Backwards and Forwards.

So, 2025 is almost at an end and 2026 is just around the corner. Time for a little reflection. The year was never going to live up to last year with the trip to New Zealand, the Wanaka air show and some great museums especially as I barely left country. However it was still a full year with an early visit to the Helicopter museum ticking another off my to do list. Duxford featured regularly and it was interesting to see some of the aircraft movements resulting from changes to displays in the Super Hangar which weren't complete when I last visited. There was some good flying there including the return to UK skies of an A26 Invader for the first time in many years, just a shame that strong winds took the edge off the September show.

Shuttleworth was visited again in June and was also disrupted a little by windy conditions but was well put together none the less. Around the same time we had the Little Ships commemorations locally which was great to see  especially with a Swordfish and Spitfire display in my lunch break one day.

One of the highlights was a jaunt to France in June for the La Ferte Alais show which I enjoyed at the time but the memories have been soured by unexpected events subsequently. Oh well. Another let down was the loss of the Manston air show fairly close to event day but on the plus side I got to see the vising R4D a few times whilst it was on its tour from across the pond.

I also pitched in to Sally B funds a bit more this year which got me to the members day in August which was a most enjoyable day out with glorious weather to boot. There was other stuff as well of course which is largely documented below.

And for 2026? No great plans as yet. Manston air show has been rescheduled for early June so I will do that if it happens. A couple of weeks later is a Shuttleworth show where, apparently, P51 Frances Dell is meant to put in an appearance. Not enough on its own to get me there but if the 109E that made it's first appearance in Germany this year should happen to be there it might be worth a Sunday drive.

Hopefully the A26 will be about again, there is the DVII to see and the Duxford based Wildcat will hopefully be displaying. Fingers crossed for the Tempest as well but no Lancaster this year due to extended maintenance. I also want to get to the South Wales Air museum which might be easier following retirement in March. Headcorn air show is being revamped this year and Thruxton has been put forward as a new venue so things to keep an eye out for. Other stuff we will play by ear as events get properly listed and, as usual, I will be posting up here.

I'll finish with Steve Carter of the Sally B crew trying to get us all to smile back in August which wasn't actually a difficult task! Happy New Year.

BoB 85th

I've not got many commemorative coins but this addition popped through the door yesterday courtesy of the better half.

Fokker D.VII

Just running through some pictures from earlier this year and I have a couple of this newly built Fokker D.VII replica at Duxford in May and July. Hopefully I will get to see it in the air in 2026 following its first flight in the hands of Dan Griffith just over a month ago.

Bottisham secures future

The airfield museum at Bottisham that I visited in 2022 effectively came in to being in 2014 when a charitable trust was formed to look after the on site buildings. However, there was a degree of uncertainty about the future as the museum did not own the area used for outside display, parking and events. However, an agreement has now been reached for the museum to purchase this area and a lease of a further 8 acres agreed which will allow additional parking and a larger area for events, such as car shows.So great news for the museum's future.

Maintenance begins

After a long season and a bit of a delay the Duxford based Catalina is now safely in the hangar and winter maintenance can begin. Here it is early summer this year and I look forward to seeing it in 2026.

Happy Christmas

Have a good one everyone

New at Duxford next year

There wii be some new display areas opened at Duxford in 2026 that have not previously been available to the public and will highlight the role played by Duxford in WWII. From their newsletter:

Stuka update

Back in 2019 I saw this Ju87 Stuka part way through a restoration to flight. Surviving Stukas are a rare breed and none have flown for decades so the sight of this project was quite exciting. Unfortunately, Paul Allen, the owner of the Flying Heritage Collection whose aircraft it is, died not so long after I saw it and work has subsequently stalled. However, a former friend has drawn my attention to the fact that the aircraft has now been moved to a facility in Arkansas where work will continue on the restoration to flight which will include its original engine. Anyway, here are some pictures from when I saw it 6 years ago and not much has changed since then.

Biggin Hill Mosquito update

When we saw the last Avspecs Mosquito restoration at Wanaka last year it was announced that work had already started on the next one which is destined for Biggin Hill.

Biggin Hill Heritage posted the update below yesterday which sounds very promising. I guess this doesn't necessarily mean it will be flying in the UK next year but presumably 2027 should be quite likely.

A long trek ahead

The Red Bulls team have confirmed that two of their vintage aircraft will be appearing at Oshkosh next year. The Douglas DC-6B and Lockheed P-38 will journey across the pond for the event being held in July 2026.

o/s400/1000007934.jpg"/>

Hunter on the move

Hawker Hunter E412 has been on display at Brooklands for several years although it is privately owned. It has now been sold to the Royal Danish Air Force who operated it in the past. I assume it is destined for a museum. I last saw it at Brooklands in 2019 where it was on display without wings attached.

