August 16th at IWM Duxford
Airborne Pyrotechnics in 2024
Amongst the 2021 Flying Days was Duxford's first Flying Evening entitled 'After Hours', which proved to be a huge success.
For 2022, 2023 and 2024 the Flying Evening was listed as a 'Special Flying Event' rather than a Flying Day so it was discounted rather than free for members and the visitor capacity and ticket prices were both lower than the main airshows.
The list of aircraft will be in the table when announced.
| Aircraft listed to fly will be here when announced | |
|---|---|
 | F86 Sabre M6 (Frederic Akary: Mistral Warbirds) |
Appearances are always subject to technical, weather and other constraints. | |
Click to see photos of the 2024 and 2022 Flying Evenings & 2021 'After Hours'
Now called the 'Flightline Experience', is no longer an 'optional extra' but is included in the ticket price.
Entrance to the museum, interactive exhibitions and public buildings is included in the air show ticket price.
Duxford was an airfield in the First World War and was an RAF fighter station and then an American fighter base in the second. It was the base of the first operational Spitfire squadron during WW2.
It is now home to the Imperial War Museum with aviation, tanks, military vehicles and naval exhibits as well as the Fighter Collection, The Old Flying Machine Company, The Aircraft Restoration Company, Historic Aircraft Collection, B-17 Preservation Society and others.
August 17th at IWM Duxford
Airborne Pyrotechnics in 2024
Evening flying has become increasingly popular in recent years. Several of the free seaside shows now have flying at twilight, where their budgets allow, and other relatively new shows, notably the Midlands Airshow, have emulated the example set by these pioneers with evening displays of their own.
Duxford's first evening airshow of the current series was a 'Flying Day' in 2021, called 'After Hours'. This was a massive success. Although some other Flying Days have disappeared from Duxford's schedule, this one remains firmly in place and, like another of most popular Flying Days, The Season Finale, it has been recategorised as a 'Special Event'.
Duxford's near neighbour, The Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden, have also had evening airshows in their programme and in 2025 no fewer than five of their airshows will have some flying towards or after twilight.
The popularity of evening flying is partly due to the atmosphere, especially when vintage aircraft are taking to the skies in circumstances that must echo so many of the Duxford departures of 80 years ago, but also from the visual joy of seeing those same aircraft rising into amber skies.
At this year's Flying Evening the crowd were certainly able to enjoy the atmospherics, but the amber skies were not as evident as they have been at some earlier shows. So often, the action was above the runway but the setting sun was partly hidden and the visible sky was just a tad off the flying line.
The flying, though, was as perfect as the flying always is at Duxford. There was a good helping of nostalgia, for example in the form of a Hurricane and Spitfire pair and Sally B escorted by the Suffolk Spitfire. There was also plenty of variety, extending from a Mark I Hawker Fury to a relatively recent Vampire and from a gaggle of racers to a pyrotechnic extravaganza at the conclusion.
The variety in the range of aircraft was matched by the variety in lighting conditions. Although the hoped-for golden skies did not materialise, the sun was at its low point because of the hour, so there was the early evening spotlight effect for the displays that started the evening around 18.30, through to virtual darkness by the time the last displays landed a little more than 2 hours later (... continued below the table).
