Dave and Nosher before the off
Nosher Flies in a P-51D Mustang, Hardwick Airfield, Norfolk (and the Whole of Suffolk) - 17th July 2011
Nosher, Isobel and The Boy are hanging around Hardwick Airfield after the traditional Camper Van breakfast, on the day after Maurice Hammond's hangar dance. Whilst we're deciding what to do and looking around at some of the 1940s vehicles floating around and Nosher is taking photos of the parked Mustangs, Isobel wanders over to say that there's a spare seat in "Janie", Maurice's first Mustang restoration. It takes ahout 400 millseconds to decide to splurge out and have a flight - after all, the plane's been over the house about a hundred times. And it's incredible, in particular as we're flying pairs for a chunk of the flight with Maurice's other Mustang Marinell - the sight of another WW2 fighter plane up so close is just amazing as we roam over the countryside of Suffolk. After a while, Maurice and Marinell peel away and Nosher and pilot Dave head over in Janie to Brome and Diss for a circuit or two, then fly on to Stowmarket before briefly looking at Latitude Festival and the coast at Southwold, then finally meeting up again for a dual fly-past of the airfield at Hardwick prior to landing. The view of the world from the clear plexiglass tear-drop-canopied cockpit is just poetry. Massive props to Clive "Chickens" for brokering the spare seat.
next album: Mike's Memorial, Prince Hall Hotel, Two Bridges, Dartmoor - 12th July 2011
previous album: Maurice's Mustang Hangar Dance, Hardwick Airfield, Norfolk - 16th July 2011
Nosher clambers in to Janie
Janie is loaded up
Isobel gets a photo from the sidelines
Taxiing back for take-off
A quick glimpse of the cockpit instruments
Meanwhile, Marinell loads up
Smoke as the 27-litre V-12 Merlin starts up
Janie starts up
Marinell is running
Nosher, Dave and Janie taxi down to the end of the runway
The view of the gathered crowds
Marinell is just behind, ready for takeoff
We're up in the air
A view of the Norfolk/Suffolk borders
Marinell comes alongside
Marinell and Janie fly side-by-side
413521 Marinell switches sides
Marinell in the clouds
Air-to-air shot of Marinell
Nosher in the back seat of Janie (© A. Seager)
Marinell over Suffolk
Another view of Marinell
Flying past Stowmarket
Nosher and Isobel's pad, bottom left
The Brome Swan, on the A140
The back of the Brome Swan
The avenue of the nearby Cornwallis Hotel
The side field
The Brome triangle
The Cornwallis Hotel
Flying past Diss
Dave looks out over the sea near Sizewell
Southwold, with the lighthouse on St. James' Green
Another aerial view of Southwold and beach huts
We fly up towards the Waveney
The Beccles sugar factory and the Norfolk Broads
We re-engage with Marinell
Marinell the Mustang is back in formation
Marinell again
The canopy is opened in case we need to bail out
Back on the ground
Fred and Max by Marinell
Nosher and Fred, just before The Boy escapes
An in-theme photo
Isobel and Fred have a look around Janie
Janie, the Harvard and a US-Army truck
Amelia, Suzanne, Fred and Isobel
Dave secures the cockpit
Dave and Nosher and the cliché photo
Janie watches the approching storm
Clive's truck hangs around in the rain
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Dave and Nosher before the off
Dave and Nosher before the off
Nosher clambers in to Janie
Janie is loaded up
Isobel gets a photo from the sidelines
Taxiing back for take-off
A quick glimpse of the cockpit instruments
Meanwhile, Marinell loads up
Smoke as the 27-litre V-12 Merlin starts up
Janie starts up
Marinell is running
Nosher, Dave and Janie taxi down to the end of the runway
The view of the gathered crowds
Marinell is just behind, ready for takeoff
We're up in the air
A view of the Norfolk/Suffolk borders
Marinell comes alongside
Marinell and Janie fly side-by-side
413521 Marinell switches sides
Marinell in the clouds
Air-to-air shot of Marinell
Nosher in the back seat of Janie (© A. Seager)
Marinell over Suffolk
Another view of Marinell
Flying past Stowmarket
Nosher and Isobel's pad, bottom left
The Brome Swan, on the A140
The back of the Brome Swan
The avenue of the nearby Cornwallis Hotel
The side field
The Brome triangle
The Cornwallis Hotel
Flying past Diss
Dave looks out over the sea near Sizewell
Southwold, with the lighthouse on St. James' Green
Another aerial view of Southwold and beach huts
We fly up towards the Waveney
The Beccles sugar factory and the Norfolk Broads
We re-engage with Marinell
Marinell the Mustang is back in formation
Marinell again
The canopy is opened in case we need to bail out
Back on the ground
Fred and Max by Marinell
Nosher and Fred, just before The Boy escapes
An in-theme photo
Isobel and Fred have a look around Janie
Janie, the Harvard and a US-Army truck
Amelia, Suzanne, Fred and Isobel
Dave secures the cockpit
Dave and Nosher and the cliché photo
Janie watches the approching storm
Clive's truck hangs around in the rain