Duxford Battle Of Britain Airshow Review

 

Last week I went to my second airshow of the year at Duxford for the jewel in the crown of their season the Battle Of Britain Airshow. 

I was greeted by this beautiful sunrise. 

 

The main focus of the show this year was the 85th anniversary of the Battle Of Britain and there were plenty of warbirds lined up for the flightline walk.

I was tempted with this bag 😂

The Blenheim arrived with some friends. 

I've had really bad sciatica for the last month (my body is clearly punishing me for being forced to climb up and down off of the pebbles at Airbourne) so I skipped the exhibition halls in favour of getting a seat (I normally use my picnic blanket) at the front of the member's area. 

I think I made the right decision as I ended up with one of the best seats in the house!

I also had a good view of the aircraft being moved around, run up and the aircrews interacting which I don't always see very well from further back.

A Bulldog being commandeered for a chat

One of the highlights of the show was the amazing sight of 8 Hurricanes in the air together. Whilst there are plenty of Spitfires still flying (no complaints there!) Hurricanes are a far rarer sight hence why managing to gather 8 together was so special. 

One of the Hurricanes getting airborne

The Hurricanes over the flightline

There was the traditional Battle Of Britain scenario -

Spitfires pursuing a ME109 Buchon

Buchon

I was introduced to an aircraft type I've not seen before,  this lovely AN-26 Invader 'Sweet Eloise'.

Some more American aircraft, Curtiss Warhawk & Hawk 75. 

Warhawk

Hawk 75

And of course Sally B the Flying Fortress who lives at Duxford. 

One of my favourite WW2 aircraft the Bristol Blenheim also lives at Duxford. 

Flying over the NH90

The Belgian air force sent one of their NH90 helicopters to perform a search and rescue display. Apparently the squadron asked to go to Duxford to perform to pay tribute to the Belgian aircrew who fought in the Battle Of Britain. 

They are such lovely looking helicopters

There were 3 Mustangs at the show this year 'Moonbeam McSwine' (who I saw for the first time at Airbourne), 'Jersey Jerk' and 'Miss Rebel' 

Moonbeam McSwine taxi-ing past

Obligatory photo of the Fighter Squadron Maverick & Mustang

There were two classic jets at the show the ever-popular Norwegian Vampire and Mistral Warbirds F86 Sabre. 

They both gave us a much-needed blast of hot air as they taxied past as the wind was quite chilly.

Ta much Vampire

The Sabre landing in style

Thank you so much to Mistral Warbirds for sharing my video of the Sabre to your Instagram 💓

The Battle Of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster was a late-addition to the Saturday show which made me so happy. This season it's been my mission to see her as much as possible before she goes into deep maintenance at the end of the season (she's currently estimated to be back for the 2027 season).

I really enjoyed watching her perform as the Spitfires & Hurricanes were taxi-ing past ready for the 'Big Wing'.

This is one of my favourite photos I've taken all season

I've loved her 'over the crowd' departures this season

Duxford is most famous for their 'Big Wing' finale to the show, when multiple aircraft take to the sky to make some of the most beautiful sounds known to man (in my humble Autistic opinion) as the Merlin & Griffon engines rumble overhead. This year was the biggest 'Big Wing' I've ever seen since I started going in 2017, there were 7 Hurricanes and 15 Spitfires!

One of the Spitfires taking off

Wow

Listen to the noise -

It was the perfect end to a day spent commemorating the aircraft and those who operated them. We were also treated to the gorgeous almost-full Harvest Moon on the way home.

You can watch highlights of the show here -

I have one final show to go to before my season draws to a close. I'll be back at Duxford for their Flying Finale at the start of October which currently has the Red Arrows, Typhoon and BBMF booked with more aircraft to be announced. Fingers crossed for a final bit of Autumn sunshine 🤞 

Love Jen

XxxX

Airbourne 2026 Review

 

The 2025 airshow season has marched on to my favourite event and the highlight of my whole year Airbourne! This year we were blessed by 4 days of dry (mostly) sunny weather and I loved every moment of it. 

