Despite the threat of heavy rain it looks like this years RIAT airshow at nearby Fairford will go ahead. It's a huge and popular event. Ticket admittance only this year just in case they need to reimburse everyone. I don't much like fariford as a flying display. The prospect of seeing lots of aircraft you can see every day of the week doesn't appeal, especially since you have to pay a heavy ticket entry and face aggravation on the roads getting in and out. But to anyone whio is going there, I hope the show is a good one.

Musing About Museums

I wrote this back in 2004, but given the the theme of this post I thought it was worth repeating...

Yesterday I got the opportunity to visit the RAF Museum at Hendon. It was an interesting visit. To wander around and see these aeroplanes preserved is a curious thing when you realise that most of them were once considered state-of-the-art military hardware even if only for a short while, and that young men were asked to risk their lives operating these machines.

Although the museum has to be congratulated for doing a great job in presenting their displays, I could not help but feel saddened by it. Why? The answer of course is that I visited a mausoleum. A graveyard. These aircraft were built to fly. Now they're stuffed and put behind glass like dead animals.

Something important has been lost. The exhaust stains, paint rubbed away from edges, the sound of mechanics at work, the banter of competitive aviators, the reluctant wheeze of an aero engine starting up , the smell of hot oil, burnt metal, fuel , cordite, leather, grease, sweat, and that sudden growl and rumble of a flypast.

There are places that preserve some of these things, like Shuttleworth, Duxford, or the Confederate Air Force (whatever they call it these days) by operating these old warbirds. Thats great... although I think the demands of showbusiness have sanitised it somewhat. But none of these preserve an essential quality. That elusive atmosphere of men about to go to war.

That Spitfire Sound

Many years ago I was out walking my dog along the old railway line. It was a pleasant day out in the countryside and the view across the valley was always a refreshing change from urban life. Then I heard an aeroplane behind me. A low, rich droning sound that immediately sparked some recognition. That's a Merlin engine! I was right. The restored spitfire flew directly ioverhead travelling west.

It's funny how engine noise has a character. The moving parts and exhaust stack form a symphony all of their own. For small engines the sound is often nasty and high pitched. But those old aero engines are something else. It's an interesting fact that of the all the complaints about aircraft noise generated by those townies silly enough to move house next to an operating airfield, it's the World War Two vintage planes that get the least. Twenty eight litres of Rolls Royce Merlin has a satisfying rumble overlaid by a sandy propellor noise that really does stir something inside you.

Well, at least it stirs something in me. That's what I want from an air display. To see and hear something I can't get anywhere else. For a few hours, I want to be in a past age and witness something fantastic - old aeroplanes flying again.