Perhaps the most famous of all Spitfires, MH434 was built in 1943 at Vickers, Castle Bromwich. This Spitfire is completely original, and has never been fully rebuilt. A delight to fly, the aircraft is beautifully responsive with legendary manoeuvrability.

 

Hawker Hurricane Mark I, R4118, was delivered new to 605 (County of Warwick) Squadron at Drem on 17 August 1940. During the Battle of Britain it flew 49 sorties from Croydon and shot down five enemy aircraft. After being battle damaged on 22 October 1940, the aircraft was rebuilt and taken on charge by 111 Squadron at Dyce on 18 January 1941. There it was flown on patrol over the North Sea and was again in combat. Over the following two years it was used primarily as a training aircraft with 59 and 56 OTUs, and was rebuilt a further three times following major accidents, including hitting a lorry on the runway and being stuffed into a snow bank!

 

During its lifetime, it was fitted with no fewer than five Rolls-Royce Merlin III engines, and underwent four major rebuilds. It is still powered by a Merlin III (the only other aircraft in the world to retain a Merlin III is the Sea Hurricane at Shuttleworth). It is said to be the most historic fighter aircraft to have survived the war.

 

Meticulous restoration was undertaken by Hawker Restorations Ltd in Suffolk. This included fitting every piece of equipment which was in the aircraft during the Battle, such as the first of the VHF radios (the TR1133), the Identification Friend or Foe unit, the original 8 Browning machine guns, and the camera gun in the starboard wing.

 

Pete Kynsey from the Fighter Collection flew its first test flight on 23 December 2004, since when it has been displayed at air shows throughout the U.K.

The Spitfire Mark VIII was the ultimate development of the famous Merlin-engined Supermarine Spitfire fighter, important for its contribution to the defence of England during the Battle of Britain in 1940.

 

This variant did not appear in service until 1943 and was fastest of all the twenty two marks of Spitfire in a dive; it was used in the compressibility trials and the phenomenon of control reversal made famous in the film “Sound Barrier”. This occurrence happened as aircraft approached the speed of sound. The actual spend achieved by a Spitfire Mark VIII was Mach 0.93, comfortably in excess of 600 mph.

 

This Mustang P51-D-20 was built during 1944 and supplied directly from the factory in Inglewood, CA for service in the European Theatre of Operations).

 

Approximately 15,000 Mustangs were produced in different variants during World War II. The final model to see combat was the P51D, similar to this aircraft.

Team Merlin brings The Merlin HC Mk3 -- The Merlin, Bird of Prey. It is the first of a new generation of advanced, medium support helicopters and the only variant operated by the RAF. It is an all weather, day and night, multi-role helicopter used in both tactical and strategic operational roles. The aircraft carries an impressive defensive-aids suite, which includes a Radar and Laser Warning Receiver, Missile Approach Warners and Directional Infrared Countermeasures equipment, all integrated with an automatic chaff and flare dispensing system. This is one of the most comprehensive defensive aids suites fitted to any helicopter in the world.

"The Red Devils" is the official parachute display team of both The Parachute Regiment and The British Army. The team’s members are widely regarded as among the best display parachutists in the world.

 

Every member of the 25 man team is a serving Paratrooper from the Army’s elite Parachute Regiment – with each having seen active service in either The Falklands, Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and/or Iraq.

 

Formed in 1964, the Red Devils carry out more than 100 spectacular parachute displays each year at public events worldwide promoting the Parachute Regiment and the British Army.

 

Display highlights in 2007 have included:

Red Bull Air Race – London Docklands World Superbikes at Brands Hatch British Touring Car Championships at Thruxton Air Shows at Jacksonville and Virginia (USA) Water Jump into Swanage Bay

A twin-engined development of the Miles Messenger the prototype first flew in 1945 and some 140 were built and exported all round the world. The vintage twin is constructed of wood and powered by two 100hp Blackburn Cirrus Minor II engines giving this four-seater a 135 mph cruising speed. It is flown today by its owner Air Chief Marshal Sir John Allison.

The first Eastern Bloc aircraft became available to western fliers in the early 1990s following the fall of the Berlin Wall. Ex-military machines such as the YAK 52 two seat trainer and    YAK 50 specialist aerobatic aircraft, both having been used by the Aerostars, quickly became popular in the UK.

 

In 1993 several YAK 52 owners came together at a formation training school at North Weald airfield in Essex, where they underwent an intensive course of military type formation flying training, coached by off duty Royal Air Force instructors.

 

A number of the YAK pilots decided that they would like to display their new found skills on the air display circuit, and to this end they decided to form the Red Star Racing Team, an act that was seen at displays both here and on the continent from 1994 to 1996. The show was essentially a demonstration Reno-style air race, followed by several large formation flypasts.

 

However, by the end of the 1996 season, the pilots who now fly as the Aerostars decided that, having survived three exciting and occasionally hair-raising seasons flying wingtip to wingtip during a free for all air race, that it was time to move on to a rather more controlled and challenging form of the formation flying art - team aerobatics.

 

Over that winter the founder members of the team put in many hours of practice to create a basic five aircraft display. 1997 was thus something of an experimental year; nonetheless, the new Aerostars displayed successfully to critical acclaim at several military and civil shows in the UK, and most memorably, in front of 85,000 spectators at the Valkenburg Naval Air Day in Holland.

 

In 1998 the Aerostars successfully expanded to seven aircraft, and that year won not only the prestigious Shell sponsored team prize at the Biggin Hill Air Fair, but also the Silver Medal at the FIA Formation Aerobatic Team Championships at Neuchatel, Switzerland, out flying several military and professional teams in the process.

 

In 2000 the YAK52s were replaced by YAK 50 single seaters, allowing a much wider range of both formation and solo maneuvers, and now, eight years down the line, the 6 aircraft sequence has been honed to the spectacular show you see today, a display now having been seen by an estimated 10 million people not only in the UK, but also Eire, France, Portugal, Holland, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland.