On Saturday I went to my final airshow of the year Duxford's famous Battle Of Britain airshow and I have to say it was probably the best one I've been to!
It was an early start to get the coach (I went with Lynn's Travel as always) but it meant I got to see this lovely sunrise.
We got there with plenty of time to spare ahead of the show so I visited the AirSpace hanger.
The TSR2 - The greatest plane to never enter service?
I'd never noticed the ginger Eos on the Tornado tail before
As I wandered along the flightline I found out this excellent goat fact (what could be a better start to the day 😁)
Sally B
Corney and I settled ourselves in the members area ready for the flying to begin.
The show was opened by a 'Battle Of Britain' dogfight between a ME109 Buchon & 2 Spitfires (I won't give away who won 😀)
One of the things I particularly loved about this year's show was the juxtaposition of warbirds and frontline RAF jets. I liked seeing how the RAF defended us then and how they defend us now. The RAF Typhoon performed in it's D Day livery.
Last year's show was besieged by some pretty wet weather which meant I didn't get too see the Catalina & Anson displays. Happily this year they glinted in the sunshine.
Catalina
Anson getting airborne
Another aircraft hampered by the weather last year was the Swordfish -
Wildcat
Bearcat
A very rare aircraft appearing at the show was the Swedish Historic Flight's SAAB 17, apparently it hadn't appeared in almost 20 years.
In a throwback to last year's show we were treated to the stunning spectacle of Duxford's B17 Sally B and the Battle Of Britain Memorial Flight's Lancaster in formation.
Sally B
Lancaster
P47 Thunderbolt
It was lovely to see 4 Hurricanes in formation -
Taking off
The Mustang pair 'Miss Helen' & 'Jersey Jerk' were fantastic -
Jersey Jerk
Miss Helen
Returning to frontline RAF jets we were treated to a fantastic role demo from the RAF's newest aircraft the F35. It was utterly awesome and a real highlight of the day for me.
Catching loads of vapour whilst inverted
Hovering
The show was closed by the famous 'Big Wing' finale comprised of 13 Spitfires & 4 Hurricanes. You could hear a pin drop as they approached and then roared along the flight line.
The most stunning sight and sound
You can see more highlights of the day here -
The day was bookended by a beautiful sunset
It was an absolutely brilliant show with a great variety of aircraft and the perfect end to a great airshow season.
