The view from the rear turret of the Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’s Avro Lancaster PA474, with Hawker Hurricane IIc LF363 tucked in formation behind it having just flown over the mass of crowds on The Mall and overhead Buckingham Palace, where Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and members of the Royal Family were on the balcony to watch on June 5. senior aircraftsman daniel herrick/mod

It’s been quite a month since my last editorial. The UK air show season is now up and running, and following Aeroplane’s “Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Number”, the Royal events of the extended weekend of June 2-5 seemed to have the nation on an upbeat note for a change.

The highlight of those events for aviation enthusiasts was the RAF flypast over Buckingham Palace on June 5. In challenging weather conditions the historic aircraft of the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight were a magnificent sight – especially Avro Lancaster I PA474 with four Supermarine Spitfires and a Hawker Hurricane in formation. The Flight’s Officer Commanding, Sqn Ldr Ian Smith, is the subject of our Flying Visit this month too – see page 96. His passion for the RAF, its heritage and historic aircraft has meant that his leadership of the RAF BBMF for the past three seasons has been exemplary.

As I live in Lincolnshire, south of the Flight’s base at RAF Coningsby, its aircraft often fly over the surrounding area when returning home from southern events. It has therefore been a treat to occasionally see and even just hear them fly-by in recent weeks, after the sombre silence during their winter maintenance!

I was then amazed to see the wonderful pictures of the “Lanc” wearing its 100 Sqn paint scheme in formation with two BAe Hawks from the unit, newly-repainted into “retro” Lancaster schemes to mark the squadron’s 95th anniversary. That was a unique formation and again highlights the value that the modern RAF places on its rich heritage.

This issue also marks the 70th anniversary of the United States Army Air Force’s arrival in the UK and its first mission. The USAAF arrived “over here” in May 1942, and Mission 1 was flown in August. There are various US themed features to honour the occasion, including a fascinating report on a part of the flight of Consolidated B-24 Liberator Diamond Lil from the USA to the UK in 1992 by one of its pilots David J. Hastings. That flight marked the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the USAAF in the UK, so amazingly for those of us who remember it, that means it’s already the 20th anniversary of that epic trip!

As I wrap up the production of this issue, I’m desperately looking forward to Flying Legends at the Imperial War Museum Duxford. Having missed seeing Republic P-47D Thunderbolt No Guts, No Glory at Duxford for a number of years now, seeing the amazing air-to-air pictures of P-47G Snafu (see pages 38-40) whetted my appetite to once again see a P-47 wearing 78th Fighter Group markings flying from there.

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Making a newsworthy start to this “Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Number” of Aeroplane, it is most appropriate to note that thousands of troops, six massed bands and the biggest tri-Service flypast in years formed a spectacular tribute by the Armed Forces to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor on May 19. The event – the Diamond Jubilee Parade and Muster – began with a “Diamond Nine” formation flypast of RAF Typhoons over Windsor Castle, before more than 2,500 Service personnel from the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force paraded before the Queen. Heading through the town, the parade was cheered along by many thousands of well-wishers before mustering in a specially-built arena in the grounds of the castle. To close the celebrations, a magnificent 78-aircraft flypast from all three Services took place, which was led by helicopters. Then the iconic Avro Lancaster and four Supermarine Spitfires of the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight led the fixed-wing elements. The highlights of these included 20 Shorts Tucanos flying in a “60” formation, but most patriotic of all was some 27 BAE Hawks flying in an “EIIR” formation representing the Queen’s cypher (standing for Elizabeth II Regina). LA (PHOT) DAVE JENKINS/MOD

Last year I particularly enjoyed putting together the June issue, which marked Aeroplane’s centenary. I’d only been working on the magazine for a few issues, and some of the articles in that particular edition gave me the opportunity to have a good search through the wealth of wonderful material in the Aeroplane archives, especially the mass of large format glass plate negatives.

I therefore thought that to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee this year, it would be good to again search through those negatives to make a special section of the magazine with a Royal theme. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II received the news of her father’s death and her own accession to the throne on Wednesday, February 6, 1952, while as Princess Elizabeth she had been staying in a remote part of Kenya. The tour was abandoned, and the young Princess flew back to Britain as Queen. Among those greeting her at the airport was Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The Coronation took place in Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953.

The Aeroplane published a special “Coronation Number” to mark the occasion, and as we drew on the magazine’s heritage with last year’s “Special Centenary Collectors’ Number” as we called it, I thought it would be appropriate to call this issue a “Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Number”. I hope you enjoy our special “Royal” themed section of the magazine.

Some months ago Philip Jarrett spoke to me to say that with his retirement fast approaching, he would like to step back from his work on the magazine to concentrate on his book writing, and from this issue he has decided to do so. Philip was assistant editor of Aeroplane Monthly from its launch in 1973 until 1980, and production editor of Flight International from 1980 to 1989. He continued to work for Aeroplane in a freelance editorial capacity, contributing many articles over the years. During my time on Aeroplane Philip’s work sub-editing and proof reading for me has been particularly valuable. We wish him well with his writing, and no doubt his books will appear in our review pages!

From the next issue we welcome Sarah Robinson on board as Aeroplane’s new sub-editor. Sarah is a professional sub-editor and as well as having worked on many and various magazines and newspapers, has worked on numerous aviation titles. I look forward to working with her soon.

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During the late stages of the 2011 UK season, air showspectators were delighted to seeMark One Partners Ltd’s Spitfire I P9374 airborne (see Aeroplane January 2012 for exclusive air-to-airs and a pilot report by John Romain). It is seen here at the Goodwood Revival in September.More incredible historic aircraft are set to fly in the UK this year, following restoration. MARTIN EAMES

AFTER WORKING THROUGH the Events Guide included with this issue, and especially seeing the dates of my favourite events and selecting from the mass of pictures taken during 2011, I was uplifted by the prospect that the UK display season is fast approaching. Last year’s season seems so long ago, but was so enjoyable that the memories vividly live on.

This year there is so much to look forward to, with a number of “new” aircraft expected to appear. In the news in this issue we learn that Dan and Tom Friedkin’s Supermarine Spitfire I X4650 has already flown at Biggin Hill in Kent, just up the road from our head office. And we eagerly await the maiden flight of the Historic Aircraft Collection’s Hawker Fury I, K5674/G-CBZP, the world’s only surviving example of its type.

So all is set for a great season to come. We hope to see you out and about at some of this year’s events, and please do say hello if you see us. I sincerely hope that you all have a great 2012 air show season, watching the amazing variety of historic aircraft resident in the UK take to the skies. All we can do is keep our fingers crossed that the British weather plays ball!

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