70 Years Ago...

In September 1956, I had my first flight at the age of 3 months, with my parents and brothers, in a Douglas DC3/C-47 operated by Silver City Airways.
We flew from Lydd in Kent to Wick in Caithness, via Prestwick, as my father had started working at the UKAEA atomic power station under construction at Dounreay as a Site Architect.
There was a B&W photo of us deplaning at Wick but it has been lost over the years - I still hope it may resurface at some point... 🤞

(Not the aircraft I flew in, as far as I know!) 

I decided to take the opportunity of celebrating the 50th anniversary of this flight in December 2006 with a flight in G-AMPY operated by Classic Flight/Air Atlantique at Coventry Airport. G-AMPY was wearing her RAF Transport Command livery and her original serial number KK116.

PL983's new clothes...

After my road trip to N Scotland, back to the grindstone and lunchtime bimbles...
PL983 now dressed up as PA892 "My Darling Dorothy" of the 7th Photo Reconnaissance Group USAAF at Mount Farm in June 1944.

BE505 returned from a flight.

 

Another warm one...

"Tall In The Saddle" was taking it easy, Terence The Tug was having a few minutes break.

Miss Pickup returned from a flight and someone in the "Toucane", err two seat Hurricane, 'shot down' a 109...

 

 

On this day 57 years ago....

 

Flown types in the same photo...

During the recent evening photoshoot at Duxford I caught two types I'd flown in, in one frame.
(P-51D/TF-51D and DC3/C-47)

A little digging produced a shot from 2019 when Duxford was temporary home to a lot of DC3/C-47s and a certain Spitfire I'd flown in a couple of months earlier and one image of Spitfire MJ627 together with Dakota KK116 which I'd flown in back in 2015 and 2006 respectively...

Original photographer unknown 

🥵 Warm Warbird Wednesday Wander

A few snaps from a warm Duxford today...
Hurricane BE505 landed just as I reached southside for lunch.
Sally B still carrying her 100th BG tail markings.

 

 

Sally B tribute...

To mark her formation flypast with a KC-135 of the 100th ARW at this weekends airshow, B-17 Sally B had the 'White Square D' tail code applied for the 100th BG, "The Bloody Hundredth"...
I think it looks just right and hope they keep it on for a while.

 

Nice little flypast - BBMF Dak ZA947

The distant thrum of radials had me drop my lunch and rush outside...
ZA947 was circling my village prior to it's display slot at Duxford.
Cheers chaps 👍👏

 

"Duxford In A Different Light : The Flying Bulls" - Part 2

Some more shots, in no particular order*, of yesterday evenings photoshoot... 

(*Blogger has loaded them in reverse order once again!...)

Not often I snap two types together that I have flown in... 

"Smoke ON!"

Flying Bulls P-38 engine run and "smoke on" display yesterday evening...

 

 

 

 

Douglas C-41A "Hap-Penstance"

Douglas C-41A (N341A) was a short notice stand-in for the photo shoot at Duxford this evening. As it is the 70th anniversary of my first flight in a Silver City Airways C-47 from Lydd in Kent to Wick in Caithness I jumped at the chance to have a look inside...
I suspect that the level of comfort is above that of the C-47 we flew in back in 1956!...