2011 – Page 9 – Airscene News

Female pilots wow the crowds at the Spring Air Show

Thousands of visitors visited Duxford for the Spring Air Show on Sunday 22 May.

Despite blustery weather conditions, a fantastic flying programme wowed the crowds, including Anna Walker flying the rare Supermarine Seafire alongside Carolyn Grace in the Spitfire; aerobatic pilot Diana Britten in the CAP 232; Polly Vacher in the Piper Dakota, Helen Holliday in the Vans RV6, Tracy Curtis-Taylor in the Ryan PT-22, Clare Tector in the Chilton, Tizi Hodson in the Firefly, Mel Saggers in the Prentice and Anna Walker in the Jungmann.

Flight Lieutenant Juliette Fleming drew the flying programme to a close with a spectacular performance in the RAF Hawk.

Visitors enjoyed a packed day of entertainment, with the Museum open as usual and a range of exciting activities on offer throughout the day, including an Airfix Make and Paint Zone, a Military History Hands On History Zone with costumed interpreters chatting to visitors, children’s rides, mini tank riding and a fun Second World War dressing up and paintball area.

The next air show will be Flying Legends on Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 July 2011.

http://www.iwm.org.uk/duxford

Celebrate Fathers Day in style at the Military Vehicle Show

Imperial War Museum Duxford celebrates Father’s Day on Sunday 19 June with the power, excitement and thrill of the Military Vehicle Show.

Hundreds of military vehicles of all shapes and sizes will be on display, including a 1943 Excelsior Welbike, 1966 Daimler Ferret, 1943 Dodge WC63, 1924 Morris Bullnose Home Guard Staff Car and the iconic Sherman Tank. The very rare Sturmgeschutz III assault gun, Germany’s most produced armoured fighting vehicle during the SecondWorld War, will also be on display.

A number of military vehicles normally on static display at the Museum will move out of Land Warfare for the Military Vehicle Show. Land Warfare will be open as usual and visitors will be able to take a sneak peek behind the scenes in the workshop where military vehicles are being conserved and rebuilt.

Activities will take place across the Museum with a number of living history groups bringing military campaigns to life:

The 1939-45 Living History Society’s British Airborne Forces section will represent military personnel from 1942 to 1945, who deployed by parachute and glider into the European, North African and Far Eastern theatres of war.

On display will be a living history encampment, with troops under canvas in Orderly Offices and accommodation sections. There will also be a Motor Transport Section, with motorcycles and jeeps, together with a recreated traditional British pub.

Displays will include weapons and personal kit, tactical communications equipment, field engineering and demolitions apparatus. The Society’s Auxiliary Territorial Service section will also be in attendance, portraying the essential supporting role of women working with vehicles and communications during the Second World War.

The Burma Mule Living History Group will be discussing the Forgotten War, with Burma Star veterans chatting to visitors about their wartime experiences, period equipment and mules carrying authentic war-issue pack saddle and loads.

The Royal Ulster Rifles represent the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the regiment in North-West Europe from 1944 to 1945. The Royal Ulster Rifles uniquely had both battalions present during the Normandy Landings on 6 June 1944. After weeks of bitter fighting, the 2nd Battalion had the honour of being the first Allied unit to enter the French city of Caen. Through some rare and authentic exhibits, the Royal Ulster Rifles aim to demonstrate what it would have been like to experience the D-Day Landings at first hand.

There will be guided tours of the Normandy Experience in LandWarfare at 12.00pm and 2.00pm and, as part of the regular programme of Funday Sundays at IWM Duxford, there will be craft activities, object handling sessions and the opportunity to meet a wartime costumed character in Hangar 4: Battle of Britain.

At 2.00pm there is the opportunity to see the military vehicles in action as they take part in a cavalcade along Duxford’s runway, with accompanying commentary. Following the cavalcade, one of the amazing vehicles on display will be awarded Best in Show.

There will also be a Military and Aviation Book Fair in the American Air Museum, together with a range of themed traders, mini tanks on display and the opportunity to ride in a tank between 10.30am and 1.00pm.

The Miniature Armoured Fighting Vehicles Association will be holding its 2011 UK National Championship at the Military Vehicle Show.

This event is included in standard admission to the Museum. Children aged 15 and under go free when accompanied by an adult.

For the first time, exclusively for Military Vehicle Show, digby trout Restaurants will be offering a traditional Sunday lunch to make Father’s Day extra special for all the family. It will be served in the Conservation Hall, under the wings of some of Duxford’s mightiest aircraft, from 11.30am to 3.30pm. Lunch is £19.95 for adults and £9.95 for children. To purchase tickets for the Father’s Day Lunch, call 01223 497 511.

