Vulcan!
This weekend seemed to have turned into an opportunity to view rare aircraft in the local vicinity. Yesterday was the Hurricane, today was the sole flying Vulcan bomber at RAF Cosford for Veteran's Day.
Halfpenny at War!
Leo and I braved the cold (which I should NOT be saying at the end of sodding May) to visit Halfpenny at War. This is a new annual World War 2 weekend where Allies and Axis troops camp next to each other and drink tea with one another in the cafe. Our main reason for going, however, was to see what we thought would be a Spitfire from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. After being put back 2 hours it turned out to be a Hurricane and photography was near impossible, but it was a nice end to the afternoon.
Helicopter crashes on Auckland waterfront
via guardian.co.uk
A helicopter pilot helping to install a Christmas tree on Auckland's waterfront has crashed into the ground, with the pilot escaping serious injury.
Footage captured by Television New Zealand shows the pilot slowly descending from about 25 feet (8 metres), when the rotor blades appear to get caught in cables attached to scaffolding. The rear of the helicopter snaps and the pilot is tossed about as it smashes into the ground.
The television station reported that Greg Gribble, who has 20 years experience as a pilot, says he's "doing fine" after his ordeal.
Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson aims to resurrect UK airline
via guardian.co.uk
Iron Maiden frontman and pilot Bruce Dickinson has vowed to resurrect a UK airline which has gone into administration.
In the past Dickinson flew for Astraeus Airlines and this week he captained its last flight, flying a Boeing passenger jet from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia to Manchester.
The singer is forming a plan to save the airline, which was owned by an Icelandic-based travel group but is based at Crawley in West Sussex. It is understood that the business would continue to work by leasing planes to major carriers to cover routes when needed, as it did previously.
Building on his time as as a Boeing 757 captain with Astraeus, Dickinson flew his Iron Maiden and their 60-member crew plus 12 tons of equipment around the world on the band's own customised Boeing 757, Ed Force One - named after Maiden's infamous mummy mascot "Eddie".
James Ridgway
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