Here's what I did last weekend.
Firstly, sorry about the photos. I only had my phone with me. This was the first airshow I've been to in a long time and amazingly, the weather turned out perfect despite the grey skies and rain we'd had all day. I'm not sure if the bad weather earlier kept people away or if Old Warden displays are always like this but the place was really quiet. This meant it was easy to get within spitting distance of the planes on the ground, also with it being an evening display and only lasting 3 hours it was a nice leisurely experience. It was nice to be able to see the whole thing and with no crowds too.
Some WWI stuff was advertised, Pup, Brisfit, Bristol M. 1C etc. None of those ended up flying, I assume they were a contingency in case the weather was too bad for the pre WWI planes to fly.
Here's what I mainly came to see, the DH88 Comet. My all time favourite aeroplane, only back in the air since last year.
The comet did a display with the Mew Gull, what a tiny thing to fly all the way to Cape Town in.
The Hawker Hind and Sea Hurricane were displayed together.
Avro Tutor being started up with the Southern Martlet in the background.
It was a real privilege to see the early stuff flying, Bristol Boxkite replica.
Boxkite on the ground with the Replica Avro Triplane in the air.
Aside from the comet, the highlight for me was seeing the Blackburn Monoplane fly. An original from 1912 and flies beautifully.
1910 Deperdussin, this flew but is restricted to a short hop along the runway. Avro Triplane in the background.
A couple of reference photos:
Niendorf propeller. Shows the laminations nicely. I think this may have come from the LVG C.VI that used to be at Old Warden.
Sopwith Camel. The bracing wire running horizontally between the rear cabane struts is not something I would have expected to see there.
I'd say this was easily the best airshow I've been to and I'll certainly try to go back again.
Tom
