We are pleased to announce our aircraft opening dates for April. As we are a volunteer organisation these dates are subject to change. In Airspace: April Concorde Every Day HP Hermes (Museum) Every Day Avro York Every Day DH... more >
By Bob Wright, 5 April 2024
Our restoration team are embarking on a project to revamp the interior of our historic Comet 4 back to how it looked in its BOAC days when it flew the first ever scheduled jet service across the Atlantic from New York to London in 1958. Research has shown the forward cabin was allotted 24 first class recliner seats which featured a pop-up foot rest and greater seat recline to form... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 4 April 2024
On 12 February 1974 de Havilland Comet G-APDB took off for the last time. Leaving the Dan-Air engineering base at Lasham in Hampshire she transited north towards her birthplace in Hatfield. On arrival she descended to complete a low pass along the runway from which she had made her first flight 15 years earlier, pulling up at the end of the pass as the flight crew settled on the heading... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 14 February 2024
With Christmas on the way those of us of a certain age will remember as kids asking our parents for a present of a Keil Kraft balsa wood plane model. While making it our mind’s would wander to real aeroplanes that were made of wood maybe even the huge, in our child’s eyes, de Havilland Mosquito. But I’m sure nobody ever thought of the grandaddy of all wooden planes... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 20 November 2023
Whilst thanking George Formby for the title of this piece, I’m sure unlike DAS volunteers he had never cleaned and polished around 90 VC10 cabin windows! This onerous task had fallen mainly to the Tuesday team and it was one of their members Dave Coates who was bemused about why all the windows had vertical stripes in the Perspex. After some head scratching it was thought... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 30 October 2023
No, not the Norse chaps with cow horns on their hats but the stubby little 1940s airliner from Vickers. First flying in June 1945, when production ended 163 of these 21-36 seat aeroplanes would have graced our skies. They were operated all around the world with 35 UK airlines alone having had one on their books. BEA would over time operate a total of 80 examples. As the Second... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 24 September 2023
95 years ago in 1928, a young RAF cadet at the RAF College Cranwell submitted a paper to his tutors showing the design of a usable jet engine. That cadet was Frank Whittle. The principle of the jet engine wasn’t new, the first principles of a gas turbine being described back in 1884 by Charles Parsons in a patent application for a steam turbine, but making one that might... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 26 August 2023
Our Super VC10 has been at Duxford for all to see since 1980 but when we did an audit of the fleet as part of our preparation for Accreditation , we couldn’t find any documentary evidence that we actually own it. Unfortunately, when we contacted our friends at British Airways they couldn’t either! So perhaps it’s just as well that the idea going the rounds a few years... more >
By Bob Wright, 16 August 2023
16 July 1948 dawned damp and gloomy as test pilots Mutt Summers (who flew the prototype Spitfire) and Jock Bryce (who would go on to fly the prototype VC10) forsook their normal office in the Vickers flight test building at Weybridge for a day at the company airfield a few miles away at Wisley on the London to Portsmouth road. Earlier, a revolutionary aeroplane had been dismantled at... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 5 June 2023
Britannia aircraft played a large part in the development of the smaller British airlines after BOAC disposed of its large fleet of the Bristol turbo prop, with many finding their way to the charter companies. One of these was Eagle Airways (later to become Cunard Eagle and then British Eagle). This is an account of their time with the Britannia. The first of 23 Britannias... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 10 January 2023
Welcome to the latest roundup of engineering news and more from around the British Airliner Collection. VC10 Quite a bit of VC10 news in this edition of MM, firstly another couple of VC10 facts from custodian Colin Tilley. Why mount the engines at the rear? There were many advantages to this arrangement as follows: 1. Elimination of jet noise to the passengers and possible... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 5 December 2022
With its fat, stubby fuselage, two long tail booms and shrieking Dart engines the Armstrong Whitworth Argosy quickly earned its nickname the ’The whistling wheelbarrow‘. For over thirty years this unique aeroplane graced the world skies, here is the Argosy’s story. Back in the mid 1950s the RAF issued a requirement for a new aircraft to replace its Vickers Viking-... more >
By Bob Wright, 15 November 2022
