Duxford Air Festival gets off to a flying start

Crowds await the start of the flying display at the Duxford Air Festival on Saturday (Image: IWM)

The Duxford Air Festival got off to a flying start on a sunny bank holiday Saturday.

The air show today (May 26) featured over four hours of fabulous flying.

Highlights included the Tiger Nine Formation Team of nine 1930s Tiger Moth biplanes and the Aerosuperbatics Wingwalkers, the world’s only aerobatic formation wing-walking team.

Visitors were also wowed by the stunning aerial manoeuvres from the Equipe de Voltige solo Extra 330SC display and the tight-turning aerobatics from the Trig Aerobatic team.

The Dassault Rafale flying at the Duxford Air Festival [Picture: IWM / David Mackey] (Image: IWM)

The B-17 Flying Fortress Sally B, the only flying B-17 in Europe, took to the skies, while aviation enthusiasts at Duxford also saw the The Royal Air Force Chinook display team.

There were flying displays by the Global Stars Team of British aerobatic champions and The Great War Display Team, presenting a First World War flying scenario accompanied by flak, bombing and strafing effects.

The thunderingly powerful French Air Force Dassault Rafale jet fighter was another flying highlight, while Imperial War Museum’s rare Mark I Supermarine Spitfire evoked memories of World War Two.

The Family Flight Challenge offered visitors fun activities across the museum.

The Trig Aerobatic Team. [Picture: Phil Chaplin] (Image: PHIL CHAPLIN)

In the Trailblazers Zone, Channel 4’s Arthur Williams was in conversation with some of the finest adventurers and trailblazers from the world of aviation.

Among the guests were Richard Meredith-Hardy, a British microlight pilot, who was the first person to fly over Mount Everest in a microlight, and Brian Jones, who co-piloted the first successful uninterrupted circumnavigation of the world onboard the balloon Breitling Orbiter 3.

Visitors tried their hand at building a large-scale model of a Boeing B-29 Superfortress aircraft, experienced an interactive 1950s RAF mobile control tower and met members of the Dawn Patrol living history group, portraying aviators of the Great War period, and the Rangers Re-enactment living history group, representing US troops from the Second World War.

• The Duxford Air Festival continues tomorrow, Sunday, May 27.

Tickets for all air shows must be booked in advance. No on the day tickets are available.

Tickets for the Duxford Air Festival on Sunday, May 27 be purchased online until 23.59pm tonight (Saturday, May 26).

Visit https://www.iwm.org.uk/events/duxford-air-festival-2018 to book tickets.