Flying Legends air display 2018

I just got a new motorcycle. Well not new exactly, but it's a year newer than my last one which got pranged last September and written off - see previous posts.... My new machine is also only a third of the mileage of my last one as well as being faster and considerably more powerful. I had to go on a Speed Awareness Course soon after getting my last one (after managing to keep a clean licence for many years) so I'm going to have to be even more careful on this one.... Having had the bike for less than a week I am itching to go out for a decent run on it to try it out properly - and what better than a trip out into the country on some fast roads that I know well. Even better - England are playing in the World Cup the same day so there is less traffic on the roads, and less crowds at Duxford airfield for the Flying Legends Airshow.

I take it fairly easy on the trip up to Duxford as I'm still getting used to my new machine and it has the potential to get me into a lot of trouble very quickly! It's a beautiful summer's day - hardly a cloud in sight and one of the hottest days of the year - perfect to be out on a fast motorcycle. The bike goes like a dream and I arrive without any unwanted drama. No queues to get in on the bike (unlike for cars) straight in the VIP entrance and to the bike park right by one of the hangers - no long walk from a distant car park (unlike for car drivers) and I'm ready to enjoy my day out. Going by bike is by far the best way to go to an air display - apart from flying in of course! But bike would still be quicker overall after having to travel to a local airfield first and do pre-flight checks etc.

I arrive with plenty of time to spare before the flying started for a change. It got going with a scramble by eleven Spitfires - nearly a whole squadron!

I didn't really bother taking any pictures the aircraft while airborne - unless you have a telephoto lens there is no point - zoom on a digicam or phone just doesn't cut it - just a big blue sky with some little dots. I got some half decent pictures of some aircraft after they landed though as I knew the best place to stand where they would pass close by on their way to park up after giving their 'performance'. I didn't get all of them though as some aircraft took a different route back over the grass to park.

Spitfires are always likely to be well represented at this historic airfield as not only did they fly from here during the Battle of Britain but the first ever squadron to be equipped with Spitfires was 19 Squadron at Duxford in 1938. There were actually three rare Mk1 Spitfires flying today to represent those early days of the Spitfire in service around 1939-1940 but none of them came close enough for me to get a decent picture. The earliest ones I got any close up pictures of were  MkVs - see above and below.

Mk IX

Mk IX (2 seat conversion)

Mk IX (2 seat conversion)

Mk IX (2 seat conversion)

PRXI

Mk XIV

More Spitfires than you can shake a (joy)stick at. And that's not even all of them!

Hurricanes were well represented too.

I remember a time when you were lucky if you got to see just one Hurricane flying at an air display - but today we see four flying together!

The Germans were also well represented.

There were four 'Messerschmitt Bf 109s' flying - actually post-war Spanish built Hispano HA-1112 Buchons. This is a licence built version of the Bf 109 with a British Rolls Royce Merlin engine - ironically the same as fitted to the Spitfire and Hurricane. These are aircraft that featured in the 'Battle of Britain' film made in the late 1960's.

Needless to say - the Yanks got a look-in too!

P-40, P-47 & B-25

P-51 x2, Hawk 75, P-40 x2 & P-47 Thunderbolt

Mustangs have been a common sight at UK air shows for many years - today we get four of them - three shown here.

One of the Mustangs along with a Spitfire also took part in 'The Heritage Flight'. This involved it flying in formation with a modern F-35A 'Lightning 2'. stealth fighter. This was the only appearance by a jet at this air show.. I was interested to see this as it was the first time I'd seen a real F-35. To be honest I got the impression this was more of a PR exercise than a meaningful 'tribute'. Although I was glad to see an F-35 fly at close quarters, I can't say I was very impressed by it's performance - I have seen far more impressive performances of power and manoeuvrability from an RAF English Electric Lightning over 30 years ago. To be fair, this stealth aircraft can't show it's real potential at an air display as most of it's attributes can't be seen and it's whole concept relies on being able to detect and shoot down other fighter aircraft at extreme range before it has been detected itself. If it fails in this then it is in deep trouble as if can't cut it as a close range dogfighter and is easily outperformed in this role even by 1970's designs like the F-16.

