Historic Lancasters' tandem flight takes place in Lincolnshire - 13 August 2014

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Historic Lancasters' tandem flight takes place in Lincolnshire

Two World War Two Lancasters have flown together for the first time in 50 years.

The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight's aircraft was joined by the only other airworthy example, which had crossed the Atlantic to Lincolnshire.

The pair was due to pass over Lincoln cathedral last Friday but the flight was postponed due to bad weather.

A series of practice flights near RAF^▸ (Royal Air Force) Coningsby will now be performed ahead of a month of events across the UK^▸ (United Kingdom).



Following a day of maintenance checks after its 3,700-mile journey, the Canadian Lancaster, known as Vera, took off alone on Tuesday evening.

Once this flight was completed successfully, clearance was given for both to fly together.

Large crowds gathered outside the airbase for the double take-off, which took place just after 13:00 BST.

The first aircraft to take to the skies was one of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight's Spitfires, it was then joined first by the British Lancaster, and finally Vera.

They were in the air for just under an hour but will fly a number of further training sessions.

Stuart Reid, former Battle of Britain Memorial Flight pilot and aviation historian, said: "This will take some getting used to for the pilots. These are big, heavy aircraft and flying together is hard work. The first Lancaster will have a relatively straightforward job but the one behind will have to keep in line, watch the other, handle the buffeting from the slipstream. Hats off to them, especially in this wind."

Stan Instone, who was a Lancaster flight engineer in 419 Squadron, was among the crowd. "The hairs on the back of my neck have stood up - that's what the sound of those Lancasters does to me. I wouldn't have believed it was possible. There has been talk about getting them together for years and now, it has come true," he said.

The first public display is scheduled to be at Eastbourne International Air Show on Thursday.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Canadian Lancaster Bomber grounded ahead of Bournemouth Air Festival


The plane experienced an "issue" with one of its engines as it was approaching the runway

Displays by the last two airworthy Lancaster bombers from World War Two have been cancelled after one suffered engine problems.

A Canadian Lancaster, currently on a UK^▸ (United Kingdom) tour, performed an engine shutdown during a flight in County Durham. Its owners said it landed safely at Durham Tees Valley airport following the "precautionary" shutdown. It had been due to fly to Bournemouth to take part in weekend displays with an RAF^▸ (Royal Air Force) Lancaster bomber.

An airport spokesman said the plane had experienced an "issue" with one of its engines as it was approaching the runway at the end of a 30-minute demonstration flight for invited guests.


The Canadian Lancaster had flown across the Atlantic to take part in a tour of the UK

"The aircraft landed safely and nobody was injured and it taxied to stand. The Lancaster has been returned to the hangar and engineers are conducting tests to determine the cause of the fault," he added.

The last remaining flying Lancasters - owned by the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum - were due to fly at the Bournemouth Air Festival as well as the Shoreham Air Show and the Gedling Show in Nottinghamshire, as part of a two-month UK tour by the Canadian aircraft. The aircraft are based at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire for the duration of the visit.

There were over 7,000 of the type of aircraft produced between 1941 and 1946.

A statement from Bournemouth Air Festival said: "We share the disappointment of all the Canadian Lancaster fans but we understand that she is over 70 years old and these sort of things can and do happen. We hope she's airworthy again soon."

An airworthy Merlin engine is being shipped from the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre near Skegness and this will be fitted over the weekend.

[JayMac]

They were seen together over Devon last week for the Dawlish Air Show.  A friend who was there got a couple of nice pics. I'll ask if he doesn't mind them being shared here.

[JayMac]

As promised, attached are a few pics from Dawlish Airshow 2014.

All taken by a friend from whom permission has been obtained and with whom copyright remains.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Ah, yes: excellent pictures indeed, of an evocative event. 

Please pass on my thanks to your friend (also a member of this forum, I think?  )

[JayMac]

Yep, brief contributor a couple of years back. robert.nash on the forum.

[robert.nash]

Hope you're well Chris!

I'm only a very occasional visitor here  but I hope you liked the photos - I'm feeling very fortunate to have seen both of these magnificent birds in flight together and had a great day at Dawlish last weekend.

[Chris from Nailsea]

I'm fine, thanks, robert.nash ! 

Your pictures are absolutely brilliant - really great to see those two aircraft together. 

I have a limited first edition print on the wall in my study - also of two Lancasters in flight - signed by Group Captain Leonard Cheshire VC DSO DFC.

[JayMac]

The last two airworthy Lancaster bombers paid tribute to the Dam Busters raiders by performing a trio of flypasts over Derwent Dam in Derbyshire earlier today. This was one of the locations where Wg Cdr Guy Gibson VC DSO DFC and his team practised their bombing runs in early 1943.

Full story, including more images and video, from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-29295272

Type 'Dam Busters' and 'Derwent' into Google to see many more cracking images of these majestic aircraft performing the flypasts.

Read the story, watch the video, look at the images, and you can't help but hum Eric Coates' theme from The Dam Busters film...

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Lancaster bomber mid-air engine fire


The Lancaster performed an engine shut down before landing safely at RAF^▸ (Royal Air Force) Coningsby

The only airworthy Lancaster bomber in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) has suffered an engine fire while flying.

The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) Lancaster - known as Thumper - landed safely at RAF Coningsby after it misfired during a training flight.

The crew evacuated safely and the aircraft will now be assessed by engineers.

Last year, the only other flying Lancaster had an engine fire whilst visiting the UK.

Sqd Ldr Emma Watkins said: "The Lancaster suffered what appears to be an engine fire during a practice run this afternoon. The aircraft has landed safely and all the crew are fine."

Slightly ironic timing for such an incident, on the eve of the anniversary of VE Day. 

[TonyK]

The Lancaster performed an engine shut down before landing safely at RAF^▸ (Royal Air Force) Coningsby

The only airworthy Lancaster bomber in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) has suffered an engine fire while flying.

The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) Lancaster - known as Thumper - landed safely at RAF Coningsby after it misfired during a training flight.

The crew evacuated safely and the aircraft will now be assessed by engineers.

Last year, the only other flying Lancaster had an engine fire whilst visiting the UK.

Sqd Ldr Emma Watkins said: "The Lancaster suffered what appears to be an engine fire during a practice run this afternoon. The aircraft has landed safely and all the crew are fine."

Slightly ironic timing for such an incident, on the eve of the anniversary of VE Day. 

Had this happened in 1944, the crew would have feathered number 4, carried on to bomb wherever the target was that night, albeit a bit late, landed back in East Anglia somewhere then grabbed a couple of pints before the next sortie.

Hopefully, the aircraft is not badly damaged. Merlins are wonderful engines, and I am sure the aircrew reacted correctly. Whilst relieved at the safe landing of most of an iconic aircraft, the safety of the crew was always the most important thing.