Your latest update on the work of the DAS volunteers here at Duxford, includes stories from around the British Airliner Collection. Viscount Nothing new to report since the interior was finished. Just a quick picture of the finished seats along with their new antimacassars. VC10 Work continues on repairing or replacing corroded areas on the bottom of the wings and fuselage.... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 21 October 2022
Brazil is one of the most popular locations for supporters of our Facebook page, so to all those Brazilians who follow us Ola! and welcome to this story about the world’s third largest aircraft manufacturer, Brazilian company Embraer. In 1969 the Brazilian government founded Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica (Embraer) as a state run aircraft manufacturer. The company went... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 7 October 2022
Queen Elizabeth II 1926-2022 Duxford Aviation Society is deeply saddened to hear of the death of Her Majesty The Queen and would like to express condolences to all her family. As a mark of respect, it has been decided by the Trustees and Executive Board of IWM to close IWM Duxford on the day of HM The Queen's state funeral, which will be announced by the Royal Family... more >
By Bob Wright, 9 September 2022
Welcome to this month’s update about the activities of the DAS volunteers at Duxford. We have stories covering the Trislander,Viscount, VC10, BAe146 and more. Viscount: This month the BIG Viscount news is… all the seats are now back in! A final push by John, Ian and Rob saw the last four chair units refitted. They also found time to realign the central... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 9 September 2022
All who read these articles must have a love of aeroplanes and flying but I’m sure its right to say very little thought is ever given to that other essential piece of infrastructure for flying, the airport or aerodrome. This article takes a look at the premier British airport Heathrow, previously known as London Airport or as far back as 1930, Harmondsworth Aerodrome when it was... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 26 August 2022
***** Act soon to get a pre sale discount on this fantastic watch ***** An exciting new watch has just been released by our partner STROND. Please click on the link below to see details of this beautiful timepiece which incorporates a part of our iconic Concorde 101 G-AXDN. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/astburyandkent/world-famous-concorde-inspired-101-automatic-watch Celebrate... more >
By Bob Wright, 20 August 2022
Welcome to the latest update of engineering work and stories covering the British Airliner Collection fleet. VC10: As you know from previous Mutterings we are attempting to replace/repolish the passenger windows on the VC10. The Tuesday team were given the task of a conducting a trial attempt to polish the severely opaque windows. After a morning of gentle sanding... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 10 August 2022
Including ZE701, the RAF over time operated a total of seven BAe146 aircraft with the first arriving in June 1983 and the last being retired in March 2022, this is the story of those 39 years of 146 operations.. We know how BAe 146 CC Mk.2 Statesman ZE701’s flying story ended, with a final flight from Northolt into Duxford to join the British Airliner Collection on 24th... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 28 July 2022
Welcome to this month’s review of the engineering work carried out by the Duxford Aviation Society volunteers on the British Airliner Collection’s aeroplanes over the last four weeks. BAe146: With the work to swap over the engines etc finally finished by Pionair’s contractors, ZE701 was at last ours to play with! The first job was to bring her back down... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 9 July 2022
This year being the Platinum anniversary of HM Queen Elizabeth 2’s reign, it would seem a good time for a look at the British civil aviation industry that shared those 70 years with her. In 1952 having left London for a tour of Kenya as Princess Elizabeth, the young heir to the throne would quickly return home following the death of her father, but now as HM... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 22 June 2022
Welcome to this month’s roundup of the engineering work going on here at the Duxford Aviation Society caring for of the planes of the British Airliner Collection. CONCORDE When Concorde was last repainted over 20 years ago before going into the AirSpace hangar, she was left without any of the smaller decals/stencils that had adorned her fuselage and wings. This was because... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 13 June 2022
Wishing to enter the long-haul market with something bigger than the A310 Airbus designed a new four-engine long haul airliner called the A340. Developed alongside the twin-engine A330 the A340 first flew on 25 October 1991. Production ran for 20 years before the last of the 380 produced would leave the production line. A stretched version the A340-600 was also offered in 2001.... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 28 May 2022
