IWM Duxford Flying Evening
IWM Duxford held its fourth annual Flying Evening in mid-August, an event that has fast become a favourite amongst pilots and visitors alike. The early evening flying programme took place in incredible light and drew together some of Duxford’s most historic warbirds, some crowd-pleasing favourites and a spectacular pyrotechnic finale.
Paul Johnson/Flightline UK reports. All photography by the author.
Aside from IWM Duxford’s major airshow events, if there is one Duxford event I would recommend, it is the Flying Evening. When the weather is perfect (which incredibly it has been for all four of the Flying Evenings so far) it adds a whole new perspective on the Cambridgeshire Museum and the airworthy historic aircraft that operate from there.
As the sun gets lower in the sky, a calm descends on Duxford and a golden light illuminates the airfield from just behind the spectator area. There is also something very special and just so right about historic aircraft flying during the sunset hours as proved for many years at Old Warden.
For 2024 IWM Duxford moved its Flying Evening which has traditional been held over the August Bank Holiday Weekend to one week earlier. As it turned out, it was an inspired move as it was once again a warm, calm summers day. Had it been held on its normal date; the weather would have been a lot more ‘interesting.’
The flying got underway at 6.30pm, just as the low sun started to turn the grass runways golden. First to display was the Historic Aircraft Collection’s stunning Hawker Fury I flown by Clive Denney. If ever there was an historic military aircraft to flying in such light, then surely it must by the Fury – the quintessential 1930’s RAF biplane fighter. Further early military aviation history was also represented in the display with Paul Ford’s beautiful Fokker Dr1 replica. It’s ‘Red Baron’ markings really popped in the golden sunlight as Paul flew a series of flypasts up and down Duxford’s grass runway.
Action then switched to more ‘modern’ machinery with the Yakovlev Yak-18T and Yak-52s from Flying Comrades. Phil Hardisty, Alex Lewton and Tom Turner. Their colourful trio of Yaks looked superb illuminated against the blue skies as they flew a sequence of formations and aerobatics. Further aerobatics came later in the evening with Danny Williams giving his first public display in his Pitts S-1D Special. Danny is a newcomer to the display circuit this year having performed his first ever display at Sywell Airshow in June flying one of the Thomas Castle Trust Tiger Moths. More ‘sporting’ flying came with a collection of racing aircraft featuring the Le Vier Cosmic Wind piloted by Pete Kynsey and the Percival Mew Gull Replica flown by David Beale. The racers sequence should have also seen a Cassutt III Racer by sadly this went unserviceable.
As with the previous flying evenings, some of the warbird flying involved some special formations. The first was a salute to the United States Army Air Force with Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress ‘Sally-B’ flying in company with Supermarine Spitfire XVIe ‘The Suffolk Spitfire.’ This was the first time the aircraft had flown together at a public event. Their formation passes were following by two wonderful solo displays by Peter Kuypers and Paul Szulha in the B-17 and George Haye in the Spitfire.
Bad luck once again struck the planned pairing of Fighter Aviation Engineering’s Hawker Fury II and the de Havilland Vampire FB52 of the Norwegian Air Force Historical Squadron. Once again it was the Fury that suffered a snag while preparing to take-off necessitating a return to its parking position. We did however get another wonder solo display from Kenneth Aarkvisla in the Vampire which since its return from RIAT has now been marked up in the colours of 502 (Ulster) Squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. The RAuxAF was formed in October 1924 and is therefore celebrating its centenary this year. 502 Squadron is still in existence today based at Aldergrove in Northern Ireland and provides a wide range of trades for various deployments. The Vampire was last aircraft to be formally operated by 502 Squadron between 1951 and 1957 based at Aldergrove. Another beautiful silver aircraft taking to the skies at dusk was the Republic P-47D Thunderbolt of Fighter Aviation Engineering and displayed beautifully by Dave Puleston. Both the Vampire and P-47 looked superb highlighted by the soft warm glow of the setting sun against the deep blue southern skies.
The final warbird display of the evening was an evocative tribute to the Battle of France with the Aircraft Restoration Company’s Westland Lysander III joined by the Imperial War Museum’s Supermarine Spitfire Ia and the Hawker Hurricane I from Fighter Aviation Engineering Ltd. Dave Ratcliffe, Paul Bonhomme and Stu Goldspink gave some close formation passes to open the sequence with the inky blue sky pierces by the landing lights on both the Lysnader and the Hurricane.
The evening was brought to a spectacular close by two contrasting ‘pyrotechnic’ acts. First to appear were the two Grob 109bs flown by Tim and Tom Dews – known as Airborne Pyrotechnics. They flew an exceptional elegant routine of formation and solo aerobatics in their motor-gliders painting colourful streams of sparks in darkening skies.
The show went out with a bang – literally – thanks to Brendan O’Brien and OTTO the Helicopter. OTTO, a Schweizer 300C, has been fitted with an even more developed pyrotechnic system for 2024 launches well over 1000 different charges within a four-minute display. Adding to the spectacle are OTTO’s incredible smoke system and bring LED lighting – something any concert venue would be proud of!
If you’ve not been to a Duxford Flying Evening – just go! On a warm summer’s evening, it is one of the most special and unique experiences on the UK display circuit bringing together some really emotive warbird flying with the spectacle of the most amazing pyrotechnic displays.
