October 5th
Sally B is a regular at Duxford airshows
The final Duxford airshow of 2024 will bring a selection of the highlights from the 50th year of shows at the Imperial War Museum.
Details will be here when released.
| Aircraft will be here when known | |
|---|---|
| Static Display | |
October 14th
Duxford Finale 2023
Duxford's last show of the 2021 season was called the 'Best of 2021'. It was listed as a Flying Day but turned out to be one of the best airshows of the year.
Duxford's last show of the 2022 season became a 'Special Flying Event', rather than a Flying Day; was renamed 'Flying Finale' and was billed as 'Celebrating the highs of all our flying displays and aerial events from the year, in one fabulous final flying display'. It, too, was a climatic end to the flying season, even featuring Patrouille Suisse, the Swiss national display team.
The show that concluded Duxford's 2023 season retained its 'Flying Finale' title and was held on the 50th anniversary, to the very day, of the first ever Duxford Airshow. Expectations were high for such as auspicious event but the jury is out on whether it lived up to that promise, or to the track record set by previous Duxford Finales.
There are several obvious ways to celebrate a landmark anniversary. One would be to concentrate on the features that were a highlight at the first show, all those years ago. A second might be to focus on the achievements that have marked the interim between the first and the latest. A third would be to look and the present and the future, building on the 'then' and the 'now' and looking forward to what might be accomplished in the next period. Duxford's 50th anniversary 'Finale' airshow did a bit of all three, although it was hard to identify that pinnacle moment of the kind that Patrouille Suisse had provided the previous year.
The show did have some links to aircraft at the inaugural show in 1973. The Aero Legends' DC3 had been at the airfield, under restoration, on the day of that first airshow, and the Miles Magister N3788 was also on site albeit in a rather basic, dismantled, condition. Jet Provosts displayed in 1973 although not including the one at this 2023 show. Two aircraft listed for this show were actual participants in that first show, fifty years earlier. One was the Miles Magister P6382, now part of the Shuttleworth Collection, which did display again this time, although the second anticipated returnee, Shuttleworth's Avro Tutor, had a technical problem and was unable to take part. So just the one aircraft, the Miles Magister, reprised its 1973 display.
At the other extreme, one team, comprising two aircraft, performed their first ever Duxford display, in their first display season. The Taylor Mono Team comprising Ben Gilmore (Mono 1) and Bruce Douglas (Mono 2) in the diminutive Taylor Mono planes, gave excellent and very confident displays in their open-cockpit aircraft powered by 1600cc VW engines, which are said to cost just £50 per hour to run. Perhaps they will be here to celebrate the 100th Duxford display season in 2073.
As for the interim, there were some stalwarts of Duxford shows and legendary Duxford residents. Notable long-term residents were the Catalina and part of the Fighter Collection fleet including the Grumman Bearcat and Goodyear Corsair, which have lived at Duxford for the best part of forty years.
However, it may be seen as a little surprising that the servicing and commitment schedules of Sally B, MH434, and others that may be seen as the epitome of Duxford, had not been arranged to allow for their participation and that a BBMF did not extend their operating season just a little, to enable their trio to repeat the displays from that inaugural Duxford airshow in which Lancaster PA474, Spitfire V AB910 and Hurricane II LF363 were in the flying list. Perhaps, although this finale was on the 50th anniversary of the first show, the 2024 finale will be the celebratory one as it will be at the end of the 50th anniversary season. (... continued below the table)
| Aircraft (in display order) and pilots | ||
|---|---|---|
 | CAP 232 (Diana Britten Aerobatics) | Dianna Britten MBE |
 | Supermarine Spitfire Mk 1 G-CGUK 'X4650' (Comanche Fighters) | Brian Smith |
 | Supermarine Spitfire Mk 1 G-AIST AR213 / P7308 (Comanche Fighters) | Stu Goldspink |
 | Hawker Hurricane Mk.I G-ROBT P2902 (Fighter Aviation Engineering) | Gabriel Barton |
 | Fokker Dr.1 (Replica) G-FOKK in Red Barron colours (Paul Ford) | Paul Ford |
 | BAC Jet Provost T.5A G-BWGF 'XW325' | Chris Heames |
 | Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina (Plane Sailing) | John Harmsworth |
 | Mono Display Team: Taylor Monoplanes x2 | Mono 1 G-BMAO Ben Gilmore. Mono 2 Bruce Buglass G-BDAG |
 | Douglas C-47 / Dakota G-ANAF (Aero Legends) | Andrew Dixon |
 | Supermarine Spitfire Mk1X TD314 G-CGYJ 'St George' (Aero Legends) | Charlie Brown |
 | The Titans (Xtremeair XA42 and upgraded American Decathlon) | Patrick Wilson (ACA Xtreme Decathlon) and Philip Ansell (XtremeAir XA42) |
 | Vickers Supermarine Spitfire PRXIX PS853 G-RRGN: Rolls Royce Heritage Flight | Mark Discombe |
 | Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing | Peter Kuypers |
 | Miles Magister 'P6382' G-AJRS (Shuttleworth Collection) | JeanMichel Munn |
 | Miles Magister G-AKPF 'N3788' (David Bramwell) (late replacement for the Tutor) | David Bramwell |
 | Flying Comrades: Yakovlev Yak-18T and Yakovlev Yak-52 (x2) | Phil Hardisty (Yak18T), Alex Lewton (Yak 52) and Tom Turner (Yak 52) |
 | North American AT-6C Harvard | Nigel Wilson |
 | North American Harvard IV G-BGPB '1747 Taz' (Aircraft Restoration Company) | Rod Dean |
 | Noorduyn Mk.IIb Harvard 'FE695' G-BTXI (CK Aviation. Previously part of The Fighter Collection) | Isabel Rutland |
 | Hawker Hurricane Mk 1 G-HRLI 'V7497' | Neil Oakman |
 | Hawker Hurricane Mk Xlla G-HURI '5711' 'P2954 WX-E' (starboard side) and P3935/WX-D (port side) (previously 'R4175 RF-R' and 'P3700 RF-E') (Historic Aircraft Collection). | George Haye |
 | Republic P-47 Thunderbolt G-THUN 'Nellie B' (Fighter Aviation Engineering) | Steve Jones |
 | Hawker Fury FB.II G-CBEL 'SR661' (Painted as Sea Fury Prototype) (Fighter Aviation Engineering) | Paul Bonhomme |
 | Grumman F8F-2P Bearcat G-RUMM | Brian Smith |
 | Goodyear FG-1D Corsair G-FGID (The Fighter Collection) | Stu Goldspink |
| Cancelled on the day | ||
 | North American P-51D Mustang: Rolls Royce Heritage Flight. Was to have flown with RRHF Spitfire. Pilot unwell. | |
 | Royal Aircraft Factory SE5A (Replica) (Paul Ford). Was to have flown with Fokker DR1. | |
 | Avro Tutor G-AHSA 'K3241'(Old Warden resident). Technical problem. | |
 | Grumman FM-2 Wildcat G-RUMW (The Fighter Collection). Was to have flown with other four warbirds in the final display. | |
| Cancelled or withdrawn before the day | ||
| Brendan O'Brien & Otto the helicopter | ||
| The Last Dogfight (L4 Grasshopper and Fi 156 Storch). | ||
| Firebirds. | ||
 | Bristol Blenheim Mk1 G-BPIV (ARCo). | |
 | Supermarine Spitfire Mk Ia G-CFGJ 'N3200' (IWM). | |
| Appearances are always subject to technical, weather and other constraints. | ||
As well as the aircraft, there are personalities who should be remembered on this landmark day: again, experienced and new. Under the 'experienced' heading, can any surpass Rod Dean? More than fifty years ago he was demonstrating the pioneering aircraft of the time and here, at this celebration of a half-century of Duxford airshows, he was flying the Aircraft Restoration Company's Harvard IV. Also representing pilots who have a long association with Duxford were Brian Smith and Stu Goldspink, flying the Fighter Collection's long-resident Bearcat and Corsair and the Comanche Fighters' Mk I Spitfires.
In the 'looking forward' category, as well as the first appearance of the Monoplane Display Team, we were able to welcome two ladies to their first Duxford show. Diana Britten, MBE, has a wealth of aerobatic experience but has not previously demonstrated her talents in a public event at this airfield. That was put right at the Duxford Finale, when she opened the displays in her CAP232. Isabel Rutland was the other lady Duxford debutante, flying a very impressive solo display in CK Aviation's Noorduyn Mk.IIb Harvard 'FE695' as one of a trio of Harvards.
Unusually for Duxford airshows in 2023, the Finale was a sell-out. Tickets had not been listed as limited but, just after it was announced that Fighter Aviation Engineering's Hawker Tempest had completed its test flight, and was at Duxford, tickets sold out. There was never an official suggestion that the Tempest would fly at Duxford, and that would have been unlikely anyway given the short time within which to achieve display authority. Nevertheless there was a lot of internet chatter and, either coincidentally or as a consequence, tickets ran out. In the event, the Tempest did not fly, but it was on static display outside the hangar, opposite the control tower.
As always at Duxford, there was plenty to admire in the hangars, museums and around the grounds, too, so there was lots for all the family to do.