Welcome to this month’s update on the engineering goings-on here at the British Airliner Collection. Most of this month’s news is a continuation of previous projects but we will start with something a little different, bird’s nests. Aeroplanes have a great number of inviting places for birds to build their nests and we go to great lengths to prevent them from... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 7 May 2022
Once thought of as the new kid on the block it’s hard to believe the Airbus company will be 52 years old this December. No longer just building airliners, it also markets the military freighter the A400M Atlas and its helicopter arm Airbus Helicopters is the world’s largest helicopter company in terms of revenue and turbine helicopters delivered. This kid is now a fully... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 4 May 2022
Just a short update on the engineering goings on here at the British Airliner Collection. The Herald has, after 37 years with us, departed to its new home in Scotland. The final weeks of its stay here saw mainly contractors working on dismantling her but when it came to loading her up on the two low loaders from Welch’s transport there was a small DAS involvement. Peter Archer,... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 10 April 2022
Mention the de Havilland Comet to people and many will immediately think of Dan-Air, mention Dan-Air to people and many will immediately think of the de Havilland Comet ! The two were inextricably linked for fourteen years over which time Dan-Air owned 49 examples of the 114 built, at one time the entire world supply of airworthy civil Comets was owned by Dan-Air. So please enjoy... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 18 March 2022
On 7th July 1985 Handley Page Herald G-APWJ was flown into Duxford by Air UK for donation to the Duxford Aviation Society to be preserved as part of their iconic British Airliner Collection. PWJ was the last Air UK Herald to operate scheduled passenger services with the airline. Thirty seven years later she left Duxford for a new home in Scotland with the Morayvia Air Museum at... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 17 March 2022
A look at the recent activities by the volunteers at the Duxford Aviation Society and their efforts to keep the airliners of the British Airliner Collection in tip top shape. Today we can report on progress with the Herald, Hermes, Viscount and our annual aircraft cleaning project. Herald Since our last report the contractors have removed the outer wings, tailplane,... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 13 March 2022
the recent acquisition by the Duxford Aviation Society of an ex-32 (The Royal) Squadron BAe 146 CC2 Statesman, let’s take a look at the history of the Royal family in flight. It wasn’t until 1936 when the Prince of Wales became King Edward Vlll that a serving British monarch took to the air. Before he became King, the Prince of Wales had a healthy interest in air travel... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 24 February 2022
Welcome to the second edition of our series looking at the work of the Duxford Aviation Society volunteers. First a quick look back at a couple of the major achievements from 2021 made all the more astounding due to regular Covid lock downs and social distancing. We had for some time wanted to repaint the Ambassador and when the IWM at short notice kindly offered us a week in the... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 2 February 2022
British Aerospace 146 ZE701 from the RAF’s Number 32 Squadron (the Royal Squadron) is flying in to IWM Duxford on 24 January to retire and join the British Airliner Collection The most successful British jet airliner, the BAe146 is an important addition to the world’s premier collection of post-Second World War British civil airliners at IWM Duxford which attracts thousands... more >
By Bob Wright, 23 January 2022
Loganair was formed by Willie Logan on 1st February 1962 with a single Piper PA-23 Aztec as the air charter arm to his construction company. He had for many years used aircraft to visit various building sites for his company Duncan Logan (Contractors) ltd. Their biggest development being the Tay road bridge. When the air taxi company he regularly used went broke he bought... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 14 January 2022
Those of you who have read our website pages for several years may remember a regular series called ‘Ramp Ramblings’. This series came to an end four years ago due to the author moving to the other side of the country and not being able to bring you regular updates on the goings-on at DAS. There has now been a request to try and bring back some sort of occasional update... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 14 January 2022
I find it very hard to believe that in February 2022 the Boeing 757, an aircraft I saw into airline service with UK launch customer British Airways, will be 40 years old. First flying on 19th February 1982 the new airliner was initially ordered by Eastern Airlines and British Airways. Eastern were the first by a month to put the new Boeing into operation when they operated their... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 14 December 2021
