Unforunately Kelly was killled doing just that , practicing for Farnborough. He was a really nice person to boot.

4Greens, I never met him but I understand he was. To suffer a flap failure going over the top as he did, left no room for recovery..

SPEED TWELVE -what is a Canadian break?

Faves -the Hanna's without a doubt.

Red Arrows -always so tight. Even their formation taxiing and canopy opening/closing is stunning!

Unknown pilot at Shuttleworth displaying their clipped wing Spitfire. So graceful, and kept my (then) 9 month old lad enraptured for the whole display. He hasn't looked back since -another Propellorhead!!

Unknown pilot at Duxford a couple of years ago in a Yak who was asked to put his display up a couple of metres -I lost sight of him below the crowd..........

DOC

Mark Hanna. Not just good flying, but sheer exuberance - you could almost see his grin.

Dunno if I'm qualified to pass judgement on these experts, but here are the most memorable displays i've seen..

Xavier de Lapperant in his SU31 at a 1999 display in France - he made the aeroplane stop in mid air! That was impressive.....and the whole crowd stood and applauded for ages afterwards..

Lee Proudfoot and Ed Shipley in a 2 ship P51 Mustang formation at Duxford Sept 2000 - Outstanding, flowing, precise!

Pete Kynsey in Richard Parker's yellow Harvard at PFA Cranfield in 1987 - sheer poetry and energy management.

RAF Lightning and Buccaneer displays in the 70's & 80's. Pilots unknown, but wow!!!

Ray Hanna and the late Neil Williams flying MH434 at Biggin Hill in the 70's - 2 legends.

Sadly we don't get much in the way of displays down here, although the (very) occasional RAAF Open Day has provided spectacles such as the Roulettes in their PC9s, a mock strafing run by 4 F/A 18's (called over the PA from the time of departure ex Tindal, still couldn't see 'em over the field until they fired off their flares at 10,000' on the way down), a solo beat up by an unknown Mirage 111 pilot (what a vertical performer) and the F111/Caribou standards.

But the real stand out has to be the Red Arrows doing their Darwin show off Mindil Beach a couple of years back. The kids were mightily impressed to be standing on the 120 ft high point at the end of the beach looking down as the Hawks went by. <img src="eek.gif" border="0">

Would have loved the opportunity to have seen Udet, Williams, Mark Hanna etc. <img src="frown.gif" border="0">

Speachless Two

Ref rotary wing display flying

Dennis Kenyon in Enstrom ,,, in my book he is the indisputed king of rock and roll for rotary winged flight. I have seen many of his displays over the years and they never cease to impress/stagger/scare me as he does it all so smoothly in a low powered helicopter with a fully articulated rotorhead. I cannot help wondering what Dennis would do if you gave him an Army Lynx to play with….. <img src="eek.gif" border="0">

He has also demonstrated what to do with a real T/R control failure more than once (although I did not witness those,) if there is footage of those displays it ought to be part of the PPL (H) syllabus. :)

Wunper. . <img src="cool.gif" border="0">

As a slip of a lad, I spent my weekends at Duxford in th edays before it was IWM and before regulation(late 70 early80's)and I have abiding memories of Ormond Hayden-Baillie flying his Shooting star "Black Knight" one or two feet above the wheat that used to grow in the centre of the airfield, and photographers (and me) diving for cover as he flew at us with no intention of pulling up. Also his displays in his Sea Fury, Canadair something or other. Sadly he was killed an accident. His brother also owned a T33but I never saw it fly. What happened to the Hayden-Baillie collection anyone know?

Flickoff,. .1) OHB's Blenheim (Bolingbroke) went to BAM @ Duxford and was owned by Graham Warner. Rebuild completed and flew in May 1987, only to crash three weeks later as a result of poor airmanship (no libel, it's matter of AAIB record).. ."Second"Blenheim flew in 1993 and is airworthy to date. Operated by ARCO at @ Duxford.. .2) T33 back at Duxford, I think.. .3) CF100 - @ Duxford on static display.

[ 07 February 2002: Message edited by: Bus429 ]</p>

My most memorable was in '84. Brian Lecomber in his Pitts immediately after a fatal. A near perfect routine actually distracted from the smoking wreck in full view.

Quite something.

