Langham Summer 2003
Langham August 30-31 Fly In
The theme of this year's Fly-In was the Air-Sea Rescue work done from Boxted. Essentially this comprised of a number of war-weary P-47's scouring the North Sea for downed aircrew, staying with them to protect them from enemy attack, or rescue, until our own rescue aircraft, or launches, arrived.
The fine model to the left illustrates one of these aircraft.
A line of tents, with displays and services was constantly humming with activity.
A brief, but poignant, display came from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight's
Dakota.
The control van on the flight line.
The star resident was undoubtedly the Antonov AN-2 biplane
The Antonov is bedded down for the night, after the visitors have gone home, with the old runway light holders in the foreground.
A close-up of the cockpit area. Visitors were encouraged to look over the aircraft, appreciate it exceptional carrying capacity, as help keep it flying!
Two views of the L-4 Piper Grasshopper, a favourite of mine and a regular visitor to air shows in these parts.
The theme of the show, that of the Boxted air-sea rescue flight, was displayed by this model illustrated map inside the history tent.
The flying was not all full-scale, and the exploits of the display team with, amongst others, their B-17 and B-24 was exceptional. The B-24 did a nose-in on landing on Saturday, so was unavailable on the Sunday ... its collapsed nosewheel resting until repairs could be effected.
The fire brigade responded promptly and extinguished the stubble fire, caused when a glider-towing aircraft dragged its cable across the electric lines, which then fell to ground sparking .. hence the fire.
The Antonov creates a mighty windstorm, blowing chaff through the hedge and on to Park Lane beyond!
A visiting light aircraft lands through the smoke. The proximity to the electric wires can be seen, but there were no problems with this before or after the incident.
A Soviet T-34/85 tank commands the airfield; this was a most welcome guest on display.
A goodly number of beautifully-restored military vehicles were on show and paraded along the main runway daily.