 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A full history of the building of the replica Vickers Vimy completed in 1994 by the American businessman Peter McMillan, and its flights can be found on their official website - www.vimy.org
Here we mainly concentrate on the Vimy displays in the 1996 UK airshow season which are not covered
elsewhere.
1994
The Vimy recreates the 1919 flight by Ross and Keith Smith from England to Australia. Below are a few publications and videos produced from the flight.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1996
The Vimy is reassembled at Earls Colne after being shipped back from Australia.
Ken Snell, British Airways Concorde pilot, is Chief Pilot for the display season, with the help of
John, Janis and Neil Farley, as flight and ground crew, as well as running the airshow stands.
Numerous others helped including the excellent maintenance work from Skysport.
The aircraft was seen at many different venues during the year, with its base at Kemble, even though throughout the season it rarely saw Kemble due to the travelling between airshows and maintenance
requirements.
Airshows attended during 1996:
Biggin Hill International Air Fair 15th-16th June,
Woodford Air Show 96 22nd-23rd June,
RAF Waddington Air Show 29th-30th June,
PFA International Air Rally 5th-6th-7th July,
Shuttleworth Air Show 7th July,
Popham Airfield (Stop Over)-en route to,
RNAS Yeovilton Air Day 13th July,
RAF Benevolent Fund International Air Tattoo 96 20th-21st July,
Farnborough International 96 2nd-8th September,
The Vimy was the star of each show it attended, and noticable crowd increases where reported at each
of these venues. The aircraft appeared on the front cover of airshow programmes, as well as adorning the
covers of the aviation magazines, with many pages also devoted to it inside. The national newspapers ran
articles on the unique machine, and both local and national television covered the Vimy's appearances
wherever it went. The Vimy also took part in film work for videos and documentaries.
During the year the aircraft attracted a lot of interest including sponsorship from companies wishing to be
part of its next re-enactment flight to Cape Town, South Africa. This sponsorship included BMW to
supply new engines.
Below is a selection of items from the 1996 airshow season.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1998
After being based at Kemble since flying back from Farnborough in 1996, the aircraft underwent some changes including being painted silver (to match the Silver Queen livery for the next intended epic trip), and the addition of new BMW engines in early 1998. After doing the required amount of test flying, the Vimy attended Farnborough again in September of the same year.
Below are a few pictures from 1998.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1999
The Vimy heads off for South Africa on the second of its re-enactment flights. The first time around it took three Vimy's to complete the journey, thankfully this time, just one did nicely!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2000-2004
After being taken back to the USA, the Vimy has been attending airshows and was also used for some sound effects in Star Wars Episode 2! It is presently getting ready for its third flight, recreating the famous transatlantic crossing by Captain John Alcock DSC, RNAS and Lieutenant Arthur Whitten-Brown RFC. The Vimy will attend shows in the United States before hopefully flying back to England.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2005
The Vimy successfully completes the recreation of the first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic.
Visit the website for detailed information:
www.vimy.org
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|