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Flying Legends Airshow 2005

Once again this year the Duxford "Flying Legends" Airshow 2005 pulled out all the stops and put on what many now consider to be the best "warbirds" air display in the world. This year was made all the more memorable by the fact that it coincided with the national celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of World War 2 and that the majority of the aircraft that took part in the flypast over London and Buckingham Palace took off and returned to Duxford during the display on Sunday. This meant that the crowd were treated to even more sights of massed formations of these rare and often unique historical and inspiring aircraft. The finale of the display is now something of a trademark of the Flying Legends event - the Balbo, a massed flypast of upwards of 28 aircraft in tight formation making several passes. An amazing sight and sound, and one that you will probably not see anywhere else in the World. Add to this the unique setting of an old World War 2 and Battle of Britain airfield that today also houses the main Imperial War Museums collection of aircraft many of which you can watch close up being worked on. plus the hugely impressive USAF museum and you get a truly magnificent event.

A good illustration of what this event is all about was where at one time there were no fewer than EIGHT Spitfires in the air putting on a display at the same time, and that didn't include the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Spitfire that had had to temporarily depart to display elsewhere before returning. Add to this 2 B-17 Flying Fortresses (the only 2 flying anywhere in Europe) and 2 B-25's all in the air at once and you can see just what a awe inspiring display this is. On top of all this the weather was just about perfect as you can see from the photos. (Don't forget to click on the link below to view the gallery of photos from the event)

HERE TO VIEW A SLIDESHOW OF PHOTOS FROM THIS GREAT DISPLAY

The next major air display at Duxford is the Battle of Britain 65th Anniversary Show - Saturday 10 & Sunday 11 September - definitely one not to miss. To find out more about this and all other aspects of Duxford go to IWM Duxford - Europe's premier aviation museum

It's more than worth the trip down and is an easy day out from Birmingham or elsewhere in the Midlands, not just on display days but at any time.  It's a very straightforward 2 hour drive to get there and once there even on major display days we've never had any problems with traffic and getting in and out easily. Make sure you get along.