Ever since Orville Wright flew sitting in front of a 12 HP engine back in December 1903, aircraft have been powered by polluting internal combustion engines. Following on from COP 26 at Glasgow we take a look at how aviation is intending to reduce its carbon footprint in the coming years. The United Nations has stated that aviation results in 2.4 per cent of the world’s CO2... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 28 November 2021
In the 1960s three new tri-jet medium-range aircraft arrived on the airliner scene. First to fly in 1962 was the British de Havilland Trident which would see 117 examples built. Next up was the much more successful American Boeing 727 with the first of 1,832 examples first flying in 1963. The last of the trio was from the Soviet’s Andrei Tupolev design bureau, the Tupolev Tu-154... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 26 October 2021
The term ‘Little friends’ was first coined by the USAAF 8th air force bomber crews during the Second world war. This came about when they were met by the Mustang and Thunderbolt fighters to escort them on their raids over Europe, supporting the success of the mission. This support from ‘Little friends’ can also be applied to Concorde. The project was so revolutionary,... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 28 September 2021
From 104 feet to 152 feet, back to 124 feet and all points in between, the Douglas DC-9 and its derivatives the McDonnell -Douglas MD-80/90 series and Boeing 717 was a very flexible design, even allegedly lending itself for use by the Chinese in developing their Comac ARJ21 airliner. With its long range DC-8 airliner in production Douglas took a look at the short to medium haul... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 26 August 2021
Following the IWM’s recommendation that visitors wear masks indoors where possible, especially in crowded areas and enclosed spaces. Duxford Aviation Society (DAS) has decided that visitors boarding any DAS airliner must wear face coverings unless exempt. more >
By Steve Jeal, 3 August 2021
Before the Second World War if you wanted to fly on a scheduled flight across the Pacific or Atlantic Oceans it would have been on a flying boat, after the war all that changed. With the availability of many new airfields with hard runways designed for long range bombers the way was now clear for land planes to replace the existing flying boat services. With all of Europe having spent... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 27 July 2021
Up until the early 1970s if you wanted to send a parcel you would have taken it to the Post Office who would send it by van to a local sorting office and then another van, train or maybe by plane to the destination sorting office, from there into the postman’s bag and eventually to its destination. Here in the UK this worked fine if a little slowly, it was indeed possible for... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 27 June 2021
Those of you who follow our Facebook page may well remember a recent run of posts covering three-engine jets such as the Trident, DC-10, Tristar and Boeing 727. This engine arrangement was nothing new as we shall see in this article about some early piston engine tri-motor aircraft. The first tri-motor plane built would appear to be the Batson Air Yacht. Designed to cross the... more >
By Bob Wright, 25 May 2021
Ask any 1950s schoolboy, or anyone interested in aviation history or travel what the first jet airliner was and they will correctly tell you the de Havilland Comet. Ask them what the second one to fly was and you would no doubt get varied answers such as the Boeing 707, Douglas DC-8, the Sud Aviation Caravelle or maybe a long shot the Convair Cv-880. Almost nobody would correctly say... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 29 April 2021
From its entry into airline service with Lufthansa in February 1968 to the present day, you could visit any airport around the world and very likely see an example of Boeing’s best selling jet. With nearly 11,000 built, 400 waiting to be delivered and orders for many more this aeroplane is an icon of the airliner world. This baby Boeing is of course the Boeing 737 series. Back... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 26 March 2021
With the rise of many small independent airlines in the 1950s and 60s, there was a demand for companies to carry out major engineering work and checks for those airlines who did not have a dedicated engineering department but only a few qualified guys to cover their day to day work. Companies such as Fields, Marshalls, Airwork and the subject of this article Aviation Traders Engineering... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 26 February 2021
For over 50 years the travelling public have been used to flying on giant airliners. Sadly this experience is slowly coming to an end with manufacturers Boeing and Airbus both ending production of their Jumbo -sized jets. The Boeing 747 first took to the skies in 1969 entering service a year later. Nearly 1600 of these ground-breaking jumbos will have been produced when the last... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 27 January 2021
