It's time for the first airshow review of the year! Last week was really busy for two of my favourite activities airshows and concerts (you can read all about how I got onstage with my favourite band 30 Seconds To Mars here ) add in my birthday and you can understand why I'm still knackered 😂. My last visit to Duxford was back in September last year for the Battle Of Britain airshow so I was raring to go again.
The theme for the show was the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of D Day and the line-up reflected this with plenty of warbirds with a focus on the Dakotas over the weekend.
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| An early start on the coach |
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| Luckily I was able to fuel up |
When we arrived I headed into the AirSpace hanger as it holds lots of my favourite aircraft.
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| Victor Bomber |
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| Two iconic British aircraft - the Lancaster & Mosquito |
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| The Merlin engine that powered them alongside Spitfires, Hurricanes & Mustangs They make such a beautiful sound that I named a rabbit after them 😂
And not to forget the similarly aviation named Maverick & Mustang!
Back to the show, I decided since it was a beautiful day to stay outside as I've visited the other hangers on multiple occasions. This turned out to be the right decision as I was able to see some Dakotas departing. The aircraft on the flightline glinted beautifully in the sunshine, especially the Flying Bulls DC6 & B25.
Sally B As an IWM Member I settled myself into the VIP area for the rest of the day.
The flying display kicked off with a series of flypasts from two Dakotas.    Parachutists were of course a huge part of the D Day operation and the Army Red Devils were excellent as always.     There were a few aerobatic acts in the middle of the display including Team Raven    Early WW2 aviation was on display from the Hawker Fury & Spitfire MK1     There were more Spitfires later on too with a MK9 & clipped wing variations.      |
The Flying Bulls put on a lovely elegant display with their DC6 & B25
Navy Wings sent their Swordfish in far better weather than the Battle Of Britain airshow!
Duxford's resident Flying Fortress Sally B flew with P51 Mustang 'Jersey Jerk' which is a new addition to the UK airshow scene this year.
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| Sally B taxi-ing ready for display |
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| Jersey Jerk over a Dragon Rapide |
My favourite display of the day was the fantastic French Rafale. It was so great to see and hear a really noisy jet display so early in the season.
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| "Let's turn and burn!" |
Unfortunately due to a slight mix up with the coach times we were collected well before the end of the show meaning I only saw a short amount of the Blenheim display.
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| And only saw the Red Arrows from the motorway |
You can watch the show highlights here -
Despite missing the end of the show it was still a great day and the perfect beginning to a *hopefully* sunny and dry airshow season.
Love Jen
XxxX
