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AIRSHOW NEWS

The 70th anniversary of Air Britain’s creation was celebrated at a
special  y-in at North Weald, Essex. One of the most interesting aircraft
attending the June 30 to July 1 event was North American Harvard
4 G-BJST, painted as AJ841 in desert air force colours and named
Wacky Wabbit. The trainer was built in 1951 at Fort William, Ontario,

by the Canadian Car and Foundry company and served with the Italian

Air Force as MM53795. The original AJ841 was constructed in 1941

and delivered to No.74 Operational Training Unit for pilot instruction on

desert operations in the Middle East. Simon Murdoch

More than 100 aircraft have registered for the International Bücker

Meet in Thun, Switzerland, from August 31 until September 2. The

event is expected to include well over 50 classic Bücker aeroplanes,

with types such as the Jungmann, Jungmeister, Bestmann and

S tudent in attendance. The meet is set against a mountainous

backdrop, which makes for spectacular photos and gives the whole

show a very Swiss feel. http://www.bueckertreffen.ch

A capacity 40,000 crowd packed into
RNAS Yeovilton, Somerset, on July 7 for its
annual International Air Day. The static park
comprised a wide variety of international
aircraft types including a Qatar Emiri Air Force
C-130J, USAF C-17A, US Navy P-8A, German
Navy P-3C, Belgian Defence - Air Component
SA316 B Alouette III plus French Navy Lynx
HAS4 and NH90NFH Caiman. Lithuania was
represented by a C-27J, L-39C and Mi-8UTV.
There was also plenty of interest in the
 ying display that included a Royal Canadian
Air Force CF-188A Hornet and a rare
formation featuring a French Navy Falcon
50M, two Rafale Ms and two types previously
operated by this air arm – a MS760 Paris and
CM175 Zephyr. The involvement of Royal
Navy Sea Furys and MiGs in the Korean
War was marked by the Royal Navy Historic
Flight’s Sea Fury T.20 and the Norwegian
Historic Flight’s MiG-15UTI  ying together.
There was also the popular pyrotechnic-
 lled role demo from the Commando

Helicopter Force (CHF) Merlin and

Wildcat helicopters. Headquartered at

RNAS Yeovilton, the CHF comprises

three squadrons – 845 NAS and 846

NAS – currently  ying Merlin HC.3/3As but

transitioning to upgraded HC.4s, and 847

NAS, equipped with the Wildcat AH1. They

demonstrated how they deploy troops as part

of their show routine. Adrian M Balch

http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 55

AIRSHOW NEWS

Harvard 4 ‘AJ841’ at the Air Britain Fly-in. Simon Murdoch

Royal Navy Historic Flight Sea Fury T.20  ying

with the the Norwegian Historic Flight’s MiG-

15UTI. Adrian M Balch

Air Britain’s 70th at North Weald

Sizzling

Yeovilton

Bücker Meet Gathers Pace

Bücker Bü 131 Jungmann HB-UUD at Thun, Switzerland.

via Marco Zysset