FLYING LEGENDS 2006

Duxford 8th/9th July 2006

It's often described as one of the biggest warbird shows on earth, and this years Flying Legends airshow certainly did not fail to dissapoint!

The show started with the usual Spitfire stampede with a mix of Merlin and Griffon engined marks performing a series of low level beat ups and tail chases.

Three Corsairs graced this years event, two from France and the other belonging to TFC, and these were flown to great effect. Staying on a Naval theme, it was real delight to see Tim Manna's Seafire XVII at Flying Legends this year, a real gem and a very rare aircraft indeed displayed beautifully by the RNHF's John Beatie.

Another treat for FL2006 was the sight of two PBY Catalina's flying together. Plane Sailing's own aircraft was joined by the Stichting Catalina PH-PBY visiting Flying Legends from The Netherlands, while the Seafire performed a spritely solo routine in between passes. Other foreign visitors included the Lufthansa Ju-52 and Me108 Taifun, and the beautiful Dakota Norway DC-3.

This years show saw the participation of the Aerostars formation team with their Yakovlev aircraft. This was an interesting departure from the Flying Legends norm, and although undoubtedly a great team, many thought that they just didn't fit with the ethos Flying Legends, a point in which we have to agree.

In from the Real Aeroplane Company at Breighton was the Hawker Hurricane, and their recently restored Buchon which was displaying at Duxford for the first time in many years.

On a sad note FL2006 saw the last UK airshow performances by two much loved warbirds, the F-7F Tigercat and the P-47D Thunderbolt. Both of these aircraft are off to the USA to new owners along with others form TFC's inventory. It's a sad thought that it will probably be many years before we see a Thunderbolt in UK skies once more.

All in all it was a superbly executed show of the standard we have now come to expect from Flying Legends.

Click the images below for a larger image.

Thanks as always to the marketing team at Duxford for their assistance.

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