| Aircraft | ||
|---|---|---|
 | Hawker Fury I (Historic Aircraft Collection) | Clive Denney |
 | Fokker Dr.1 (Replica) G-FOKK in Red Baron colours (Paul Ford) | Paul Ford |
 | Flying Comrades: Yakovlev Yak-18T and Yakovlev Yak-52 (x2) | Phil Hardisty, Alex Lewton, Tom Turner |
 | Pitts S-1D Special G-PIII | Danny Williams |
 | LeVier Cosmic Wind G-ARUL | Pete Kynsey |
 | Mew Gull (Replica) G-HEKL | David Beale |
 | Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress G-BEDF 'Sally B' | Peter Kuypers, Paul Szluha |
 | Supermarine Spitfire Mk IX 'RW382' 'The Suffolk Spitfire' presented as USAAF Mk.IXc "Porky II" (converted from a low-back Mk XVIe to high-back Mk IX configuration, complete with Rolls Royce Merlin, full wing tips and earlier rounded tail, in 2011). | George Haye |
 | Republic P-47 Thunderbolt G-THUN 'Nellie B' (Fighter Aviation Engineering) | Dave Puleston |
 | de Havilland FB52 (Norwegian Air Force Historical Squadron) | Kenneth Aarkvisla |
 | Westland Lysander IIIA V9312 G-CCOM (Aircraft Restoration Company) | Dave Ratcliffe |
 | Supermarine Spitfire Mk Ia G-CFGJ 'N3200' (IWM) | Paul Bonhomme |
 | Hawker Hurricane Mk.I G-ROBT P2902 (Fighter Aviation Engineering) | Stu Goldspink |
| Airborne Pyrotechnics | Tim Dews, Tom Dews | |
| 'Otto': Schweizer 300C | Brendan O'Brien | |
| Listed but did not fly | ||
 | Hawker Fury ISS G-CBEL 'SR661' (Painted as Sea Fury Prototype) (Fighter Aviation Engineering) | Technical problem prior to take-off |
| Cassutt Special IIIM Racer | Technical Problem | |
| Once expected but removed from list before the show | ||
| de Havilland DH9 (Historic Aircraft Collection) | ||
 | Bristol Blenheim Mk1 G-BPIV (ARCo) | |
| North American T6 (Harvard) (Private) | ||
Appearances are always subject to technical, weather and other constraints. | ||
There was clearly great thought given to the order in which the displays took to the air, to maximise the effect of the varying conditions. Ending with pyrotechnics by Airborne Pyrotechnics and Brendan O'Brien's Schweizer 300C 'Otto' was an obvious choice but the earlier order will have taken more consideration. The team got it bang on, starting with The Historic Aircraft Collection's MkI Hawker Fury, the sinking sun spotlighting the features of this historic aircraft in a way that is not feasible in the earlier hours.
The display by the Flying Comrades also came whilst the sun was still significantly above the horizon, the light shining just above the horizontal and catching the upper sides, especially during the several topside passes that were presented before the team's break and aerobatic sequences.
As well as taking full advantage of the lighting conditions, Duxford invariably offers something new. Even though the number of aircraft flying in this two-hour show was necessarily limited, that 'something new' was, nevertheless, achieved. Twice over.
The first was the debut pairing of Sally B with the American-liveried Spitfire XVIe: 'The Suffolk Spitfire'. Often, the crowd would be offered just one pass in a novel formation such as this, but this pairing presented east-west and west-east passes with the Spitfire frequently tucked cozily close to the bomber it escorted. The pair then broke to give their own brief but typically superb displays (... continued below the photos).
Sally B with Spitfire escort in 2024
Hawker Fury MkI
Fokker DR1 (scale replica)
Another first, at least for Duxford, was the display by Danny Williams in his Pitts S-ID Special. This was not the first ever display by Danny, whose true debut came a couple of months earlier at the Sywell Airshow Weekend when he made his first ever public display in a Tiger Moth just days after receiving his display authority. It was, nevertheless, his first Duxford display and also his first aerobatic public display anywhere in his own Pitts Special.
Before the Pitts came a display of a very different kind, when there was a solo of the de Havilland Vampire from the Norwegian Air Force Historical Squadron. This had been intended as a pairs display with the Hawker Fury from Fighter Aviation Engineering stable, but the Fury hit a last-minute technical snag before take-off, leaving the Vampire to twist and turn in the now-darkening skies alone.
Although the Hawker Fury 1 had flown early in the evening, the Fokker DR1, in the colours of 'The Red Baron', was slotted in to the programme slightly over half-an-hour later, just as the sun began to lose some of its strength and to turn a tinge amber. Paul Ford's scale replica of the much-feared German triplane made several flypasts along the full length of the airfield, giving everyone a chance to see most angles of this aerial icon (... continued below the information boxes).
Click to see photos of the 2024 and 2022 Flying Evenings & 2021 'After Hours'
Duxford was an airfield in the First World War and was an RAF fighter station and then an American fighter base in the second. It was the base of the first operational Spitfire squadron during WW2.
It is now home to the Imperial War Museum with aviation, tanks, military vehicles and naval exhibits as well as the Fighter Collection, The Old Flying Machine Company, The Aircraft Restoration Company, Historic Aircraft Collection, B-17 Preservation Society and others.
Rather less threatening, a pair of racers, Le Vier Cosmic Wind and the Mew Gull replica, shared the limelight. The focus should have been on a trio but unfortunately the third, the Cassutt Racer, suffered a technical problem and was unable to join the aerial parade.
