UK Warbirds question.

[Paul J]

Does anyone have any idea why some types in the UK warbird scene do not appear at Flying legends?? I can understand some reasons such as availability, servicable etc but the ones I have never seen there are the two gorgeous Mustangs owned by Maurice Hammond,'Janie' and' Marinell' for example, Also the Catalina never seems to be there having flown off somewhere, and the other privately owned Hurricanes rarely take part just to name a few....We always get the same TFC stuff(I know its their show!) and some regulars from overseas but surely these elusive ones would be welcomed!

[Dave Fleming]

At a guess, money.

[Black Knight]

Whoever does the booking perhaps sticks to the aeroplanes he/she knows and can afford. Many of the aeroplanes are booked up years in advance.

[Jonny]

Does anyone have any idea why some types in the UK warbird scene do not appear at Flying legends?? I can understand some reasons such as availability, servicable etc but the ones I have never seen there are the two gorgeous Mustangs owned by Maurice Hammond,'Janie' and' Marinell' for example, Also the Catalina never seems to be there having flown off somewhere, and the other privately owned Hurricanes rarely take part just to name a few....We always get the same TFC stuff(I know its their show!) and some regulars from overseas but surely these elusive ones would be welcomed

Could it be that the 'stuff' is actually owned by TFC?

They (TFC) organise the 2-day show.

Be grateful that they do. There are usually loads of Mustangs there anyway. I for one could with less 'American' involvement and welcome more European - I haven't seen the Messerscmidt Foundation's G10 *or* their replica ME 262 - but I'd love to!

[Bennygman]

From what I've seen elsewhere, I believe the owners choose not to participate for whatever reason. For instance the Mustangs you mention and the hangar 11 collection are regulars at Gransden, old warden, Shoreham, but never Duxford (not just Legends).

Personally I think that's a shame as Pete teischmann is probably one if the best warbirds display pilots out here, the way he wrings out the Mustang at Old warden is amazing.

Steve.

[GDumbrell]

I've always thought it had something to do with rarity and uniqueness. Most of the other UK warbird operators such as Hangar 11 and Hardwick Warbirds are fairly regularly seen around the country at the many (if not dwindling) number of shows. However, Flying legends is about the aircraft that are very rarely seen in the UK. The fighter collection don't seem to venture away from Duxford very often and a lot of the visiting warbirds are from European countries and some even from the US.

So, I think Legends is about show casing the rare stuff that the other shows just couldn't attract.

Having said that, the normal shows sometimes have a habit of digging out some rare gems that haven't been seen for a long time.