Thursday

On Wednesday night I was like a kid on Christmas Eve and so a little bleary-eyed Thursday morning but that didn't last long once I'd made my way to the seafront. 

The seafront always looks extra lovely at Airbourne

The show was opened by the Stampe Formation Team  and their paint looked gorgeous in the sunshine. 

The same applied to the Jet Provost in it's red and silver paint. 

Rich Goodwin appeared every day at the show and painted the sky in smoke each day.

The RAF added to the aerobatic theme with the Tutor . It's always one of my favourite displays to photography with the RAF Benevolent Fund heart on it's underside.

The team even shared my photos on their Instagram!

Day 1 was  rounded off by the Red Arrows . I say it all the time but the moment they shoot in over the crowd is the absolute pinnacle of my year. 

Here they are!

Listen to the crowd as they come in!

Here are Thursday's highlights -

Friday

Friday was the hottest of the 4 days with the sea sparkling away. It started with an appropriately nautical theme with a cheeky rehearsal by the Royal Navy Black Cats . The 2nd aircraft had been tech the day before so they obviously wanted to make it up to us with a double display 😉

A moment on Thursday and Friday that brought the whole seafront to a standstill was a flypast from an RAF A400M. Seeing the biggest aircraft to appear at the airshow in years flying under cliff-top level was amazing.

Check out this YouTube video to see how low it was -

The Norwegian Vampire

The Battle Of Britain Memorial Flight returned as a 3 ship this year. Their Spitfire was poorly all weekend so the Lancaster flew with 2 Hurricanes which is a far rarer sight. The crowd was stunned into an awestruck silence each day at the end of the display when they split and the Lancaster departed directly over the crowd. Just wow. 

Here she comes

The day ended on a noisy note with the Red Arrows and the Typhoon setting the stage for the weekend. 

Diamond 9

5, 4 cross

Here are Friday's highlights

Saturday 

I had to pop into town prior to Saturday's show and I came across this super cool decoration in town. I love how the town celebrates the airshow.

And yes I was debating whether it would fit in my room or not ....

Saturday was the only slightly cloudy day but it didn't affect the photos that much. New for the weekend was the Strikemaster. 

The BBMF end of display split

We were introduced to P51 Mustang Moonbeam McSwine who put on a graceful display. I'm looking forward to seeing her again next month at Duxford. 

This is one of the rare moments the Typhoon kicked up any vapour

Here are Saturday's highlights -

Sunday

I woke up with the beginnings of the post-Airbourne blues but these were quickly chased away with a visit to Wetherspoons for breakfast. 

Lydia and Hilary were my victims for the day (thank you to Auntie, Amanda and Phil who joined me on Friday and Saturday respectively). 

I didn't take as many photos or videos on the last day as I wanted to focus on enjoying the experience (and the Pimms).

The Black Cats have definitely been a highlight of my airshow season so far.

The Rolls Royce Spitfire matched the sky

I also re-lived my childhood when Hilary and I went in the sea during the afternoon break (RIP Hilary's sunglasses).

Even Easyjet stop to watch the Typhoon!

The Red Arrows closed the show and brought the weekend to a close. I was particularly pleased with Sunday's photos of them. 

I've been trying to get this photo all season.

The day wasn't quite over as we had booked to go to The View Hotel for their carvery and to watch the fireworks.

Embracing my inner 'Golden Girl' with cheesecake for dessert

The fireworks were spectacular as always. 

It was an utterly fantastic 4 days and I can't believe how blessed we were with the weather! The post-Airbourne blues have well and truly set in but I'm attempting to console myself with the thought of 2 final shows to come at Duxford in September and October respectively. 

Love Jen

XxxX

PS If you're able to then please pop a few pennies towards the show on the donation page of the Airbourne website.

And if you're really bored you can read my blogs from Airbournes past 😂

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2018