The October showcase day at Duxford provided one last chance for enthusiasts to enjoy some flying in a year that had certainly been like no other. This gave another chance to enjoy a few of the lesser seen Duxford types.

Though a long-time Duxford resident, the NA64 Yale made no public appearances until the summer of 2019 following a change of ownership. Happily this was able to continue into 2020 with the aircraft making a number of flights, including two display flights at Duxford Showcase events.

Joining the Yale and leading the formation was the Aircraft Restoration Company’s Beaver, one of two examples of the type restored by the company, both in civilian “executive” configuration. With only two examples of the Beaver on the airshow circuit (the other with the Army Historic Flight), it is always a great sight to see this iconic Canadian machine in a flying display.

The third radial machine in this formation was Duxford regular Harvard “Wacky Wabbit”, seen often on both pleasure flying and display duties.

This three ship must have been a sight not seen for many many years, if at all and I would certainly think it hasn’t been seen outside of Canada before. The wonderful sound as these classic radials got into the air and climbed out past the tank bank was great. A graceful formation display followed before the three ship broke off.

The Harvard performed as spirited a display as was possible in the low cloud base, while the Yale and Beaver followed each other through in a graceful tailchase. This routine was a great reminder of how full of character these early trainers/support types are.