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Duxford Summer Airshow 2024 "D-Day 80" |
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Text: |
Urs
Schnyder |
Pictures: |
Urs Schnyder &
Michael E. Fader |
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(Picture courtesy
Michael E. Fader) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
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The
week preceding the airshow was marked by really bad weather. Normally
you can visit Duxford on the Friday before the Airshow and get some good
pictures during rehearsals. Not this time however. The bad weather
prevented many participants from the Continent from attending the
airshow. Late Friday afternoon there wasn’t a single aircraft on the
line up along the taxiway.
This was the first time I
can remember that there was no flight line walk for the press on
Saturday morning for the simple reason that there was no flight line at
all. The strong wind also caused the parachute drops to be cancelled.
The same applied to the Hawker Fury.
The tragic accident of the
Battle of Britain Flight the week before also meant that all its
aircraft were grounded and could therefore not take part. Another
strange occurrence was the Sea Fury that had commitments elsewhere
according to the speaker. I would have thought that if it featured in
the program its owner should honour that commitment. So the day was a
grey one as you can see from the pictures. At least it didn’t rain, but
it was cold! Nevertheless, there had been close to 40’000 tickets sold
by Friday evening. |
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Rafale |
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Who
would have thought a few years back, that a French Air Force jet would be
the only participant from any armed Forces at an English Airshow. And so it
was. It opened the program in style and with an appropriate noise level.
Thankfully the machine was painted in the French colours which made it
easier to spot in the grey sky. |
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(Picture courtesy
Michael E. Fader) |
(Picture courtesy
Michael E. Fader) |
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(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
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Aerobatics |
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Four
aerobatic displays, by two solo machines and two teams were part of the
program. The XtremeAir Xa42 did not appear on the flying list but was
featured in the official programme so it was a stand in for one of the
cancelled parts. The Jet Pitts S-25has two additional jet engines fitted
next to the cockpit that give it additional power which it uses to good
effect.
Team Raven was founded in
2014 and is now made up of six highly experienced pilots flying the Vans
Aircraft RV-8 and RV-4. Last and this year they even ventured across the
Channel to display at the La Ferte airshow in France. The flying
comrades with their Yak-18T, the Yak-50 and Yak-52 can now be considered
a staple at any Duxford airshow |
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Jet Pitts (Picture courtesy
Michael E. Fader) |
Jet Pitts (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
Jet Pitts (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
Jet Pitts (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
Jet Pitts (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
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Team Raven (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
Team Raven (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
Team Raven (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
Team Raven (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
Team Raven (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
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Flying Comrades (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
Flying Comrades (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
Flying Comrades (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
Flying Comrades (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
Flying Comrades (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
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Red Bulls |
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A
reliable supporter of Duxford airshows for man years, Red Bull brought
their immaculate Douglas DC-6B and B-25 to the show. They just managed
to sneak in late on Friday. The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was prevented
from making the trip to Duxford because of the bad weather across
Europe. The DC-6 was of course the highlight of the airshow. |
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(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
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(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Michael E. Fader) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
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Wingwalker |
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The
Wingwalkers of the AeroSuperBatics have now been active for 40 years on
the airshow circuit. Their Stearman biplanes are modified from the
standard model by having ailerons on both wings and a stronger engine to
compensate for the drag when the girls are tied to the upper wing. The
focus is more on synchronized flying and movement by the girls then on
moving around the aircraft as is done by other wingwalkers. |
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(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
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(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Michael E. Fader) |
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Warbirds |
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Duxford
means of course Warbirds. While the newly restored Hawker Tempest was
unfortunately unserviceable, the Fighter Collections Spitfire XIV
recently repainted in its original Indian Air Force colours took to the
air. Also from the Fighter Collection was the Curtiss pair of the P-36C
and P-40F.
The B-17G Sally B was paired
with a P-51 Mustang which itself is a rare bird. It was originally built
under license in Australia by the Commonwealth Aircraft Company. It was
flying in Australia for 20 years before being shipped to the UK. It is
now painted as an aircraft of the US 362nd Fighter Squadron. Last but
not least we had Duxford´s own Supermarine Spitfire Mk Ia |
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Supermarine Spitfire XIV(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
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Supermarine Spitfire XIV(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
Curtiss P-36C
Hawk (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
Curtiss P-36C
Hawk (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
Curtiss P-36C
Hawk (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader) |
Curtiss P-40F
Kittyhawk (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader) |
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Curtiss P-40F
Kittyhawk (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
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(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
Supermarine Spitfire Mk Ia (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
Supermarine Spitfire Mk Ia (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
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D-Day |
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D-Day
was of course also the motto of the airshow. There were three very
different formations representing it.
First were the often
overlooked L-Birds. Six Piper Cubs did fly in formation in three- and
twosomes. They were used for many different tasks but usually for
Artillery spotting and Army Cooperation.
The fighter Element was a
formation of two Spitfire Mk IX and a P-47 Thunderbolt that kept the sky
over the Normandy beaches clear of the enemy. The appearance of the
Fairey Swordfish in full invasion stripes raised some questions, but
they were indeed used to lay smokescreens over the approaching fleet.
The Swordfish was a late addition to the airshow, no doubt to offset the
many cancellations, as it didn’t appear in the program list.
Unfortunately the mass
parachute drop by nine C-47 had to be cancelled as the wind was too
strong. There was only a flypast by four C-47 that made two passes
before again retiring to North Weald where they were based. This marked
the end of Saturdays Show that was badly affected by the weather. It was
better on Sunday, but unfortunately we had other commitments on that day. |
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(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
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(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
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(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
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We’d like to thank Sandy
Davidson from IWM for providing press facilities. |
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