Pilot's Notes

Mark Hanna – Pt.4 – The Truly Great

Mark Hanna – Pt.4 – The Truly Great

“Mark wasn’t just a display pilot. That does him an injustice. He was a visionary.” The fourth part of our Mark Hanna anthology takes us through the 1990s, exploring the “passion and emotion” that made him such a special character. Read more

A History: Cliff Spink & the Spitfire

A History: Cliff Spink & the Spitfire

Cliff Spink is the only living pilot to have flown all of the airworthy Spitfire marks – I through PR.XIX. This is his epic 30-year story told in rich detail with an abundance of unique insight, unpublished personal stories and emotional reflections on a wonderful career. Read more

On Silvered Wings: Flying the sole surviving Hawker Fury

On Silvered Wings: Flying the sole surviving Hawker Fury

The Historic Aircraft Collection’s Hawker Fury is one of the most prized aeroplanes in historic aviation. Restored to exquisite standards by Retrotec Ltd, K5674 is a modern-day looking glass into the lesser known history of the interwar RAF. Flying such a precious survivor brings with it its own unique pressures and challenges. Read more

John Romain: The Career Retrospective

John Romain: The Career Retrospective

In this monumental Pilot’s Notes, the Aircraft Restoration Company’s John Romain offers the most in-depth, deeply personal reflections on his aviation career to date. We trace his unique story from childhood to the present, exploring how his engineering prowess and exceptional airmanship led him to the forefront of the world’s historic aviation scene. Read more

Raimund Riedmann on his love affair with the P-38 Lightning

Raimund Riedmann on his love affair with the P-38 Lightning

A highlight of the Flying Legends airshow 2011 was the UK début of the Flying Bulls’ striking P-38 Lightning. Over the weekend of 9-10 July, the Lightning wowed the large crowds with its elegant routine. For its pilot, Raimund Riedmann, displaying at Flying Legends was the culmination of a personal journey that began decades earlier… Read more

Orchestrating Duxford’s 17 Spitfire Salute

Orchestrating Duxford’s 17 Spitfire Salute

IWM Duxford’s Battle of Britain 75th Anniversary Air Show in September 2015 featured a monumental 17 Spitfire finale. Brian Smith, the architect of the sequence and the formation leader, offers his impressions of planning and executing the routine. Read more