Enjoy the power, excitement and thrill of Military Vehicle Show – the perfect way to celebrate Father’s Day!

www.iwm.org.uk/duxford

60th Anniversary of Valiants First Flight

First Flight 18th May 1951

Wednesday 18th May 2011 will mark the 60th Anniversary of the first flight of the Vickers-Armstrongs Valiant. Part of the Royal Air Forces V-Bomber nuclear deterrent during the 1950’s and 1960’s, the Valiant was the first of the V-bombers to make it into the air, when prototype WB210 took to the skies on 18th May 1951.

The Royal Air Force Museum Cosford is home to the world’s only complete example, Vickers-Armstrongs Valiant B (K).1 XD818. The Valiant is on display in the Museums award winning National Cold War Exhibition, the only place in the world where you can see all three of Britain’s V-Bombers: Vulcan, Victor and Valiant on display together under one roof.

This British four jet bomber went into active RAF service in 1955 and played a significant role during the Cold War period. With a wingspan of 114ft, over 108ft in length and a height of over 32ft, the Valiant had a bomb capacity of a 10,000lb nuclear bomb or 21 x 1,000lb conventional bombs. In total 107 aircraft were built, each carrying a crew of five including two pilots, two navigators and an air electronics officer. The type was retired from RAF service in 1965 due to structural problems.

RAF Museum Cosford Curator, Al McLean says:

“The Valiant was the first of the V-bombers to enter service, the first to drop a nuclear weapon and the first to go into combat. One of the few pilots to have flown all three of the V bombers also described the Valiant as being the nicest to fly of the three. “

The Museums Valiant B (K).1 XD818 was one of eight Valiant’s specially modified by Vickers for involvement in Operation Grapple – the testing of Britain’s first H-bomb. The modifications included measures to protect the aircraft and crew, instrumentation for scientific operations and the addition of extra and special equipment for navigational and bombing requirements. The modified aircraft carried the metal anti-flash screens for the crew and bomb bay cameras to record the bomb drop characteristics.

The Museum is open daily from 10am. Entry to the Museum is FREE. For further information please contact the Museum on 01902 376200 or visit www.rafmuseum.org

RAF Yearbook Offers Inside View

The RAF’s rapid initial response to the recent Libyan Crisis and its continuing role in Operation Ellamy is uncovered in the 2011 Royal Air Force Yearbook.

The RAF’sofficial yearbook also offers an insider’s view of operations at Camp Bastion along with special reports and photos from the frontline at Kandahar airfield in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province.

Featuring articles by some of aviation’s most respected writers, the RAF Yearbook gives a fascinating insight into behind-the-scenes RAF operations, deployments as well as the new technology that is set to take the Service into the future. From the state-of-the-art remotely-piloted Taranis aircraft to the RAF’s new airlifter, the A400M, readers will be able to learn all about the Royal Air Force’s increased capability in the 21st century and beyond.

As well as looking forward, the RAF Yearbook 2011 celebrates important milestones such as the Spitfire’s 75th anniversary and the 70th anniversary of both the Air Cadets and the RAF Search and Rescue Force with a series of fascinating, in-depth articles.

With the RAF Yearbook 2011 comes a free eight-page pull-out colour supplement telling the story of the RAF’s involvement in the UK’s most exciting military airshow – the Royal International Air Tattoo – during the past 40 years and how the airshow has contributed to UK Defence Diplomacy since 1971.
The official RAF Yearbook 2011 is now on sale at WH Smith, Tesco and all good newsagents, priced £4.99. It can also be purchased at www.airtattooshop.com

The yearbook, which is published by the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust Enterprises, helps raise money for the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust. For details about the charity, visit www.rafct.com

Duxfords New Air Show App Goes Live Today

Imperial War Museum Duxford has today launched an innovative and exciting Smartphone Application for the 2011 air show season.

The Duxford Air Shows 2011 App is now available for download from the Apple store and Android marketplace.

The App provides a dynamic on-the-day flying schedule for each of the Museum’s famous air shows, which automatically updates the phone screen with details of each aircraft taking part in the show as its display commences.

It also provides an extensive library of photography, statistics and information about over 150 classic aircraft, some of which can be seen flying in the Duxford air shows, and where in the Museum’s exhibitions you can find out more about them.

App users can keep a log of their favourite aircraft, add them to a schedule and receive a live countdown to inform them when that aircraft will take to the skies. With a map highlighting useful amenities at the Museum, the App is an indispensible tool for ensuring maximum enjoyment of Duxford’s celebrated air shows.

