Motorbikin!

Just got back from a grand day out at Donington Park, thanks to Paul Lush and his girls. This time it was models and motorbikes.

I must admit that I'm not that excited by motorbikes. Give me classic cars or aircraft any day.  But it was fun all the same; especially as we got to work with some different models.

All the girls had dressed as though they had stepped out of the 1960s.  The plan was for the models to pose by some vintage bikes, but for some reason it didn't quite turn out that way. That was a shame, as I was planning on messing around with the photos in Lightroom to give them an aged feels. Still I am quite happy with this shot, which is more or less out of the camera.

Two highlights of the day was seeing the RAF Memorial Flight fly over the circuit, and this George Formby lookalike, who had recreated a scene from the 1936 film 'No Limit', in which our hero wins the Isle of Man TT race.

What'o Ginger, Chocks Away

I heard a very amusing, but slightly sad story yesterday about a restored WW2 flying Spitfire fighter that had to crashland at East Midlands Airport, after it had problems with its undercarriage.

The plane caused the temporary closure of the airport, and all flights had to be diverted to the airport at Birmingham; 40 miles away  The pilot wasn't hurt and the airport opened after a few hours.

The vintage fighter which belongs to Rolls Royce was fully restored in 2010 and is often used in air displays throughout the summer months. Incidentally Rolls Royce made the Merlin engine that powered the famous fighter.

Hopefully the plane can be repaired and will be able to fly before too long, just like the one below that I snapped in Lincolnshire last summer.

All Fire, No Spit!

For our last day in Woodhall Spa, we decided to visit Tattershall Castle, a National Trust property, about six miles from the small town.

The castle is quite amazing to look at and was restored during the early part of the 20th century. It originally dates from the 15th century.

It has six floors, and you get to see some great views of the Lincolnshire countryside from the battlements.

But what made it extra special today was that a Spitfire flew over the castle whilst we were there. The RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight is stationed at an airfield very close to the castle, and they all took off this afternoon to fly for an event in Lowestoft.

Besides the Spitfire, the Memorial Flight includes, a Lancaster bomber, a Hurricane and a Dakota. Unfortunately neither the Lancaster or Hurricane came out well, and it was an extra surprise to see the Dakota about fifteen minutes later.