Leaving the show was not as painful as it has been in the past. The improved traffic control, especially in the north car park, that was noticeable after the Battle of Britain Airshow the previous month, was maintained for this show. This resulted in much less of the selfish pushing-in, a much more even flow of traffic and a noticeably quicker departure.
Less welcome was the earlier starting time of 1pm. Early afternoon is never a good viewing time at Duxford because of the position of the sun, which is directly in front of the fenceline at that time and particularly low in the sky at this time of year. This puts the aircraft into silhouette for much of their journey along the crowdline: difficult for everyone but especially challenging for photographs. The position improved gradually as the afternoon went on and the sun tracked to the west. The show's FAQ page on the website had suggested a 2pm start. That would have been better.
Perhaps the show didn't tick all the boxes for everyone, but a very full crowd were able to enjoy a great variety of aircraft representing a good cross-section of types that can be admired at Duxford at shows during the year. A list of those aircraft and their pilots is in the table. We look forward to the rest of the 50th year of airshows at Duxford.
Dakota and Spitfire from Aero Legends
If you think this review is not balanced, or that a point has been missed, or even if you agree with it, do get in touch to let us know.
Photos taken at this and the 2022 Flying Finale, and at the 2021 'Best of', are in our photo gallery.
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.
A book commemorating the 50 years of Duxford Airshows was published by the IWM and was available prior to, and at, the Duxford Flying Finale. The book has details of the first airshow in 1973, including a flying list for the 2½ hour display programme.
October 8th
Patrouille Suisse at the Duxford Flying Finale in 2022
Duxford's last show of the 2022 season became a 'Special Flying Event', rather than a Flying Day; was renamed 'Flying Finale' and was billed as 'Celebrating the highs of all our flying displays and aerial events from the year, in one fabulous final flying display' and it was certainly a cracking show.
Much of the content in 2022 was Duxford or Sywell based warbirds in various combinations but there were also some other highlights and some unannounced surprises.
The pre-announced highlights were Patrouille Suisse the RAF Typhoon, who both flew towards the end of the afternoon in good clear sky and plenty of sunshine. The 'extras' included the Last Dogfight (Storch and Cub) team, a pair of Xtreme Airs and a closing display by Brendan O'Brien in Otto.
The amended flying list is in the table.
| Aircraft | |
|---|---|
 | Patrouille Suisse (Swiss Air Force) |
 | Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 (RAF) |
| Supermarine Spitfire LFVb EP120 G-LFVB: The Fighter Collection | |
| Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk.Vb BM597 G-MKVB (HAC) | |
 | Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vc G-IBSY 'EE602' (Anglia Aircraft Restorations / Air Leasing) |
| Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vc G-LFVC JG891 (Comanche Fighters) |
 | Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina |
| Hispano HA-112 M1L Buchon (Air Leasing)(Did not fly) | |
 | Hawker Hurricane Mk 1 V7497 |
 | Hawker Hurricane Mk.I G-ROBT P2902 (Anglia Aircraft Restorations / Air Leasing) |
 | Hawker Fury FB.II G-CBEL (Painted as Sea Fury Prototype) (Anglia Aircraft Restorations) |
| North American TF-51D Mustang 'Contrary Mary' (formerly 'Miss Velma') G-TFSI (Anglia Aircraft Restorations / Ultimate Fighters) | |
 | Republic P47D Thunderbolt 'Nellie B' |
| Curtiss P-40F Warhawk 'Lee's Hope' G-CGZP | |
| Grumman FM-2 Wildcat G-RUMW (The Fighter Collection) | |
| Grumman F8F-2P Bearcat G-RUMM (The Fighter Collection) | |
 | Goodyear FG-1D Corsair G-FGID (The Fighter Collection) |
 | de Havilland DH.89A Dragon Rapide G-AGJG (de Havilland Support Ltd) |
 | Bücker Bü131 Jungmann, G-BSAJ, Skytricks (Anna Walker) |
 | Fokker Dr.1 (Replica) G-FOKK Red Barron colours (Did not fly - breeze too strong) |
| Flying Comrades (Yakovlev Yak 52 x 2, Yak 18) | |
| Brendan O'Brien & Otto the helicopter | |
| Last Dog Fight (Storch and Cub) | |
| XtremeAir duo | |
In case there are mistakes or changes, please check the show's site for the latest list. | |
Brendan O'Brien in Otto
Warbirds at Duxford Flying Finale 2022
More photos taken at this show and at the final show of 2021 are in our photo gallery.
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.
Parking permits are not required for this show.
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.
There are no shuttle busses for this event.
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.
Parking is available and does not have to be pre-booked for this event.
Sat Nav CB22 4QR
For links to other travel and route planning web sites, click the 'Getting There' tab
Click for Photos taken at earlier IWM Duxford season final airshows