Duxford’s first air show of 2011 is the Spring Air Show on Sunday 22 May.

Whether you are in the audience at Duxford eagerly awaiting the first aircraft display or are virtually engaging with the air show from elsewhere in the world, the Air Show App will keep you informed of all aircraft displays as they happen.

As a special introduction, the App is FREE for a limited time. It can be downloaded at any time in the run up to the Spring Air Show and on the day itself. IWM Duxford is providing wifi access at the Museum to help people download on the day.

This dynamic guide to the Spring Air Show, and our other air shows in 2011, is a first for Duxford and demonstrates the Imperial War Museum’s commitment to innovation in new technologies and to improving our visitor experience. It aims to be the most innovative air show app around.

For further information go to www.iwm.org.uk/duxfordairshows

Fantastic female pilots are the stars of Duxford’s Spring Air Show

Launching the 2011 air show season, ImperialWar Museum Duxford’s Spring Air Show, on Sunday 22 May, celebrates the integral role played by women in the development of aviation.From technological advancement to daring aerial aptitude, in military and civil aviation; aerial adventure and aerobatics; engineering and mechanical endeavour, the achievements of women have informed air travel from its earliest incarnations to its contemporary technological advancement.

The Spring Air Show presents stunning aerial displays by a formidable line-up of superbly talented female aviators.

Anna Walker (flying a Supermarine Seafire and Bucker Jungmann aircraft) has been flying for over 30 years. At the age of 13, she started gliding and moved on to power-flying as a tug pilot. After undertaking formation and aerobatic training, Anna took part in aerobatic competitions, in her Bucker Jungmann, winning three out of every four competitions entered.

Anna now regularly displays at air shows, flying a Bucker Jungmann, a Beech Staggerwing and a Harvard IV. She is the first woman to fly a Hawker Hurricane since the female ferry pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary.

Angie Soper (flying a Yak 11) learnt to fly in 1983 at Biggin Hill, becoming a qualified flying instructor at Stapleford in 1987. Gaining a commercial flying licence, she flew Dart Heralds on night freight runs for British Air Ferries between 1989 and 1990. In the 1990s, she became joint owner of a Harvard and began display flying, before acquiring a Yak 11 in 1998. She also operates a Yak 50 and Yak 52, which are both based on her farm strip.

Diana Britten (flying a CAP 232) embarked on a career in competition aerobatics with only 60 hours flying to her credit. From 1981 to 1986, Diana progressed through the levels from Standard to Unlimited, making her World Aerobatic Championship debut in 1986.

Diana has flown in six World Championships, five European Championships and became the British Aerobatic Champion in 1995, the first-ever non-commercial pilot, and the first woman, to take the title. She followed that with the title of British Freestyle Champion.

Carolyn Grace (flying the Grace Spitfire and a Stampe) is one of only two female Spitfire pilots in the world. She successfully completed her training in the Grace Spitfire in 1990, and hasn’t looked back since, gaining her Display Authorisation in 1991 and adding Aerobatic and Formation qualifications to that in the following years.

Carolyn has perfected a graceful aerobatic display that is immensely popular with air show crowds and Spitfire devotees alike. Judy Leden MBE (flying a hang glider with microlight tug pilot Shelley Smith) is a World Champion hang glider and para glider. Current holder of four world records, Judy has also successfully
completed a long list of daredevil stunts, including flying across the English Channel in a hang glider in 1989, after being released from a hot air balloon 12,000 feet up; and jumping off the edge of Cotopaxi, which at nearly 20,000 feet, is one of the world’s highest active volcanoes.

Competitive successes include winning the Women’s World Hang Gliding Championships in 1987 and again in 1991. She has been British Women’s Champion six times and in 1995, she won the Women’s Para Gliding Championship.

Judy broke the tandem altitude record for hang glider balloon drops in 1998 and also recently broke the Tandem World Aerotowing Altitude Record, with TV presenter Matt Baker. They were towed aloft by a microlight, reaching 11,020 feet. Judy was awarded the MBE in 1989 for services to hang gliding.

Tricia Neville (displaying the Thruxton Jackaroo G-ANTZ) comes from an RAF family. She began by flying gliders at Booker and in 1990 she learnt to fly on Tiger Moths at Cambridge, where she completed her Private Pilot’s Licence (PPL). In 2002, Tricia gained her Display Authorisation.

Although Tricia never originally thought that she would learn to fly herself, she had been an active part of the ground crew for the Barnstormers Flying Circus for over a decade. She has now become an active flying member of Captain Neville’s Flying Circus and takes part in the majority of routines, organising the boys en route.