Heinkel He51B

Developed in the early 1930s as a fighter and ground attack aircraft it was outclassed by the commencement of WWII and saw service as an advanced trainer. This is a 1/72 scale Hasegawa kit that is pretty undemanding to build. Age had caught up with the decals so I found an alternative scheme and dived in to the spares box.

Under threat

Popham airfield in Hampshire is a nice little field that I visited 10 years ago. Serving mainly light traffic in relatively rural surroundings it has been active for 50 years. The airfield has previously been under threat from development and a few days ago the council announced its local plan which includes building 4,250 houses on the airfield. There is a consultation period of a few weeks so objections can be raised. Let's hope this development gets kicked in to touch.

Off to America

This Aces High Dakota, the longest operated of its type un the UK, has been sold. After a few final appearances scheduled for Spring next year it will be off to a new home Stateside. Seen here at a Duxford D-Day event a few years ago.

Now at Shuttleworth

Hawker Hurricane G-HURI moved to Shuttleworth today. It used to live at Duxford but lost the previous hangarage agreement and now has a new home. Seen here undergoing off season maintenance at Duxford last year.

Moved to Germany

This Dornier 28 A-1, one of only three that are airworthy and the only one in Europe has been British owned of late. It has had the odd mishap including wing damage from clipping trees at Spanhoe in 2022 and a couple of months ago was damaged again whilst returning from an air show in Germany. It has now been sold to new owners in Germany and moved to Paderborn where it will be repaired and re-registered.

Oft seen at Old Warden in the past I last saw it there in May of this year.

Award winners

The De Havilland Aircraft Museum at Hatfield was awarded the Preservationist Of The Year trophy recently by the National Transport Trust for their long term restoration of this Mosquito FBVI, seen here 3 or 4 years ago. Even then it was looking impressive and it had an official roll out earlier this year.

This is the second time in five years that the trophy has effectively gone to a Mosquito as Tony Agar won the award in 2020 for his restoration of the ground running Mosquito at East Kirkby.

Under threat?

The future of Nimrod XV232, which is currently with a preservation group at Coventry airport, has been thrown in to doubt as the group has been given notice to vacate their site by May next year. The aircraft is currently in ground running condition. Hopefully a new home can be found and there are certainly a couple of museums that spring to mind that have space but its a question of money, logistics and practicality for the future. Lets hope there is a good outcome.

Here's a couple of shots of the Nimrod from when I saw it in 2023.

Getting ready for Wanaka

Sadly not me as my visit last year is likely to be a one off but Duxford based Spitfire PL983 is making the journey to New Zealand to help mark the 80th anniversary of the first flight of the Spitfire at the 2026 Warbirds over Wanaka show. It will be displayed by John Romain.

Now at Cotswold Airport

Often found at Duxford over the last couple of years P51 Mustang Marinell, part of the Northwind collection, arrived at Cotswold Airport today where it will apparently now be resident. Seen here outside the ARCO hangar at Duxford.

F84 Thunderstreak

This Airfix offering of the Republic fighter bomber is a 1/72 scale kit from 1974 that I was building at the same time as the Skua below whilst I was waiting for copious amounts of filler to dry. It all went together quite well and I opted for the Luftwaffe markings partly to keep the USAF set as spares but also as they looked a little less fragile and made a bit of a change. Long out of service I have seen a couple in museums including one in Sunderland Land, Sea and Air Museum.

Lest We Forget

DH Dove VP952

Continuing the theme of departures from Cosford is this De Havilland Dove. Seen here outside at the RAF centenary show in 2018 it was moved last month to Gatwick Aviation Museum. It is a little while since I was last at Gatwick but there are some images of the visit in my galleries section. The Shackleton, which we had a tour of at the time, has since been repainted.

Now at Duxford

The BBMF Lancaster has now arrived at Duxford where it is due to undergo a significant maintenance programme that will keep it off the air show circuit for all of 2026. Presumably it will once again be in the Stephenson hangar so progress can be monitored from the viewing window.

Blackburn Skua

Old Novo kits can't compare to modern fare but some are better than others. This 1/72 Skua wasn't one of the better ones! The canopy was fairly ropey but I already had a Falcon replacement but that highlighted the poor interior so I fabricated a few extra bits. The cylinders in the engine were very spindley so I made a replacement from a couple of old Halifax engines and also added an arrestor hook which wasn't part of the kit. The biggest issue though was the wings. The ailerons looked too shallow so I increased the size and I also added a new leading edge because the wings should extend in front of the cockpit and the kit wings didn't. I made a new exhaust as well and found a better tail wheel in my spares box. Anyway, plenty of filler and sanding later and thus is what I have ended up with. Decals also came from the spares box as the aged kit decals fell apart, naturally.