A privilege to photograph.

As the crow flies Titchmarsh LNR is not too far away from Duxford and we are quite often graced with sightings of WW II veteran aircraft.

In this case a Spitfire TR Mk IX ML407 ( Civil registration G-LFIX ) known as the '' Grace '' Spitfire due to its ownership.


                                         
A two seat trainer she completed a few loop-the-loops and barrel rolls over the reserve before heading off, what an evocative tone that Merlin engine has. 

                                                                  Top of the loop
                                             

Painted in the camouflage of the Royal New Zealand Air Force with whom she spent some time during the war she was also used by the Polish and French Free Air Forces amongst others during an illustrious career.

I  understand that globally there are fifty five airworthy Spitfires, many static examples and encouragingly many more actively being renovated or in storage awaiting renovation.

A bird of a different taxa ....

Taken doing aerobatics over Fowlmere last weekend.

Research on the plane, registration N1035M, identifies it as a Steerman Kaydet currently based at Bungay in Suffolk and originally flown by the US Navy as a training aircraft during the second World War.

It certainly has great visual impact.

If its in the air its fair game .......

At the reserve on Sunday morning the sound of '' old '' radial engines from the second world war was in the air, clearly an Air Fair was being held at Duxford aerodrome nearby.

First was a distant Messerschmit or Fokker Wolf fighter in German livery followed by this RAF C47 Dakota bearing black and white invasion stripes.

What a classic sight and sound from an aircraft that must be well over seventy years old, if you look closely at the open door you can see one of the crew looking out.

What a tribute to airmen of bygone years,  magical, made my heart beat faster. 

In common with many birders I like most things that fly ......

This CH-47 Chinook made its presence known many many minutes before it came into view with its reverberating contra-rotating twin rotor noise, its an old design but nothing in recent years seems to have bettered its performance.

The image is back lit, so I can see no insignia suggesting who it belongs to, RAF ? USAF ? ..... who knows ..... all I can say is that it has great presence.

Why ? ...... a little rant !

I have been a qualified Glider pilot in the  past and have done several hours of powered flight, was an enthusiastic member of the Air Training Corps in my youth and have loved aircraft and aviation throughout my life.

Flying is growing in popularity with aircraft and helicopter ownership increasing, more and more people are gaining their private pilots licenses.

But why do some and I stress some pilots think it acceptable, it seems to me particularly with microlights, to fly low over nature reserves scaring the wildlife and putting bird life to flight ?.

Please, give our natural resources a break, and skirt around reed beds and nature reserves !, they may look good from above but they look better undisturbed at ground level.

I can not remember where and when I took this image so it is not a personal statement about this particular micro-light.

Its not illegal above a certain base altitude but please show some consideration to wildlife and other peoples hobbies. 

Rant over ............

USAF on manoeuvers ...... here is one for my viewers from the States ...... well it is a bird, just silver coloured with no feathers !

With the USAF Air Bases at Lakenheath and Mildenhall in Cambridgeshire not too far away as the '' Crow flies '' from Titchmarsh LNR in Northamptonshire it was a pleasant experience to see this in-flight re-fueler banking quite low overhead.

I  am not sure which version of KC- tanker it is, it don't think its a KC-135,  but it certainly made quite a noise !. 

That's some flying gasoline tank !.

If any of my US based viewers knows the aircraft's model number please let me know !.

( Since posting this I learnt today that the USAF has announced that it will be closing Mildenhall and transferring its operations to Germany ).

How low is low ........

Lovely to see this DH82A Tiger Moth over Titchmarsh village, seventy five years since it was built and still going strong.

According to my research it is apparently based at and operates from a Farm airstrip to the north of Finedon, Northamptonshire.

I did feel that if the pilot had put his hand out of the cockpit I could almost have shaken hands with him.

Sadly, Bloggers auto photo enhancer has washed out the colours, the fuselage is actually dark blue ...... GGGGGrrrrrrrrrr .............