At the Spring Air Show, Tricia will be leading three aircraft in one of the Flying Circus’ most popular extravaganza displays.

Leah Hammond (flying the Auster) started flying at the age of 16. Once qualified, she did a tailwheel conversion on the Auster, before going on to fly a 450hp Stearman and then flew some 90 hours on the Harvard. At the Spring Air Show, she will be displaying the Auster, which she has been displaying since 2009.

Clare Tector (flying the Chilton monoplane) has been flying since 1999, having initially caught the flying bug as an air cadet in the early 1990s. She achieved her PPL just in time to celebrate the Centenary of Powered Flight in late 2003. Since this time, Clare has taken part in basic aerobatic competition and, in the last few years, has displayed various aircraft in shows at Old Warden.

In 2010, she was a recipient of the Fiona McKay Flying Bursary through the de Havilland Educational Trust, giving her a chance to learn how to fly the Tiger Moth. Earlier this year, she was invited to become an Apprentice Display Pilot with the Shuttleworth Collection.

Royal Air Force 208 Squadron will be displaying the BAE Systems Hawk, flown by Flight Lieutenant Juliette Fleming.

The flying programme wouldn’t be complete without a display by Jeanne Frazer, IWM Duxford’s Flying Display Director, who will be flying a Piper L4 Cub.

See some of the world’s premier female pilots perform breathtaking flying displays at the Spring Air Show, in a celebration of the women who have courageously led the way in aerial adventure.

Announcing the IWM Duxford Air Show App 2011

Imperial War Museum Duxford is launching an innovative and exciting Smartphone application for the 2011 air show season. Available from mid -May 2011, the App will give real time, up-to-theminute information about what is flying at our air shows, as the aircraft display. Available for both Android and iPhone platforms, the App will also include an extensive library of photography, statistics and information about classic aircraft you can see flying in the air shows and where in the Duxford exhibitions you can find out more about them.

As a special introduction, the App will be FREE for a limited time at launch. It will be available for download prior to the Spring Air Show and on the day itself – IWM Duxford will be providing wifi access at the museum for live downloading.

This dynamic guide to the Spring Air Show, and our other air shows throughout 2011, is a first for Duxford and demonstrates the Imperial War Museum’s commitment to innovation in new technologies. It aims to be the most innovative air show app around.

For further information go to www.iwm.org.uk/duxfordairshows

Air Tattoo Aircraft in D-Day Tribute

This summer’s Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford will feature a tribute to a Wiltshire-based aircraft that was involved in preparations for the historic Pegasus Bridge landings on D-Day during World War Two.

Among the hundreds of aircraft taking part in the Air Tattoo, on July 16-17, will be a Dakota from the RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, painted in D-Day invasion stripes and with the markings carried by No233 Squadron Dakota FZ692. This aircraft was delivered to No233 squadron at RAF Blakehill Farm, Wiltshire in March 1944, and on the night of June 5 1944, 30 Dakotas from the squadron took gliders and parachutists from the 3rd Parachute Brigade to Normandy, returning later in the day to drop supplies.

Nurses stationed at Blakehill Farm who looked after wounded soldiers on evacuation flights became the first female RAF aircrew to fly into the combat zone. A Dakota from No233 Sqn became the first aircraft to land at a British-controlled airstrip in France after the invasion, on June 13. The squadron went on to provide aircraft towing gliders that carried troops from the 1st Airborne Division to Arnhem for Operation Market Garden, the attempt to capture key bridges across the Rhine in September 1944.

This summer’s Air Tattoo will be marking its 40th anniversary and hosting a gathering of specially-decorated ‘Tiger’ aircraft from the NATO Tiger Association. ‘Tiger’ aircraft come from NATO squadrons that have a Tiger or Big Cat in their emblem and their association marks its 50th anniversary in 2011. The ‘operational’ spotlight STAR 11 will focus on aircraft and equipment involved in the roles of Strike and Reconnaissance.

Tickets are available by visiting www.airtattoo.com or calling 0800 107 1940. All tickets must be purchased in advance. All accompanied under-16s go free.

Tigers Set to Roar Into Air Tattoo

A dramatic tiger-painted aircraft from the Belgian Air Force will be among a number of striking aircraft heading for this summer’s Royal International Air Tattoo.

The Air Tattoo, which takes place at RAF Fairford on July 16-17, will feature a colourful range of specially-decorated ‘Tiger’ aircraft from the NATO Tiger Association. ‘Tiger’ aircraft come from NATO squadrons that have a Tiger or Big Cat in their emblem and their association marks its 50th anniversary this year.

