The Yorkshire Airshow - Elvington 2005 (1/2) By Tony

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Photograph Gallery   Gallery 1,   Gallery 2,   Gallery 3.

This is my sixth visit to this airshow and one I don't like to miss. The airfield creates an atmosphere that transports you back to the WWII days when it was a base for the heavy bombers. The resident squadron 1942 till May 1944 was 77 Squadron RAF, flying the twin-engine Whitley bomber, soon to be replaced by Handley Page Halifax with four engines.

During 1943, 77 Squandron suffered very heavy losses and by the end of hostilities had lost almost 80 Halifaxes. In May 1944 Elvington became host to French Squadrons - 346 and 347 again flying the Halifax.

You must find time to visit the Yorkshire Air Museum at the airfield to see the wartime control tower, the NAAFI restaurant and the many artefacts on display. Go and see over 40 aircraft at the museum, including a Handley Page Halifax (a very rare sight) a Mosquito, Dakota, Canberra, Lightning and Yorkshires very own Buccaneer, built at Brough.

Now you get the feel of Elvington and look forward to the Airshow and meeting many friends from previous visits here. There's Tom from Barnsley with his old camera - it resembles a Box Brownie and weighs a ton. He is adamant he will never embrace the new technology of digital photography. I won't forget to mention Nigel and his wife and three children, who consume large quantities of food and are constantly getting lost - much to the annoyance of the man over the tannoy speaker , trying to reunite the wayward kids and parents.

Aircraft are approaching and it's the start of the display with the RAF Falcons Parachute Team. The performance begins with a freefall drop from their Hercules aircraft (Fat Albert) jumping from up to 12,000 feet, followed by the stack; parachutes into a breathtaking aerial column over 400 feet high. Led by Flight Lieutenant Mike Smith, the team comprises eleven jumping personnel. With coloured smoke flares attached to the ankles they do many aerial patterns and land within 10 feet of each other. Danny Dobson is here again in his Extra 300XS, truly the ultimate aerobatic aircraft.

Now for the man ... Danny has been thrilling the Airshow crowds since 1991 with more than 5,000 hours of aerobatic flying, 3,000 of which he has been upside down, so I'm told. At the end of the 2004 season he was awarded the Air Display Association's annual Hayward Aviation Trophy for his contributions to the air display industry over the past ten years. A truly remarkable man and pilot with an awesome display of gut wrenching proportions.

The solo Hawk, painted glossy black, the standard RAF trainer colour scheme, flashed down the runway and gave us a stunning show of speed and agility. Todays aircraft comes from 208 R Squadron operating from Anglesey airfield and flown by Flight Lieutenant Philip Diacon, who flew operational strike/attack missions in the Middle East.

Continued ....Next page (2/2),

Photograph Gallery   Gallery 1,   Gallery 2,   Gallery 3.

Photographs courtsey and Copyright © Tony thisisUll.com

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