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, my mate Gaz 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.

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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.