Shuttleworth Evening Airshow

Aviation PhotographyHistoricWarbirdsAirshows
Written By Jack Goward

I’ll start this post with a statement: this was one of the best days I’ve ever had in aviation…

It has been a busy six weeks with a number of fantastic shows taking place across the country. For now though we’ll focus on one of the best Shuttleworth shows for years, with their classic format of an Evening Airshow and a ‘Best of British’ theme.

If you’re reading this and have never had the pleasure of visiting the Shuttleworth Collection definitely put it on your list of places to visit. Set in the heart of the Bedfordshire countryside close to the town of Biggleswade, Old Warden aerodrome is home to one of the most unique and priceless collections of aircraft on the planet. Many of the aircraft based here are one of a kind with a few examples being over one-hundred years old. The incredible thing, almost everything you’ll see here is airworthy provided the right flying conditions!

Historically Shuttleworth hosts a show every two weeks from May to the start of October – this format is due for a major change next year so I’ll leave some handy links below this post if you’d like to find out more. A few times a year the classic Shuttleworth Evening Airshow drops onto the calendar and the unique format of this show is always very special, especially if you have the weather to go with it! Gates open at 12pm so there’s a nice leisurely wake up call that morning, no 4am Air Tattoo shenanigans! Flying typically starts at around 5-5.30pm and runs through until 8.30pm ish (if the weather allows). This show in particular went on until just after 9pm – it was a special one…

The Flightline Walk

A unique feature of the Evening Airshow is the opening up of the flightline where you are able to get up close to some very special aircraft. Naturally this presents some fairly unique photographic opportunities!

This show was due to feature an array of Spitfires in the flying display, one of which is my all time favourite aircraft – Supermarine Spitifre IXb MH434 of the Old Flying Machine Company based at Duxford, Cambs. The flightline walk gave me the opportunity to get some images of this very special aircraft that I will cherish forever!

The Flying Display

After a good browse around the flightline it was time to get comfortable for the show which opened with an outstanding Spitfire four-ship. Leading the formation is Shuttleworth’s very own MkVc AR501; on the left of the formation is a Mk1 from Duxford; on the right is MkIXb MH434 and at the rear is the PR.XIX PS853. This lead on to one of the best Spitfire tail chases I have ever seen. With Shuttleworth’s unique curved display line the passes were simply beautiful – I think the images do them justice!

After the Spitfires some of the Shuttleworth regulars got airborne which saw displays from purpose built race aircraft comprising of two Percival Mew Gulls ‘G-AEXF’ and ‘G-HEKL’ and the Miles Hawk Six ‘G-ADGP’. Also included in this segment of the show was the ‘Barn Storming’ demonstration which is always great fun and presents some excellent photographic opportunities. Barn Storming typically involves some flour bombing, limbo (where the aircraft fly underneath ribbon supported by two poles) and some close formation flying.

One of the aircraft featured in this segment was the DeHavilland DH60 Moth ‘G-EBWD’. Built in 1928 this exact aircraft has a special affinity with Old Warden as it was the aeroplane flown by Richard Shuttleworth himself. A real treat to see this aircraft which is now 95 years old being flown in a display.

DeHavilland DH60 Moth ‘G-EBWD’

As the evening progressed there were further Shuttleworth regulars taking to the skies including the Collection’s Hawker Sea Hurricane Mk.Ib, the beautiful DeHavilland DH.88 Comet Racer, the Westland Lysander and the Gloster Gladiator Mk.1. The sun was setting behind the crowd line and the pinks and purples were beginning to appear in the sky setting up what was to be a very special half an hour to close the show.

The uniqueness of some of the older airframes in the Collection mean that they need near perfect flying conditions to operate in and on this evening, we were blessed with these conditions! The Hawker Cygnet took to the skies first and gracefully performed its display as the wind continued to drop. We were then treated to the English Electric Wren, a British ultralight monoplane built in 1921 (!), which took off and maintained a height of about 20ft as it flew around the airfield perimeter not once, but twice. A real gem and an aircraft that until this evening I had yet to photograph in flight. It is difficult to explain how perfect the conditions need to be to see such an aircraft fly – there needs to be a slight headwind, straight down the runway heading to ensure that the Wren’s 8 horsepower engine can help the wings generate enough lift!

After the Wren landed the Edwardian era aircraft were able to take to the skies in the form of the Bristol Boxkite Replica and the Avro IV Triplane, a replica of the Roe IV Triplane that was first flown in 1910. To clarify that, the design is over 110 years old – bonkers! Once the Edwardians touched down that brought a close to proceedings and it was a display to remember. However Shuttleworth had one final treat in store for me…

…as the sun disappeared below the horizon I went for one last look around the airfield. It is always a special time as the aircraft are being taken back to their resting places with the hanger lights beaming out into the night. To add the cherry on the cake as it were, my favourite airframe as mentioned earlier in the post, Spitfire MH434, was still sat out on the airfield which made for an unforgettable moment captured below. This photo was taken at 9.27pm.

If you’ve made it this far, thank you! It is difficult sometimes to condense these shows into a relatively easy to read blog. Also a big thanks to Shuttleworth for putting on a memorable display. If you’ve never been to one of their shows, or even for a visit out of season definitely get over there!

As always here are some useful links to find out more about this unique location!

Until next time…

Jack

Jack Goward
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