Links between the Air Tattoo and the NATO Tiger Association stretch back to 1977 when the airshow hosted the 17th official NATO Tiger Meet. This was an annual get-together first held in 1961 when the 79th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the US Air Force sought links with another squadron bearing a tiger insignia, the French Air Force’s 1/12 Escadron de Chasse. In 1977, 12 ‘Tiger’ squadrons took part in the Air Tattoo and since then, the Air Tattoo has regularly welcomed many colourfully painted aircraft from the association. The Belgian Air Force will be sending two F-16s: the Tiger-painted one from 31 Squadron will be on static display while a second, from 349 Squadron, will take part in the flying display. Both are based at Kleine Brogel Air Base.

Other Tiger squadrons already confirmed for this summer’s Air Tattoo will come from France, Germany and Austria as well as RAF and Royal Navy aircraft.

In addition to hosting a gathering of Tiger aircraft, the Air Tattoo will be marking its 40th anniversary and turning the spotlight on aircraft and equipment involved in the roles of Strike and Reconnaissance. Visitors on Sunday July 17 will also be able to enjoy a one-off lunchtime performance by X-Factor star Alexandra Burke.

Tickets for the Air Tattoo, priced from £39 each, are available by visiting www.airtattoo.com or calling 0800 107 1940. All tickets must be purchased in advance. All accompanied under-16s go free.

Air Tattoo Welcomes Back Old Flames

AN aerobatic display team that attended the second International Air Tattoo in 1972 is set to return to the UK this summer to mark the 40th anniversary of what has since become the world’s largest military airshow.

Les Diables Rouges (The Red Devils) aerobatic display team, part of the Belgian Air Force, will be taking part in the Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire on July 16 & 17.

In 1972, the two-ship team took part in the airshow when it was staged at North Weald airfield. The pilots flew Fouga Magisters. Five years later, the team disbanded.

However, the Red Devils have now reformed, flying SF-260 aircraft, and they plan to return to the Air Tattoo in the summer to celebrate their historic links with the airshow.

A spokesman for the Red Devils said he was delighted the new team would be taking part in the Air Tattoo. He said: “I hope our participation will serve to emphasise not only our historical links but also the enduring relationship that exists between the Belgian Air Force at the Air Tattoo.”

Air Tattoo Chief Executive Tim Prince, who helped found the airshow in 1971, said the Red Devils’ would help conjure up a wonderful sense of nostalgia at this summer’s event. He said: “We had some good times at those early shows and I recall the Diables Rouges, with their Fouga Magisters, performed beautifully. It is a great honour to see them return for this special occasion.”

In addition to celebrating its 40th anniversary, this summer’s Air Tattoo, on July 16-17, will host a gathering of specially-decorated ‘Tiger’ aircraft from the NATO Tiger Association. ‘Tiger’ aircraft come from NATO squadrons that have a Tiger or Big Cat in their emblem and their association marks its 50th anniversary in 2011. The ‘operational’ spotlight STAR 11 will focus on aircraft and equipment involved in the roles of Strike and Reconnaissance.

Tickets are available by visiting www.airtattoo.com or calling 0800 107 1940. All tickets must be purchased in advance. All accompanied under-16s go free.

Bada Gets Off To A Flying Start

Leading figures from the UK aviation and airshow industries met in Gloucestershire this month to launch the British Air Display Association (BADA).

The association, which announced an initial membership of 82, aims to be the focal point for developing and encouraging safe practices as well as promoting the industry to those involved in staging airshows, including display pilots, organisers, and authorities such as the Civil Aviation Authority and the Military Aviation Authority.

Held at the headquarters of the Royal International Air Tattoo in Fairford, the inaugural meeting saw the election of a committee to run the association. It comprises: Acting Chairman Ian Sheeley; Acting Vice Chairman George Bacon; Secretary Robert Windsor; Treasurer Colin Hitchins and committee members Geoff Brindle, Rod Dean, Dave Walton, John Davies, Rick Peacock-Edwards and Glen Moreman.

Ian Sheeley said: “the inaugural meeting was a great way to launch this new national association with an encouraging number of members present. The new committee provides a wealth of experience that will help BADA get off to a flying start”.

He added: “The key thing now is to maintain the momentum, and the first issue we’ll be looking at relates to airspace restrictions associated with the London Olympics next year and their effect on the airshow business – that’ll be receiving a great deal of our attention. The launch of BADA is an exciting development for the UK airshow industry and I’m looking forward to working with the rest of the committee and our members to build for the future.”

http://www.airtattoo.com/