With this year’s Duxford Summer Air Show commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day and a return UK visit by a fleet of Dakotas from the USA based D-Day squadron, this June you can expect to see many aeroplanes painted in D-Day markings in the skies over the airfield. Given this sight you would be forgiven for thinking this Douglas built aircraft was designed from the outset... more >

By Keith Bradshaw, 31 May 2024

What, I can hear you ask, is the connection between me and the RAF’s premier aerobatic team? The answer is this year we are both celebrating a major anniversary, their 60th and my 70th. Being that bit older than them I can remember when they were just a gleam in the RAF’s eye and I saw them starting life as the Yellow Jacks flying Gnat trainers at Farnborough in 1964. When... more >

By Keith Bradshaw, 9 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

Now that Winter is upon us we have closed all of the outside aircraft to help in their conservation. They will reopen next Easter, However you can still visit our aircraft in the main AirSpace hangar Concorde is open every day from 10:30 to 3:00 Our Museum on the Handley Page Hermes under Concorde is also open every day for the same times so don't forget to visit this and... more >

By Bob Wright, 21 November 2023

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

We are pleased to announce our aircraft opening dates for October. As we are a volunteer organisation these dates are subject to change. ALL aircraft are open on Flying Day Finale on the 14th October. In Airspace: October Concorde Every Day HP Hermes (Museum) Every Day Avro... more >

By John Wells, 6 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

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

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

Unique, collectible, Concorde watch from STROND After the successful release of the STROND DC3 we are proud to announce our collaboration with the owners of one of the most iconic aircraft in the world, namely Concorde 101 G-AXDN This is not just any old Concorde, rather Concorde 101. Holder of the world speed record for an airliner of 1,450 mph  Concorde 101 also holds... more >

By Bob Wright, 9 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 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

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