Back in the 1950s many manufacturers were looking hungrily at the DC-3 replacement market. So many examples of the Douglas design were in operation around the world it was generally thought there would be huge profits to be made in providing their replacement. As it happened, many of these old Douglas planes just flew on and on. Here in the UK Handley Page... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 30 November 2020
For many years the Daily Mail had been the leading newspaper when it came to offering prizes for imaginative air races. This started in 1909 with a prize of £1,000 (£52,000 in today’s money) for the first person to cross the English Channel in an aeroplane, it was won by Louis Bleriot. Fifty years later in 1959, the paper sponsored another air race to commemorate... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 30 November 2020
Back in the 1960s there were many large airlines in the United States; TWA, Eastern, Braniff, Northwest Orient and Western to name just a few. But the one that stood out on the international air routes was Pan American World Airlines or as it was better known Pan Am. Sadly, after failures and takeovers, only three major legacy airlines are left in the USA; American, Delta and United.... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 6 November 2020
The south of England used to be known for aircraft manufacturing. Just think Brooklands/ Vickers, Kingston/Hawker, Hatfield/de Havilland, Radlett/Handley Page, Luton/Percival, Reading/Miles, Shoreham/Beagle, Christchurch/ Airspeed, Brockworth /Gloster, Yeovil/Westland and the subject of this story, Filton/Bristol. All bar Westland are no longer with us. All the factories and in most... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 28 September 2020
The sleeping princesses As a young boy, when we went on our ‘foreign’ holidays across the sea to the Isle of Wight, I always noticed the huge mummies on the dockside. My dad, who knew about these things, told me they were cocooned Princesses. For years I thought they were something from the Egyptian pyramids until he explained they were actually flying boats.... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 28 September 2020
Troop carrier, freight mover, airliner and flying office, Roy Chadwick’s ingenious adaptation of the Lancaster bomber proved itself in war and peace. G-ANTK, now based at IWM Duxford, served in the Berlin Airlift and carried the 100,000th ton of supplies into Berlin. © British Airliner Collection Archive 2020 Produced with the help of Lottery Funding. Our thanks to British... more >
By Steve Jeal, 23 September 2020
Britten Norman BN2 - a British success story At 6:45 am on 11 September 1970 the prototype BN Trislander made its first flight. To commemorate this event we reflect on the history of the company that built it and the story behind how and why the aircraft was developed. Let’s begin the Britten-Norman story with a short quiz Which British commercial aircraft has had the... more >
By Bob Wright, 28 August 2020
Two Caledonians and a BCal With all three airlines affectionately known in the trade as Callys, Caledonian Airways had two lives as Caledonian and one as the parent company of British Caledonian, although it must be said the last Caledonian was a completely different animal to its predecessors, sharing just the name. Here is a brief history of these three airlines. The original... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 28 August 2020
The world’s first passenger jet, complete with that characteristic jet whistle, triumphed over the tragic crashes of the 1950s to become the first non-stop, jet airliner across the Atlantic in 1958. Comet 4 G-APDB, now based at IWM Duxford, made the historic Eastbound record-breaking flight on 4 October 1958. Click below to view the video. more >
By Steve Jeal, 21 August 2020
Duxford Aviation Society’s workshop team got to work on York MW 232/G-ANTK in 1986. 20 years later this Berlin Airlift veteran went on display at IWM Duxford. This video is a tribute to the dedication of a skilled team. The aircraft is currently showing a reconstruction of a part-loaded Airlift consignment. more >
By Steve Jeal, 18 August 2020
Clear?…Contact ! These very words were most likely heard on the beach at Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on 17 December 1903, when Wilbur started the engine for his brother Orville piloting their Wright Flyer prior to making man’s first powered flight in an aeroplane. Starting an aero engine has come on a bit since then but the principle remains the... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 26 July 2020
We are lucky here in the UK in that despite some large forest and heath fires now and again we do not see the size of problems encountered every year by many other countries such as the US, Canada, Australia and parts of Europe. Our only view of Fire Bombers or Air Tankers as some countries call them is through the media. It may surprise you to know that two types of UK aeroplanes... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 26 July 2020
