For nearly 30 years, Flying Legends has been one of Europe’s biggest warbird airshows. Held at the Imperial War Museum site at Duxford, the event brings together piston-powered aircraft from the first half of the 20th Century, before the beginning of the jet-age.
Since I last attended the show in 2012, the UK warbird scene has undergone major change, with some aircraft leaving these shores, as well as a raft of new restorations, joining aircraft that are part of organisations such as The Fighter Collection, that have been present at nearly every show.
The Friday saw many participants perform test flights and practice displays, with the Fighter Collection’s Curtis-Wright P-36C taking to the sky on numerous occasions, as well as punchy showings from their Grumman F8F Bearcat, as well as Anglia Aircraft Restorations and the Norwegian Historic Flight’s Hawker Sea Furys.
Whilst 2019’s line-up will not be remembered as a classic ‘Legends, there are very few events anywhere around the world that can attract a programme that includes five Hispano-built Buchon 109s, and 15 Supermarine Spitfires of various marks, to name just a portion of the participants, still making it one of the most spectacular annual events in the aviation world.
