Old Warden - 03/08/2008

Having seen on UKAR that there were plans for a visiting German group, and their aircraft, to be present at Old Warden for the 2008 Military Pageant, it really was a no-brainer with the half-decent weather forecast on offer.

Another highlight was the outing, albeit only ground taxies, for the de Havilland DH.88 Comet, "Grosvenor House".

Opening the flying display was a surprise addition to the scheduled programme, with Alistair Kay in P-51D Mustang, "Ferocious Frankie", and what a routine it was too!

As is the norm with Shuttleworth, the bulk of the flying is done by the home team, and the Military Pageant was no exception.

Making its first public flying appearance for a lengthy period was the Blackburn B2 - a very shiny Tiger Moth 'look-a-like'.

A non-resident making an appearance was the Cessna O-1 Bird Dog I'd first seen at Little Gransden's 2007 show.

The resident "Shuttlewaffe" and the visiting Quax-Flieger were not the only German-marked aircraft in attendance. The increasingly familiar sight of a pair of Me108s, or more specifically Nord 1002 Pengouins, given that they were both built in France after the end of World War II.

Peter Teichman was present with his Spitfire PRXI. He flew a paired routine with Kennet Aviation's Seafire.

Alistair Kay departed with extra cargo towards the end of the day; the backseat occupied by a lad whose birthday it was, and whose father had arranged for both the display and the backseat ride to mark the occasion..

Unfortunately, for one reason or another, the German tourists never made it into the air at any stage. The only time the attending public had a chance to see them with engines running was as they were repositioned in the morning and the evening.

Operating a pax flight from Coventry was an AACF Dragon Rapide.

When you go to a Shuttleworth display you know you're going to get treated to a flying display that makes full use of the surroundings, and this was no exception. The Mustang and Sea Hurricane displays were particularly good; a real pleasure to view. I just wish the sun would shine a bit more when I'm in attendance!