I was at Culdrose Air Day on Wed 29th, it was very wet, windy and cold. Loads of people left, but 3 hours late the flying display DID happen and only the Hurricane, Seafire and Vickers VC 10 did not display.
The PBYA Catalina (registered G-PBYA !) was fine. Standing next to it my Dad (ex Fleet Air Arm navigator) noticed the handrail on the roof and suddenly remembered a war-time experience on a Cat in similar wet and windy conditions off the North coast of Scotland in winter. They landed on rough seas but were being carried by fierce wind, driving rain and heavy tide towards rocks. The pilot ordered him up onto the roof of the cabin with a boat hook to try and moor on a buoy, whilst the engines stayed at half power. He had to lie on the roof, holding the rail with one hand whilst flailing around with the boat hook with the starboard 10ft diam metal prop spinning inches from him.
The Eurofighter Typhoon display was truly staggering, I can see why its is reckoned to be the best military plane in the world.
Endless bad weather, lots of work, and several trips away mean that I only used my Trojan once in the whole of July. August looks changeable too.
