A report from IWM Duxford’s first flying day of 2021 that was written for local media.

This week not only was the Imperial War Museum Duxford allowed to fully re-open but it also staged its first flying day of the year. Previously known as experience days the flying days are not full on airshows and are usually themed, this one being titled ‘Standing Together’. Following on from all the cancellations last year the day would give a chance for operators and aviation fans to reconnect after a hard year. The event was advance ticket only and was a sell-out with the crowd capacity capped at 2,000.

The whole of the museums site was open with all buildings having their own hand sanitizer stations at each entrance and reminders to wear facemasks while outside there were reminders to stay socially distanced. On entry all visitors were required register on the NHS Track and Trace system while during the event IWM staff were around to monitor these precautions were being carried out.

In addition to the museums regular attractions on the ground there were also a number of living history groups, the Tail End Charlies celebrate the history of the Royal Air Force between 1918 and 1955 while another group represented the job done by the Royal Observer Corps. At the rear of the land warfare hall the Duxford Aviation Society Military Vehicle section demonstrated some of their vehicles in the running area.  There were also static displays outside by The Royal Anglian Regiment Museum and the Laguna Spitfire Legacy, a group that is dedicated to showcasing the support given to Britain by the Polish pilots during World War Two. In conjunction with this the Duxford based Historic Aircraft Collection’s Spitfire V was on static display wearing the markings of an RAF Polish squadron during the war. From earlier years in military aviation there was a replica Fokker Triplane displayed alongside a SE5 replica while it was good to see long-time Duxford resident B-17g ‘Sally B’ on display outside. In the front of the Airspace hanger the now famous ‘NHS’ Spitfire XI along with the Lysander both from the Duxford based Aircraft Restoration Company.  

With the weather overcast and the possibility of rain later in the afternoon the flying programme was re-organized into one section rather than two.  The flying display opened with the Piper L4 Grasshopper, a light aircraft used by allied forces in WW2 for observation, this was followed up by the Hurricane XIIa of the Historic Aircraft Collection flown by Dave Harvey. In a change of pace the Italian built SF260 Trainer performed some aerobatic maneuvers before it was back to the Duxford based warbirds. The unusual combination of the Corsair and Spitfire V from the Fighter Collection performed a pairs fly-past before breaking for solo displays with Brian Smith in the Corsair and Dave Southwood in the Spitfire. The Catalina Society’s Catalina flying boat performed a graceful display in the hands of Derek Head and John Hamsworth sowing off its boat-like fuselage design. The flying was closed by the return of the Hurricane, again flown by Dave Harvey, in a formation with the IWM owned Spitfire 1a in the hands of John Romian. The pair carried out some close formation passes before the Hurricane broke away to land leaving Romain to perform a superb solo display and close the airborne action.

All of the day’s flying was livestreamed by Planes TV and is available to be seen on their Facebook page and Youtube Chanel.

Photo Gallery – https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2936290006638472&type=3

Gary Malkin