RNAS Yeovilton Air Day

Rode the Silverwing down to the Royal Naval Air Station at Yeovilton - about an hour away - for the annual Air Day.

Great day - far too hot so I'm sunburnt in spite of taking precautions. I'm not complaining, though.

Some of my favourite planes displayed: Avro Vulcan, Consolidated Catalina (PBY 5), Hawker Hunter - all brilliant.

The display opened with the Hawker Sea Fury, one of the last piston-engined fighters ever built.

The Eurofighter flew along the crowd-line on its way to somewhere else and there were other fast jets as well as some vintage planes.

I left well-before the end as I was cooked but witnessed the F-18 and F-16 do their things over me in the car-park.It was probably the best place to be! The F-16 demonstrated its defence against heat-seeking missiles - flare-like things fired from the tail.

I left before the BBMF was due but saw the whole of the Royal Jordanian Air Force display - only three small trainers, piston-engined - but the display was both polished and gentle. I shall look out for them again.

There were various helicopters on display and flying - weird seeing a helicopter loop-the-loop backwards - and a good selection of aeroplanes on static display: Phantom, a couple of Harriers, P-3 Orion, B-25 Mitchell to name but a few. Most can be seen at the museum on an ordinary day. I shall re-visit ere long.

One thing I hadn't realised is that there were only 11 years between the first flight of the Avro Lancaster and that of the Avro Vulcan (both designed by Roy Chadwick).


Incidentally, the pilot today of Vulcan, XH558, the only airworthy one left, was the chap who flew XH607 down to the Falklands in 1982 on the first of the Operation Black Buck bombing missions, still the longest bombing missions in the world. The book about it, called 'Vulcan 607', is a jolly good read.

The ride back was even better - cooled me down completely!

        Sometimes it's good to look back and say thanks.   Nice report.      :not worthy:

It's always good to hear about a good ride somewhere. When it includes that much cool stuff extra it's a great ride.

I was stationed there '67 to '70 with 814 Squadron FAA (Wessex 5's), then again '72 to '74 with 820 Squadron FAA (Sea Kings). Really must try and go down to the museum some time.

Coincidentally, the BBMF Dakota DC3 flew a low level pass over here this afternoon. The flight are based at RAF Coningsby, about 15 miles from here - a ride-out we do quite often.

Graham.

Very interesting!
The BBMF group yesterdat was Hurricane, Spitfire and Dakota so it was either on its way there or back.

A question for those of you who are air enthusiasts. My dad was stationed at Hendon 1950-1952 and was an airframe mechanic on the RAF Mosquito.
Are you aware if there are any of these aircraft around/flying in the UK?. I was told Hendon might have a museum worth a visit, has anyone been there? Would like to schedule on my next trip back likely 2017.

Hendon has a first-class RAF museum - a 'must' for anyone with any interest in military aviation.
It's easy to get to by Tube:

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/

Two airworthy Mosquitos in the US and Canada but other examples on display:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_surviving_de_Havilland_Mosquitos

North of London, UK, is the DH Mosquito Museum:

http://www.dehavillandmuseum.co.uk/

We watched the BBMF fly over York Racecourse a couple of times when the Tour de France was here earlier this month, a low flying Lancaster escorted by a Spitfire and a Hurricane. Then on Thursday afternoon we were quite surprised and pleased to see the same formation flew low over our house while we were out in the garden. Mrs M said the Red Arrows had also flown over earlier while I was having an afternoon snooze.  

Probably an air show going on somewhere.

Thanks for the info, I will include Hendon museum on my next trip to the UK!

I found a real good quality video of a flight from inside the cockpit on Youtube!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGfQQWOsoB8

Try this link for a flight in a Typhoon jet from RAF Coningsby!

http://home.bt.com/news/uknews/get-ready-for-the-ride-of-your-lifetime-11363869365360

Nice one MikeO. I would have gone, but was away on holiday in Wales. We went to the Royal Welsh Show, and bonus was a fly past of two Spitfires, earlier classic mark and the later one with clipped wings and the Gryphon engine- faster. The Mark VI I think? Anyway, it was thrilling to see them, not to mention remembering the brave lads...

Chilliwing, there are only two airworthy Mosquitoes, one in British Columbia and the other in Virginia, USA. I have attached a Wikipedia link, listing surviving Mossies.http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_surviving_de_Havilland_Mosquitos#United_States

There's always next year, Paul.

Incidentally, I'm glad I went and saw the Hawker Sea-Fury flying.
It crashed on the runway at Culdrose yesterday.
Fortunately, it didn't catch fire - it looked as if it had a very heavy landing causing the undercarriage to collapse - and skidded on its belly on to the grass. The pilot escaped uninjured.
It said in the Press it had experienced a sudden loss of power.

No doubt they'll set-to and repair it.

BBC News clip here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-28604824