Fortunately, there were no more hitches as the sun went down and the anticipation rose for the final groups of displays. The Thunderbolt storming through the 20th hour of the day followed by a delightful 'after eight' trio of Lysander accompanied by the IWM's Mk I Spitfire and Fighter Aviation Engineering's Mk I Hurricane. As if to emphasise the unique nature of these evening displays, the landing lights on both the Lysander and the Hurricane were clearly visible, a treat not easily seen in daylight shows: the Spitfire and Hurricane lingering a little longer and treating us to a superb and very emotive close formation pairs sequence as the sun finally made way for the darkness tableau and the eagerly awaited pyrotechnic finale.
The programme designers at Duxford are to be applauded for introducing, and maintaining, the evening airshow. But raucous applause, too, for the pilots who thread their aircraft so impeccably through the fading light, often in very close formation. We so often wonder at the aircraft and the engineers who keep them airworthy, but the pilots, too, deserve our plaudits. The list of pilots, and their aircraft, is in the table.
August 27th at IWM Duxford
Fokker DR1 at dusk in 2021
For 2022 the Flying Evening was listed as a 'Special Flying Event' rather than a Flying Day but it still had reduced crowd numbers and a reduced price - although no longer free for members.
| Aircraft flying schedule Please check the show's site for the latest list | |
|---|---|
| Hawker Hurricane Mk 1 R4118: James Brown | |
| de Havilland Tiger Moth | |
| Yakovlev Yak-18T, Yakovlev Yak-52 (pair) | |
| Hawker Nimrod Mk I G-BWWK (The Fighter Collection) | |
| Supermarine Spitfire Mk Ia G-CFGJ 'N3200' (IWM) | |
| Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk.Vb BM597 G-MKVB (HAC) | |
| Curtiss-Wright P-40C 'Warhawk' | |
| Chipmunks x2 | |
| de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver G-DHCZ: Aircraft Restoration Company | |
| Curtiss-Wright P-36C G-CIXJ | |
 | Republic P47D Thunderbolt 'Nellie B' |
| Hispano HA-1112-M4L Buchon, ‘Yellow 7’ G-AWHM (Air Leasing) | |
| Boeing B-17G 'Sally B' | |
| North American AT-6C | |
| Goodyear FG-1D Corsair G-FGID | |
| Grumman F8F-2P Bearcat G-RUMM | |
| Hawker Fury FB.II G-CBEL (Painted as Sea Fury Prototype) | |
| Extra 300 (Mark Jefferies) (including pyrotechnics at twilight) | |
| de Havilland Vampire FB6 (Norwegian Air Force Historical Squadron) | |
In case there are mistakes or changes, please check the show's site for the latest list. | |
Click to see photos of the 2021 Flying Evening 'After Hours'
Duxford was an airfield in the First World War and was an RAF fighter station and then an American fighter base in the second. It was the base of the first operational Spitfire squadron during WW2.
It is now home to the Imperial War Museum with aviation, tanks, military vehicles and naval exhibits as well as the Fighter Collection, The Old Flying Machine Company, The Aircraft Restoration Company, Historic Aircraft Collection, B-17 Preservation Society and others.
Duxford is in Cambridgeshire, off Junction 10 of the M11. If you are coming from the north, an alternative is to leave at Junction 11 and take the A10 to Royston, then the A505. This is a much longer route but it splits the traffic up. The Post Code (for Sat Nav) is CB22 4QR but some systems will only recognise the older code CB2 4QR.
There are links to other route planners in the Travel Advice section.
The easiest (but not the closest) train station is Cambridge, which has a direct service from London.
Alternatives are Royston and Whittlesford Parkway, which is the closest to the show.
It is best to book as far as possible in advance. This is not only because nearby hotels and guest houses tend get booked up well before the date of an airshow but also because prices can be better when you book early online.
The location is already built in to the links but please check, and change as necessary, the dates, number of rooms and number of guests.
Booking.com
There are three Premier Inn hotels in Cambridge and another four within about 20 miles of the show.
Travelodge have one hotel about 4 miles from the show, which tends to be available a little bit longer after other low-cost hotels have been fully booked. There are three more Travelodge hotels in and around Cambridge.
The Met Office 7-day forecast includes actual and "feels like" temperatures, the likelihood of rain, wind speed, wind direction, wind gusts and visibility: the latter can have an impact on the viability of displays.
The BBC's 14-day forecast has overall conditions including and hourly estimate of temperature, wind direction, wind speed and UV range.
Click the blue-text link to go to the forecast. The location is already built into the links.
Sat Nav CB22 4QR
For links to other travel and route planning web sites, click the 'Getting There' tab
Photos taken at the 'After Hours' Flying Evening in 2021