Booker Airshow Circa 1973

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iggie
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Booker Airshow Circa 1973

Post by iggie »

I recently stumbled on these old photographs amongst a lot of old family stuff I have been meaning to sort through (and as usual kept putting off!); they were taken on an old Braun 35mm camera that incidentally used to belong to the Astor family (my grandmother was a nanny for them many years back).
Although I cannot be certain of the year, it was around 1973-75; Booker is now High Wycombe Air Park, but back then had an annual airshow. This was before the days of 3 mile crowd separation :frown: , and the ban on overflying crowds. I can plainly remember seeing a Spitfire appear from the dip that was the far side of the (grass) runway, about 200yds from the crowd and pulling up into a vertical climb immediately above our heads before doing a wingtip stall turn and diving back the way he came :grin: . The RAF also used to come along for a play, with a Super (I think) VC10 that used to do low and slow dirty passes, tail seemingly a dozen or so feet off the grass before giving it the beans and going up like a fighter trailing black smoke...
The Swordfish must be the same one flown now by the FAA Historic Flight, but this was the last time I have seen it fly; every time since it has appeared on an airsho programme I have attended, it has gone tech and not shown up :shock: . One day I'll see her again!
Any information on the others would be of interest; I'm guessing that the Taifun was a replica, but possibly genuine. The Spitfire is a MkIa S/No AR213, a survivor of the War and a flying star of the Film 'The Battle of Britain'. She is still flying with JZ E letters.

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And would you believe it, this is a photo taken by me at Kemble in 2010 of the very same aircraft :-D , only about 35 years apart!

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Best wishes

Jim
If you can walk away from a landing, it's a good landing. If you use the airplane the next day, it's an outstanding landing
"Never put off till tomorrow, what you can do the day after tomorrow"
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jssel
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Re: Booker Airshow Circa 1973

Post by jssel »

Great old shots. And good to see the warbirds still active.
Besting 60 years of mediocre building of average kits in the stand off scale
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Gregers
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Re: Booker Airshow Circa 1973

Post by Gregers »

Awesome pics. Many thanks for sharing them (any more?) I am sure that that 108 is the same one that was flying to the Roundhay park gala some time in the 70's. The flying display was iirc, A Bell Jet Ranger, The ME108 (that was advertised as a 109), the Blue Eagles with their Bell 47's, and the Red Devils parachute team of the British Army. Thanks for awakening those memories.

All the best.

Greg
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Eric Mc
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Re: Booker Airshow Circa 1973

Post by Eric Mc »

I bet the 108 is G-ATBG which was own and flown by Lindsey Walton. Technically it was a French built Nord 1002 Pingouin.
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iggie
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Re: Booker Airshow Circa 1973

Post by iggie »

Gregers wrote:Awesome pics. Many thanks for sharing them (any more?) I am sure that that 108 is the same one that was flying to the Roundhay park gala some time in the 70's. The flying display was iirc, A Bell Jet Ranger, The ME108 (that was advertised as a 109), the Blue Eagles with their Bell 47's, and the Red Devils parachute team of the British Army. Thanks for awakening those memories.

All the best.

Greg
Hi Greg,

No more pictures I'm afraid; I'm sure there were more including several of the Mosquito that used to display there (including passes along the crowd line on one engine... :shock: ), but I suspect they are lost to time now :cry:
I remember the Red Devils appearing at Booker and being fascinated by the smoke flares strapped to their ankles!
Eric Mc wrote:I bet the 108 is G-ATBG which was own and flown by Lindsey Walton. Technically it was a French built Nord 1002 Pingouin.
Cheers Fred, I suspect that you may well be right about that!
Best wishes

Jim
If you can walk away from a landing, it's a good landing. If you use the airplane the next day, it's an outstanding landing
"Never put off till tomorrow, what you can do the day after tomorrow"
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