Although there have been a number of significant anniversaries this year, the 2014 UK Airshow season will probably be remembered by most enthusiasts for one thing – the Gathering of Lancasters. After almost a year of meticulous planning, the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum’s Avro Lancaster Mk.X (FM213) arrived at RAF Coningsby on Friday 8th August, following an epic three day trans-Atlantic flight from its home base at Hamilton Airport, in Canada. It was hoped that VeRA’s arrival would coincide with a massed formation of BBMF aircraft and the Red Arrows, but the weather was so terrible in the UK on Friday, that all this was cancelled at the last minute, as thousands waited in the rain for the arrival of this illustrious visitor. To rapturous applause, VeRA appeared out of the Lincolnshire gloom and landed safely at Coningsby, to begin one of the most eagerly anticipated Warbird tours that Europe has ever hosted and one which will probably never be repeated again.
The much anticipated flight with our own BBMF Lancaster (PA474) has been postponed on a number of occasions, due to a continuation of the poor weather around Coningsby, but I am pleased to say that the ‘Eagle has landed’ and both Lancasters flew in formation several times on Wednesday and by the time you read this Newsletter, they should have performed their first display routine at Eastbourne Airshow. I am pleased to say that I was lucky enough to be present at RAF Coningsby when two Lancasters flew in close formation for the first time in 50 years and I have to say that it was a sight that will live long in my memory. I also have to commend both crews as the conditions were not ideal by any means, as a strong wind was blowing all day and three flights were made to try and perfect the display routine. The BBMF Lancaster was the lead machine, with the Canadian crew having to fight the strong winds, being buffeted by the slipstream of the lead Lancaster and trying to stay in formation at the same time, during a series of sweeping turns and display flypasts. I also have to commend them for just how close the aircraft were – I felt sure they they would be flown quite far apart, but I am pleased to say that this was not the case, as these highly capable airmen flew these old ladies in an exhilarating, yet completely safe routine, which really did make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. In my opinion, there is no doubting that this is the highlight of the 2014 Airshow season and a spectacle that everyone should try to witness – real history in the making stuff!
The picture at the head of this week’s Newsletter features the THIRD running Lancaster in the UK at the moment, the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Mk.VII ‘Just Jane’ at East Kirby. Pictured at their recent Airshow with all four engined playing the Merlin symphony, it is hoped that this machine will also return to the sky in the not too distant future and we might have two flying Lancasters permanently based in the UK, although something tells me that this monumental task may be some way off yet. She will, however, be involved in two very special Lancaster events on the 2nd and 7th of September this year, as both the Canadian and BBMF Lancasters will over-fly her, whilst she powers her engines on a taxi run. The delicious prospect of THREE LANCASTERS in the same place, with twelve Merlin engines all roaring simultaneously is something not to be missed, but these ticket only events have already sold out and most of us will have to wait for the footage to hit the internet and just imagine how special an event this will be. The only thing that I will say is that you really must try to catch the Canadian Lancaster during her visit, as this is something very significant in aviation terms and we are only likely to get one opportunity in our lifetimes.
Royal Navy Historic Flight Sea Fury
As many of you will already know, the beautiful Royal Naval Historic Flight Hawker Sea Fury T.20s VX281 suffered an incident at the recent RNAS Culdrose Air Day and is currently off the display circuit. Footage on various websites show her mighty Bristol Centaurus engine streaming grey smoke, before the aircraft was forced to make an unplanned, but controlled emergency landing on the grass at Culdrose. Pilot and RNHF Commanding Officer Lieutenant Commander Chris Gotke calmly and expertly brought the aircraft in, whilst attempting to keep any potential damage to the aircraft to a minimum. Thankfully, he was absolutely fine after the incident, managing to walk away from the Sea Fury to a spontaneous round of applause from the shocked onlookers – he is to be commended for his professionalism and flying skill in negotiating what must have been an extremely serious situation. Although the aircraft will undoubtedly be off the display circuit for quite some time, things could have been much worse and I don’t think that the situation could have had a more favourable outcome than the one expertly engineered by Chris Gotke. Thankfully Chris is fine and I am sure that we would all join me in congratulating him on successfully negotiating this dangerous situation.
