 1700lb thrust, is
just bonkers! Rich stunned the crowd with a series of high G knife
edge passes, vertical hovers, rolls, tumbles, loops and inverted
passes, it was truly a spectacle to see and very much a crowd
pleaser. |
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| Now for the visiting North Wales Military
Aviation Ltd BAC Strikemaster paired with the Aero Legends
Spitfire T.9 NH431 (AKA Elizebeth) who performed a tight series of
flypasts, rolls and tail chasing routines. With just a few aircraft left before the end of today's display, the final pair took flight for their display, in the shape of a Hispano Buchon as a Bf 109E yellow 10 and Grumman FM-2 Wildcat (or Martlet), to recreate a meeting in the Mediterranean theatre, that may well not have happened. Anyway, they recreated a series of dog fight maneuvers and tail chasing to great effect. |
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| To close the evening show it was time to
bring out the ‘Edwardians’, we had almost perfect conditions, with
light winds and with a warm glow from the setting sun, we were in
for a treat. We were looking forward to seeing some very rare and
unique aircraft representing the birth of manned aviation flight,
again, a very unique experience for the aviation enthusiast here
at Old Warden and the Shuttleworth Collection. First up was the Avro Triplane IV (replica). Although a replica, it was built in 1965 for the film Those Magnificent Men and Their Flying Machines and based on the 1910 pioneer design by A.V Roe. |
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| As the aircraft lifted off to prepare for
its display, it appeared to start struggling for height, before
veering sharply left, then descending flatly behind the airfield’s
perimeter tree line. As the aircraft vanished from view with muted
gasps from the crowd, a long silence descended around the
showground. After what seemed an age, but probably only a few
minutes, the tower announced over the PA system that the pilot had
been in radio contact and was alright, for which the crowd
applauded in relief. This was the first time I had personally witnessed an aviation accident firsthand, and hopefully the last time but I must say I was very impressed by the quick, calm and professional way in which the on-site emergency services, staff and volunteers responded to the emergency. They were also joined very quickly by the local emergency services. Unfortunately, this event heralded the premature end of the show for all, but as we returned to our vehicles to make our way home, we did so knowing that no one got hurt. In closing, Shuttleworth is fast becoming my favourite airshow venue and they have many shows throughout the season, so I would highly recommend that you check them out, there truly is something for everyone here to see, in a very family orientated and relaxed environment which is well planned and orchestrated to give visitors the best experience. https://www.shuttleworth.org/ |
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Review by Scott Sullivan. |