Monday 6 September 2010

Duxford Airshow - Part One



We used the remainder of our summer holiday fund in spectacular style - we visited the Duxford Airshow! Actually we visited it twice, and finally got in on the second attempt. On Saturday we got within three miles before becoming gridlocked in traffic, and watched the Red Arrows displaying in the distance before hearing on local radio that the gates were closed. It was a very disappointed drive home.


On Sunday we departed King's Lynn at half past nine to make it in time for the two o'clock flying display - we were taking no chances on missing out again. And it worked out just great, as we found ourselves wandering along the flight line just after eleven. The aircraft below is receiving ground power from a Houchen, which is still in RAF colours.


What a fantastic event Duxford is. I've been to plenty of airshows in my time (some even when not working there in RAF guise), and was very impressed. So was Sam, who found the whole thing extremely exciting. There were plenty of aircraft buzzing around right from the time we arrived, and the anticipation among airshow crowds is infectious.


Nothing to do with the photos, but we decided to eat healthily all day. Just potatoes and grass we said. Potatoes, carved into thin strips and stored briefly in hot oil. And, as cows eat only grass, they must be made of grass, so eating a beefburger probably counts as two of your five a day.



A walk along the flight line is surely essential. You can see the aircraft close up, sometimes have a chat with the owners/crew, and the pictures you can take are miles better. Ferocious Frankie, below, is based full time at Duxford and is a regular in its display programmes.




We chose to use up our summer holiday fund this weekend. Thanks to the sale of some of Grandad's collectables that he handed down to us, we built up a goodly sum over the winter, enabling us to enjoy the spoils in the summer. It's not cheap to gain entry to Duxford (£37.80 for the two of us this year), but I vote it as being definitely good value for money. We blew another few bob on some rather cool binoculars which will serve us well for many years to come....




As it was Duxford's Battle of Britain tribute show, the emphasis was naturally on aircraft from that period. Here's a Buchon plane painted to resemble a Messerschmidt 109 - in fact this very plane starred in the film The_Battle_Of_Britain . Duxford was the airfield used to film much of the action.

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