Unfortunately, the Royal Naval Historic Flight have suffered more than their fair share if misfortune with their Sea Furys over the years, which is a real shame for what is regarded as the ultimate piston fighter design for many. It continues to be one of the most popular aircraft on the display circuit and every time that the RNHF manage to get one in the air, they are immediately one of the highlight acts at any Airshow. The popularity of the Sea Fury also carries through to the die-cast aviation world and it is surprising that only one manufacturer has entered the market with an example of the glorious Sea Fury. The Sky Guardian Hawker Sea Fury is most definitely their most successful product to date and when you can get these beautiful models in stock, they sell out almost immediately. Indeed WTW72-025-00B, their latest Sea Fury offering, is the very machine that suffered the incident at RNAS Culdrose recently. VX281 (G-RNHF) had only been back on the display circuit for a matter of weeks and enthusiasts were just getting used to the sight and sound of the stunning Sea Fury at Airshows once more, when the news of this unfortunate incident was reported. Obviously, the few models that we do have in stock at the moment instantly came under attack, as collectors wanted to make sure that they had an example of this aircraft in their collections before it went the way of all previous releases. At the current time, we probably have only twelve examples available for sale and once these have gone, that will be it for yet another Sea Fury release – if you have yet to add this fantastic model to your collection, then this RNHF Sea Fury T.20S link is the one you need to click on. Whilst in the Sky Guardian section, you will also be able to view the last few Sea Fury models that we have available in other liveries, but these models really are in short supply and we cannot guarantee that we will have enough models to go around – time really is of the essence with these last few models. Many of you will be aware that there are some rather distressing rumours doing the rounds regarding the future of the Sky Guardians range of models and although there always tends to be an element of truth when these things happen, we are still to receive any official line from the manufacturer, so until we do, lets just hold on. Whatever comes out in the wash, the Sea Fury is very much an endangered piece of classic die-cast and now is the time to grab your example.
A well earned break for your Flying Tigers
We have reached that time of year again when we will be closing the hangar doors for a short while, as we take a few days holiday and try to re-charge our metaphorical batteries. Unfortunately, one of the downfalls of running a small family business is that you tend to work horrendous hours and have very little time off – the only time that you can take a holiday is at the same time as your staff are away and this unfortunately results in you having the close the business for a short time. We only ever do this for one week, but that week has arrived and we will not be open during the coming week. As usual, our website will still be open for business during this period, but we will not be posting out any parcels until we return on Tuesday 26th August (following the Bank Holiday). Also, for the next week, we will not be in a position to return phone call messages, or respond to your e-mails, but normal service will be resumed from Tuesday 26th August, when we will have a full team on duty. Our website home page will display the same message and we sincerely hope that this does not cause any of you any inconvenience – hopefully you will all understand and allow us a weeks grace. Importantly, we will NOT be posting a Newsletter next weekend, but will have a new edition for you on Friday 29th August.
Latest Offer of the Week
Since we introduced our OFFER OF THE WEEK section to the Flying Tigers website, it has become one of the most visited areas of our site and many hundreds of models have already found their way into your collections. The beauty of this section is that it just features great savings on the die-cast aviation models we all love to collect. Many of our collectors ask if these are damaged, or slightly second hand models and I have to confirm that they are absolutely mint and totally new examples that are just being made available at great prices. In essence, you are getting premium models at great prices and it is a case of ‘Our loss is definitely your gain’.
Even though we are heading off for a weeks holiday, we could not leave you without a little treat and this time we have decided to go back to WWII aviation and the beautiful Hobbymaster 1/72nd scale Douglas Boston. More usually associated with modern jets in this scale, Hobbymaster do have a number of WWII toolings to their name, with a number of them being unique to the hobby – one of these is their handsome Douglas Boston / Havoc. This important US built medium bomber was incredibly important to the Allied war effort and served in large numbers in every theatre of the war, gaining a reputation for reliability and toughness. The model that we are offering this week is HA4202, which is a Douglas Boston Mk.IV (BZ507/Y) flying in the colours of the Royal Air Force. Operated by No.18 Squadron in North Africa, this aircraft completed over 100 missions, which is an indication of both the effectiveness and survivability of the Boston design. An important aircraft in Bomber Command history, this beautiful model was originally priced at £60.00, but the few models we still have available are being offered at £34.99 each – I must stress that this only applies to our existing stock only and we must allocate them on a ‘first to order basis’ – good luck folks.
Well that’s it for this week and its off for a few days well earned rest. I will see you all back here for our next Newsletter on 29th August.