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress 'Sally B' has been a Duxford resident for many years.

Naval aviation is strongly represented.

Grumman Wildcat

Goodyear built Corsair

Chance Vought Corsair

Chance Vought Corsair

Hawker Sea Fury .T20

Hawker Sea Fury Mk.II

Grumman Bearcat

It wasn't all purely military aircraft - this DC-3 in formation with 3 Beech 18 was a very unusual sight.

This DC-3 flew in from Norway.

I'm not normally that interested in civil aircraft, but I really enjoyed the contribution made by the Flying Bulls team. The P-38 Lightning was a particular favourite of mine and looked absolutely stunning in it's polished aluminium finish - it looked amazing in the air too!

Like the P-38 this Flying Bulls B-25 wasn't strictly a 'civil' aircraft either but...

An unexpected highlight of today's show for me was actually a display by an airliner! The Flying Bulls DC-6 put in a very spirited display indeed - tight turns and vertical banks like a fighter!

Like most the other aircraft in the Flying Bulls team this looked amazing in it's polished aluminium finish!

As usual Flying Legends was a terrific day out with a great variety of classic vintage aircraft.

The weather could hardly have been better. As usual I hang around for a while after the show has finished to soak up the atmosphere after the crowds leave... And also so I can just jump on the bike and ride straight out without dealing with any traffic queues.

For a full list and more details of all the aircraft involved including some I saw but didn't get pictures of like the Bristol Blenheim, P-47 Thunderbolt, P-40 Warhawk and F-35 (the only jet and the only modern aircraft) click this link to the official website.

Same time next year then?

East Barnet Festival 2018

Always a highlight of my summer the East Barnet Festival is great day out - weather permitting! This year it was hot and sunny - it could hardly have been better! This free local festival is probably one of the best in London and always has a friendly and enjoyable atmosphere. It's an excellent day out for all the family with a wide variety of different things going on. There is a funfair, many food and arts & craft stalls, and a car show. There was supposed to be a dog show too, but it was cancelled due to the extremely hot and sunny weather. Did I mention there is also a beer tent? The prices for a pint (including real ale) are much more reasonable than at other festivals - we are talking North London pub prices here. It's a breath of fresh air to be able to have a few pints at a festival without feeling you are being ripped off. And of course as it's a FREE festival in a park with no gates or fences you are perfectly free to bring your own food and drink - something that many people do as they enjoy a picnic sitting on the hill while watching the bands.

I haven't mentioned the music on Saturday as I was in one of the bands playing and I was a bit busy. It's the fourth time we've played there. It was hot and sweaty work but good fun! I enjoyed having more of a rest on the Sunday, and the weather was still lovely. And I had time for more visits to the beer tent....

Unfortunately I didn't make it down to the park in time to see the first few acts, but I did get there just in time to see Horizon make their East Barnet Festival debut. This band from Potters Bar usually have more of a hard rock edge than most cover bands. Although the rock element is very much still there, today's set is tailored for this event with a little more family friendly MOR pop than usual. It was still an enjoyable rockin' set overall.

Next up were well known local rockers The Haunting AD. This is their first time back at the festival for many years - although a certain bass player has appeared several times at this festival in recent years with another band. ;-) This act used to play more original material, but these days they have moved away a bit from their earlier Goth/folk rock roots, with singer Caroline leaving her acoustic guitar at home to pick up a Telecaster again. The Haunting are the hardest rocking and most dynamic  band of the day

Next are Firebird Seven - although none of the band play a Firebird guitar and there aren't seven people in the band. The band are all excellent musicians (as are all the others I see today) and are always hyped as 'featuring ex-Iron Maiden guitarist' - which no doubt disappoints some metal fans as I don't think this band ever play any Iron Maiden songs! It's pretty standard pub cover band fodder with a mixture of rock and blues.

Things liven up a bit next with long established and well known rock covers act Texas Flyers. This popular local band are regulars at this festival and always deliver the goods musically. They have also made more more of an effort visually than any other band today - although the sharper eyed amongst you might spot a couple of characters who appeared on this stage earlier in the day. ;-)

Texas Flyers turn in a polished and rocking performance as usual - 'Big Steve' is probably the best frontman on the local scene and really know's how to get a crowd going.

