Shuttleworth 7 July 2019 at Old Warden- a dream come trueBy Willie Bodenstein and Juri KeyterToday I was able to tick two items that for years have been languishing on my bucket list. The first one was a dream that I have had for years and years and that was to visit the Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden in the UK. The other was to see and photograph a Republic P-47D. Imagine how amazing it was to have one of my dreams being opened by the flight of another!  Shuttleworth's events for 2019.  Visitors cars parked close to the runway.  The Control tower at Old Warden when we arrived.   The field before the official start of the show.  The Republic P-47D Thunderbolt "Nellie", a visiting aircraft opened the show. The P-47D is the largest and heaviest single-seater fighter in history and the most numerous produced American fighters ever produced. Old Warden is approximately two hours from Suffolk were Juri now lives. We left at 0700 and were one of the first cars to arrive at this gem in the United Kingdom. We applied for and were granted media accreditation and were directed to our parking spot yards away from the flight line where we were to spend most of the day photographing the acts which all ran like clockwork. There was barely a break between acts, one act following the next seamlessly.     Some of the seven Hawker Hurricanes, two of which are part of the museum's collection.  The Royal Jordanian Airforce Falcons in action. Shuttleworth Collection's Military Airshows celebrates all things military from aircraft to vehicles. The weather was perfect for flying on the Sunday when we were there. The laid-back crowd were treated to a festival of historic aviation that besides the P-47D that opened the show, included no less than seven Hawker Hurricanes as well as the Falcons of the Royal Jordanian Airforce whose display in their Extra 330 LX aircraft was world class.  An Avro Tutor, Blackburn B2 and Tiger Month in formation. All three aircraft are part of the Museum's collection.  A Russian Polikarpov.  The Museums Eon primary glider…..  and Fauvel glider…………..  and Gloster Gladiator. However, the Shuttleworth Collection is world famous for its collection of really old aircraft and on Sunday the visitors were treated to a feast of planes from yesteryear and beyond.  Boeing's B-17, Sally 'B', the only airworthy B-17 flying in Europe today. This 73-year-old warbird flies as a memorial to the 79,000 Allied Airmen who have lost tier lives in Europe during WWII. She flew her first airshow in 1975 and is the flagship of the American Air Museum in Britain.  Britain's Spitfire, arguable the most famous fighter of WWII.  Another WWII legend, the Lysander.  A WWI SE-5A.  A Bristol M1C and A Sopwith Tri-plane.  A Sopwith Camel, one of WWI most famous fighters.  One of two Avro 504's.  Another visitor was the conic WWI Nieuport 17  De Haviland's Chipmunk.  Percival Provost.  A Miles Magister.  A German Focke-Wulf 44J Stieglitz was originally developed in the early 1940's for aerobatics. The first prototype first flew in 1932. A fair number of trainers, some part of the museum's collection and other that were visiting also formed part of the days display.  The Bristol Box Kite.  Blackburn Monoplane.  An Avro triplane. What, however sets the museum's collection apart from most others is its famous 'Edwardian' aircraft. The precious relics are only flown in perfect weather conditions and dates back to almost the beginning of flight. The Shuttleworth collection was all that I excepted and more. My only regret is that I have not visited it earlier. What really impressed me was the fact that when a special aircraft was flying utter silence was observed. In fact if it wasn't for the sound of the aircraft's engine one would have heard a pin dropped. The spectators, if they did talk, did so in whispers. All that could be heard was the glorious sound of hundreds of horse power. Goose flesh stuff! I will definitely again visit. |
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