I think the most breathtaking display I have ever seen was a guy called Daryl Cornell, a company test pilot, displaying the 'Tigershark' - the 2 engined F5 - at Farnborough in 1984? He seemed to be able to make that thing go round square corners! Sadly, he died doing a display in the Far East not long after. RIP Daryl.. .Cheers,. .mcdhu

Vulcan, Joe L'Estrange. didn't so much fly it as make it dance. Hard to explain, but I suspect DD knows what I mean

Spit, Ray Hanna's arrival beat up at Biggin the evening before the BoB 60th annversary show in 2000.

RNeth AF F-27 "Boy" Soons (actually in his mid-fifties)

F-5G Tigershark (Later F-20) Chuck Yeager beating the **** out of the main drag at Las Vegas during some Air Force Assc convention. Stopped the traffic and emptied the casinos.

Harrier our very own John Farley, Hoof Proudfoot was also pretty good in it as the display pilot back in about 1973-4.

Buccaneer, RAF mate called John something, later went to the reds then flying hunters for Flght refuelling-- Broadbent(??)

John Harper with a Stampe, and Brendon and John with their RF3s to music, as mentioned before.

Pete Sheppard - met him last September @ RNAS Yeovilton for the DH110's first flight 50th anniversary bash. Finally hung his helmet up I believe. Have witnessed some of his Sea Fury displays - including one where he was ill over the wheel away from the crowd during his preflight, then put on a superb display as ever, repeated the earlier perfomance during his postflight and sank as many pints as usual that evening! Some player!. .Joe L'Estrange was also based at Yeovilton in the 60's on exchange by coincidence - another player of renown!. .How about Fred's Five - early 60's, and Simon's Sircus with the Phoenix Five @ Farnboro' '68 ; Sea Vixens and Buccaneers? <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

I agree that Xavier de Lapparent flies a phenomenal display in the Sukhoi. I've seen him a couple of times at the North Weald Aerofair - definitely a showstopper.

Also Brian Lecomber's Extra pair at Biggin Hill last year. Flying as close as they did you have to have absolute trust in your partner.

Gennady Elfimov gets every last ounce out of his Yak 52. Landing off the top of a loop - amazing.

Paul Bonhomme - his solo display in the Mk XIV Spitfire at Duxford a couple of years ago - brilliant!

Long may they continue.

My understanding of a Canadian Break is a three quarter roll in the opposite direction to the way you want to turn.

You often see it as part of a run and break. The aircraft comes in fast and low, climbs away, does a three quarter roll to the right so that it ends up in a left turn to join the circuit crosswind for a left hand circuit (or vice versa). The roll brings the aircraft's nose down so that you are nicely level without pulling any negative G. It looks good and is more comfortable to fly than cramming the nose down when you reach circuit height.

RD

Croqueteer.

Do you mean RF4's? Also, I think you will find that the duo was Brendon (O'Brien) and John Taylor.

Rallye driver

I may be wrong but it sounds like you have described a Derry turn or is a Canadian break a variation on this theme?

Any display aeronauts care to comment?

Wunper <img src="cool.gif" border="0">

Wunper, I think Rallye has the description spot on if we are thinking of the same maneouvre which I know as a Roll Under break.

In a Derry Turn the aircraft is in a turn before starting the maneouvre but this one is started with the wings level.

I have seen it used by an aerobatic team as a different way to enter the circuit, with the aircraft in opposite echelon to the normal.

IE. if intending to break to the left the aircraft are in echelon port and the turn is into 270 degree barrel roll to ensure that each aircraft is turning under those following.

However, this has its dangers because the aircraft lose sight of each other once the turn is commenced and for that reason I think it is no longer used.

Aha thanks H C

Wunper

Joe L'Estrange, Mark Hanna, Pete Sheppard, Hugh Proudfoot and John Farley as already mentioned. Any of a number of Lightning display guys in the '60s, early '70s (before rules got in the way!), Harry Burgoyne & Jim Norfolk's C130 Tac Demo in the early '80s.. .Carolyn Grace's sheer courage in picking up the mantle after her husband's sad death - and a bloody good display pilot she's turned out to be!. .Sorry about the military bias!

[ 19 February 2002: Message edited by: Scroggs ]</p>