IWM Duxford Flying Evening
For the fourth successive year, the IWM Duxford Flying Evening enjoyed glorious weather for its aerial displays. The Flying Evening has become a favourite event within Duxford’s extended flying season with its relaxed ambience as well as presenting varied combinations of historic aircraft in stunning sunset conditions. The 2025 event paid tribute to John Cruickshank VC and the 80th anniversary of VJ Day during the two hours of sunset flying.
Paul Johnson/Flightline UK reports. All photography by the author.
I would love to know just how Duxford have managed to book such fine weather for all their flying evenings. It is remarkable that each has seen such stunning sunsets. For 2025, it was perhaps even ‘too perfect’ with cloudless skies towards the end of the flying which perhaps meant the traditional pyrotechnic displays did not have the usual dark backdrop.
The Flying Evening takes place immediately after a normal(ish) day for the Museum which does close slightly earlier to accommodate the event. Unlike some of the other Flying Days and air shows, there is not so much in the way of ground displays to accompany the flying. Instead, there is some after-hours access to the Museum hangars, a handful of catering vans plus the “Gramophone DJ.’
The flying got underway just after 6pm as the golden light started to set in over Duxford. First to appear were the Flying Comrades. As a one-off, the team had hoped to mount a four-ship routine with the lead Yakovlev Yak-18T joined by a trio of Yak-52s. Sadly one the regular aircraft went unserviceable on start. However, they still flew a three ship with Phil Hardisty and Alex Lewton joined by guest pilot Paul Bonhomme in a rather eye-catching Yak-52.
The first of the warbird displays looked at Maritime aviation and started with a tribute to John Cruickshank VC who passed away just prior to the show at the grand old age of 105. He was the last living recipient to be awarded the Victoria Cross during the Second World War. Cruickshank was awarded the VC for an extraordinary attack on a German U-Boat which flying a 210 Squadron Catalina Flying Boat in which he repeated an attack run after his depth charges had failed to drop. In doing so he faced heavy anti-aircraft fired which killed in navigator/bomb-aimer and left him with serious injuries. His second attack was successful with Cruickshank releasing the weapons himself which hit home and sunk the U-Boat. As a salute, Plane Sailing’s Vickers-built PBY-5A Catalina flew an elegant series of flypasts in the early evening sun. The maritime sequence was completed by the first contribution by the Fighter Collection with Stu Goldspink flying the Hawker Nimrod I. While seeing an inter-war silver biplane flying is always a highlight of any show, it is particularly special in the warm glow of a sunny summer evening.
Also taking part was Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress ‘Sally-B‘ in a solo display. This year sees the aircraft mark its 50th anniversary of arriving in the UK which has been no mean feat for Elly Sallingboe and all those who support the operation of this big, four-engined bomber. It flies in tribute to the 79,000 US service personnel lost during the European air war between 1942-1945.
First World War aircraft also are particularly evocative at sunset and Duxford obliged with the beautiful pairing of the Historic Aircraft Collection’s Airco DH9 and Paul Ford’s Fokker Dr1. The Airco DH9 is a stunning restoration of genuine aircraft and a type with strong Duxford links with the type being based here in 1919. It was however not the Royal Air Force’s (or the preceding Royal Flying Corps) most successful aircraft during the First World War where it lacked the required performance in its role as a bomber. On the Western Front, it performed poorly incurring heavy losses. It was however ordered in large numbers which meant in served in nearly every theatre of the First World War and found some success in the Middle East as well as being a using Coastal Patrol aircraft around the UK. This aircraft was found in India alongside another airframe by Guy Black. Both were restored with the other going to the IWM as a static exhibit.
As ever, there was the plenty of warbirds in the displays. Steve Jones and Alex Smee presented a very smooth pairs display in two of Duxford’s more potent piston fighters – the Hawker Fury ISS and Republic P-47D Thunderbolt from Fighter Aviation Engineering. There was also a nod to the 85th Anniversaries of the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain with the pairing of the IWM’s own Supermarine Spitfire Ia and Hurricane501’s Hawker Hurricane I flown by Martin Overall and Andy Goodhall.
Adding some welcome historic jet flying to the evening was the Canadair CL-13B Sabre Mk6 from Mistral Warbirds. Pilot and owner Frederic Akary has brought this rare shape in European skies from his southern France base for short tour of UK and North European airshows. The CL-13B is a Canadian produced version of the North American F-86E Sabre but fitted with the more potent Avro Canada Orenda 14 jet engine. His aircraft appears in the unusual and experimental markings of the USAF 461st Fighter Squadron stationed in Germany in the mid-1960s. Frederic gave superb account of the aircraft in the gin clear skies with plenty of curved passes to highlight the shape of this early swept-wing fighter.
The final historic element of the display came from the Fighter Collection with a trio of aircraft that all have associations to the Pacific theatre during the Second World War. This is part was to mark the 80th Anniversary of VJ Day which on the day prior to the Flying Evening. Leading the trio was Brian Smith flying the Curtiss P-40F Warhawk and he was flanker by Stu Goldspink in the Grumman FM-2 Wildcat and Dave Puleston in the Curtiss Hawk 75A-1 (Or P-36 Hawk in US Service) After arriving in formation, each aircraft performed its own short solo routine in the now darkening skies in tribute to the forces that fought a gruelling campaign thousands of miles away.
The closing acts of the show were far more celebratory with some colourful pyrotechnic displays. Opening the finale was highly experienced display pilot and aviation journalist Bob Grimstead in his Fourier RF4D. Bob has flown his little wood and canvas motorglider called the ‘RedHawk’ at airshows across Europe including long trips to Sweden and Poland. He also has a second example down in Australia which he also displays. 2025 is his final year of display flying and Duxford was his penultimate public display, and his last twilight pyrotechnic display. Despite only having 60 horsepower, Bob puts on a wonderful aerobatic display in his aircraft with loops, flick-rolls, stall turns and salmon leaps – all with wingtip smoke and pyrotechnic effects flowing from his wings and tail fin.
Father and Son duo Tim and Tom Dews of Airborne Pyrotechnics closed out the flying displays with their Grob 109bs. By contrast to Bob’s quite busy routine of aerobatics, Tom and Tim presented a more gentile aerial ballet punctuated with some explosive and colourful fireworks. Even by the end of the displays, the skies remained really quite light which perhaps diminished the impact of the pyros somewhat, but the sunlight did illuminate more of the smokes trails than usual for a classy conclusion to what had been a really, really pleasant and enjoyable way to spend a summer’s evening.