Next is another popular local band making their EBF debut. Paparazzi have established themselves in local pubs with a mixture of pop, rock, and middle of the road covers - always well played and well performed by their charismatic singer Andrea.

Paparazzi definitely have by far the broadest appeal of any band on today's bill - never has the cliche 'something for everybody' been more true. Wide family and 'all ages' appeal, and they close their set with the Guns 'N' Roses classic 'Sweet Child O Mine' to keep the rockers in the crowd happy too - and it sounds much better than you'd think!

Sunday's headliners are also popular locally, as well as being yet another band making their debut at this festival. Bad Girls Groove are more of a showband than any of the other acts on the bill and bring quite a different flavour to the day. Very polished performers and usually featuring up to three girl singers each taking a turn to sing lead vocals.

This band are probably the most focussed act of the weekend and concentrate on funk and soul, with a bit of blues thrown into the mix. I prefer the rockier side of things personally, but I have seen this band quite a few times in local pubs and always enjoyed their sets. They are certainly a good choice to end the live music at this year's East Barnet Festival weekend.

And then it's off to the pub!

4/6/2018 Gabriella Jones & Stacie Collins @ The Water Rats

A nice easy gig to get to for me just a few minutes walk from Kings Cross Station. I haven't been to The Water Rats for a while and there has been a change of owners and management since my last visit, plus a complete refurb - and guess what? Yes, a big hike in the bar prices at was once a reasonably priced venue. Still, at least this venue's notoriously piss stinky toilets don't smell as foul as they used to. More tables and chairs have appeared in the back room near the stage - NOT good for when rock acts are performing like tonight. I arrive just in time to see Gabriella Jones.

This singer/songwriter from the Midlands doesn't mess about playing folky acoustic sets like your typical artist of that ilk. No, she goes out slinging a Les Paul guitar and a full rock band! She doesn't mess about. It's not a heavy metal or hard rock band, but this is no lightweight pop act - in spite of some of the "Future pop Queen" hype in her promotional material. There is a definite Led Zeppelin feel to some of her songs - with Planet Rock presenter Wyatt Wendels helping out on drums and apparently channelling his 'inner Bonham' adding fuel to the fire!

There are quieter moments to the set too as Gabriella puts down her guitar, and then you can see where the "Pop Queen" hype comes from - she certainly has the voice to be able to sing 'pop' and well as kicking out the jams on the rock stuff. In between the more poppy and the harder rock material Gabriella also throws in a cover of the Bobby Bland classic 'Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City' - later made famous by Whitesnake. Naturally, the set ends with the radio friendly crowd pleaser 'Take Me To The Party'. But it's not time to go home yet....

Stacie Collins is a new name to me. Country rock apparently, but the logo on her backdrop suggests far more rock than country - which is promising. And that's exactly what we get. She hits the stage in a ball of energy - this chick ain't messin' around! Fast, loud, and brimming with a sassy rock 'n' roll attitude - you can't ignore Stacie Collins! Not a million miles away from the cow/punk of Jason and The Scorchers this is high octane rock 'n' roll with a Country twist.

Stacie Collins is a real livewire as well as a harderned road warrior. She plays a mean blues harmonica too!

One minute she's on the stage, next minute she's singing from a table in the crowd, and a minute later she's at the back of the venue looking you right in the eye and singing right in your face! There is no escape - hiding at the back is no good! However, as the set goes on things slow down and quieten down. Things get a lot more 'Country'. It's Monday night and I've been up since six after only about 3 hours sleep. I'm sure the set will liven up again in due course, but it's starting to drag a bit now for me with several slow songs in a row. One or two I could take, but I have to be up again at six tomorrow morning and this is too much. I sneak out the door and head off home hoping Stacie doesn't spot me leaving and call me out! Fortunately she doesn't.  It was worth coming out on a Monday night, but without the energy level being maintained through close to 100% of the headliner's set my attention isn't being held enough to keep me in the venue any longer. Sorry Stacie - maybe another time....