Variously known as the Avro 748, Hawker Siddeley 748, Hindustan 748, BAe 748 or just Hawkers she was always lovingly known to all as ‘the Budgie’. Designed as a DC-3 replacement, 381 of these versatile aeroplanes had been built in the UK and India when production finally stopped at the end of 1988. Designed back in the late 1950s by A V Roe at Woodford... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 26 June 2020
Ask any man in the street to name a famous UK aircraft manufacturer and you will hear Vickers, de Havilland, Avro or Handley Page mentioned. You would be very unlikely to hear the name Shorts. However, this company was making balloons in 1897, became Short Brothers in 1908 and continued in the aviation business achieving many firsts until bought by Bombardier in 1989. In 1897... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 26 June 2020
707…the start of a dynasty The de Havilland Comet was the world’s first jet airliner. The de Havilland Comet 4 was also the world’s first jet airliner to carry fare-paying passengers across the Atlantic. But the de Havilland Comet was not the world’s first jet airliner to become a commercial success. That was the ... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 18 May 2020
Let’s go...to Jersey! From the 1950s to the 1980s the British public who had the wherewithal to fly had two destinations at the top of their list. One was the Dutch bulb fields, with a stream of charter flights operating each year out of Southend airport and the other was the Channel Island of Jersey. With that heady mix of English/French culture this was going abroad... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 18 May 2020
Caring for a Grand old lady Keith Bradshaw tells the story of how the Duxford Aviation Society are maintaining Vickers V701 Viscount G-ALWF, the world’s oldest Viscount and most likely the world’s oldest turboprop in existence today. It was a summer’s day in 1948 when Vickers’ test pilots Mutt Summers and Jock Bryce pulled back on the stick of the first... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 23 April 2020
On visiting our Trident many people comment on the moving map display asking if it’s a kind of Sat Nav. The system on the Trident was designed long before GPS was available and indeed was one of the first stand alone navigation systems not requiring any ground stations or satellites to operate. This is how it all works. Maurice Gatsonides. There’s a name you... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 23 April 2020
200 over and out Regular readers among you will remember a series of articles about my quest to fly in as many different types of plane as possible. This started in 1962 as an eight year old having his first ever flight, in an Auster from North Denes near Great Yarmouth. For one reason or another the final article wasn’t published so here it is with the run up to number... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 31 March 2020
Mention the aircraft company Douglas and most people think of the DC-3. There was however much more to Douglas with many military fighters, bombers and transports coming out of their Californian factories. But our story will just cover the ‘DC’ or Douglas Commercial series from the DC-1 to the DC-10. Founded by Donald W Douglas in 1921, the Douglas Aircraft Company... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 31 March 2020
The last Aero Spacelines Super Guppy SGT, originally built for Airbus, is now the sole flying example of this remarkable breed. Flown by NASA. Seen here at the Wings over Houston air show in 2011 it is still in service today. Photo Keith Bradshaw Back in the early 1960s John Conroy set up a company called Aero Spacelines to exploit a gap in the aviation market for an outsize... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 4 February 2020
With the recent Rolls- Royce announcement that they are acquiring an ex Qantas Boeing 747 for use as a flying engine testbed, Keith Bradshaw takes a look back at some of the other aircraft used for engine testing in the past. Although not that commonplace these days due to most “new” engines being developments of older well tried examples, testing a new engine on... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 20 December 2019
With another year drawing to a close let us take the traditional look back at what’s been happening here at Duxford over the past 12 months. 2019 saw a large number of anniversaries affecting our collection and aviation in general. The big ones were the first flights 50 years ago of Concorde and the Boeing 747. Our BAC 1-11 also saw air under its wings for the first time in... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 6 December 2019
DAS & DAN Keith Bradshaw takes a look back at the much missed independent airline DAN-AIR and its contribution to the British Airliner Collection. One of the major contributors to the world famous British Airliner Collection was Dan-Air. Unusually for an airline they regarded their history with respect and as historic airliners were retired, instead of going to the... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 18 November 2019
