This year’s main Imperial War Museum-organized airshow at Duxford airfield, near Cambridge in the UK, was themed to celebrate the 90^th anniversary of this historic fighter airfield.

  Continued reductions in participation in airshows by the Royal Air Force in recent years (due to the retirement of a number of types and operational commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan) coupled with a major airshow at Southport in Lancashire over the same weekend, meant that RAF participation was considerably reduced from previous Duxford shows.  They did send a Hurricane and Spitfire from the Coningsby-based Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (both types being based at Duxford during their wartime operational service) and a Hawk from 208 squadron participated in the flying display.  Unfortunately, the Lancaster was unserviceable and unable to attend. A further Hawk (from 19 squadron) on show on the flight line had special significance for Duxford – it was painted in the same scheme and markings as the RAF’s first operational Spitfires delivered to Duxford-based 19 squadron in 1938.  This special commemorative Hawk has been seen at several UK airshows this year; it was good to see it at its spiritual home of Duxford.

  The weather conditions also disrupted the planned flying program, with cancellations from the Shuttleworth Collection’s Gladiator and Bristol Fighter, Air Atlantique’s Gloster Meteor jet fighter, and the locally-based Gladiator from the Fighter Collection.

  Highlight of the flying program for many of the visitors was (on the Saturday) the Vulcan bomber recently returned to flight after a multi-year restoration costing some $15 million.  Sadly, on the Sunday the Vulcan display was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions at its home base of RAF Brize Norton.  An unusual sight was provided by a formation of 3 C-47s, two in USAAF camouflage colors and the other (from Coventry-based Air Atlantique) in post-WW2 RAF Transport Command markings.

  Formation aerobatics were provided by the Aerostars, a 6-ship team of Yak-50s, who put on a very impressive and polished display routine in gusty crosswind conditions.  As well as the RAF Hawk, the jet era was represented by the Golden Apple Trust’s ultra-rare F-86A Sabre, and, on the Sunday, Jonathon Whaley’s psychedelic Hunter G-PSST.  WW2 fighters provided a set-piece in the form of an aerobatic tailchase routing from the locally-based Hispano Buchon, Hawker Hurricane and Pearl Harbor veteran P-40B Tomahawk.  Solo aerobatic routines from Duxford-based P-51 Mustang ‘Ferocious Frankie’ and P-39 Airacobra ‘Brooklyn Bum 2^nd’ (Duxford being the RAF’s only squadron to briefly operate the type, 601 squadron, before the Airacobra was rejected as unsuitable for service and the remaining examples on order were diverted to Russia) and a display by the L-4 Grasshopper provided the remainder of the WW2 portion of the afternoon’s flying on the Saturday.

  A Super Cub (the planned banner tow being another victim of the strong winds), an aerobatic glider routine and a Royal Navy formation, (with the pre-war era being represented by the Hawker Nimrod biplane fighter, along with the post-war Griffon-engined Seafire XVII - the navalized version of the Spitfire), plus Andrew Dixon’s Percival Pembroke (a twin-engined RAF light transport from the 1950s) rounded out Saturday’s flying display.  The flying was then curtailed because of worsening weather, so the Hunter and the planned 9-ship Spitfire finale were unable to fly.

  A combination of weather, serviceability and date clashes with other shows kept participating aircraft numbers down this year (with the flight line looking especially bare) and also seemed to keep visitor numbers low – the usually-crowded bank and fence at the west end of the airfield being almost empty on the Saturday.