After 70 years the organisers of the Farnborough air show have decreed that from next year there will no longer be a public flying display at the weekend. The event will finish on the Friday trade day to which the public will be admitted. Keith Bradshaw takes a nostalgic look back at an event that was once regarded as the best air show in the world. Since 1948 early... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 16 September 2019
Comet….grandaddy of the jetliners! Date….27 July 1949, Place….Hatfield England, Crew… John ‘Cats Eyes’ Cunningham, Harold ‘Tubby’ Waters, John Wilson, Frank Reynolds and Tony Fairbrother. Event… Maiden flight of the world’s first jet powered airliner, the de Havilland DH106 Comet 1. This is the story by... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 11 July 2019
In a year full of anniversaries, Keith Bradshaw highlights the 60th anniversary of the delivery of our Brit to BOAC And rule the Atlantic she did. The Britannia and its CL44 derivative were the only turbo prop aircraft to operate regular passenger flights across the North Atlantic between 1957 and 1964. Only the Britannia made the journey non-stop. The Icelandic airline Loftleidir... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 11 July 2019
Hermes! What does this word mean to you? The Greek god of transport? A Mail order delivery company? A French manufacturer of up-market scarves? Or one of Britain’s first pressurised post war airliners? Well you can guess which one gets the Duxford Aviation Society vote. We have many iconic airliners in the British Airliner Collection but one of the rarest is the world’s... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 11 July 2019
All photos by the author unless noted In 1934 the de Havilland Aircraft Company launched the DH89 Dragon Rapide, based on their previous twin-engine light transport design, the DH84 Dragon. The Dragon Rapide and its military variant, the Dominie, were produced until 1946 by which time 737 examples had been built. The Dragon had itself succeeded the single-engine DH83 Fox Moth... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 3 June 2019
For many years if you were in some far-off land trying to get home, nearing the end of a hot and dusty trip to the airport, nothing would lift the spirits more than that first glimpse of an aeroplane tail with its iconic Speedbird emblem. After the inevitable battle through passport, customs and security you would finally climb the steps to be greeted by an immaculately dressed stewardess... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 27 April 2019
2019 is an anniversary year par excellence! We have already celebrated 50 years since our BAC 1-11 first flew back in January, swiftly followed by 50 years of Concorde in March. However, between those two important events in February, the anniversary of 50 years since the first flight of the Boeing 747 Jumbo jet passed by, Unlike the two British planes it is still in limited production. In... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 23 March 2019
2 March 2019 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the first flight of a special aircraft known for its speed and luxury, an aircraft that has become unique as a technological, if not commercial triumph of its era. Nearly 50 years ago, on that Sunday in 1969, I was probably gearing myself up to go to school the next day to face the work culminating in my GCE ‘O’ level attempts... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 14 February 2019
4 October 2018 sees the 60th anniversary of the first commercial jet airliner flights across the Atlantic. Our Comet G-APDB, here at Duxford, was one of two aircraft that took part in that historic crossing. It all began when two push-bike mechanics, Orville and Wilbur Wright, flew the first, powered, heavier-than-air machine at Kill Devil Hills near Kittyhawk Beach North Carolina... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 1 October 2018
Although not one of ours, late last year a new aeroplane appeared on the airliner ramp, a Hawker Hurricane replica. This normally lives atop a pole at the entrance to the public car park here at Duxford. Its owned by the IWM and the weather had taken its toll on the paintwork. Following our Military Vehicle Wing’s success repainting the A34 Comet tank that also sits by the car... more >
By Steve Jeal, 2 August 2018
Many of us will have been to one of Duxford’s superb air shows, but how many have considered what goes on behind the scenes to prepare for such a great day’s enjoyment? Let's take a brief look at DAS involvement in one of these big events. Bear in mind that all this happens three times a year with two-day shows in May, July and September. Several months before... more >
By Keith Bradshaw, 2 August 2018
Fifty-five years ago on 29 May 1963, just a normal day for most people at the Handley Page factory at Radlett in Hertfordshire. As they got on with the job of fulfilling the order book for their new turbo- prop, feeder liner, the Handley Page Dart Herald, the sound of an aeroplane taking off from the company runway outside the factory barely raised an eyebrow. However this was no... more >
By Chrissie Eaves-Walton, 29 May 2018
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