PROJECT PROPELLER

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2001 - Duxford Meet

Duxford once again played host to a wonderful day. In all, 97 aircraft flew in and 192 air crew attended, plus a number of sponsors and supporters.

The weather tried it's best to put us off for a number of days prior to the event, but we are not easily beaten! On the day the weather was good enough and we were fortunate to lose only a few aircraft - mostly from the north. Well done to David Knott and crew who made it all the way from Carlisle. This is certainly the most distant starting point, but other pilots may have had a longer flight due to picking up passengers at other airfields. Worthy of mention are John Varndell (Alderney-Blackbushe-Duxford-Blackbushe-Alderney), Mike Munn (Turweston-Dunkeswell-Duxford-Dunkeswell-Turweston), Ian Seager (Kemble-Dunkeswell-Duxford-Dunkeswell-Jersey) and John Smith (Bournemouth-Dunkeswell-Duxford-Dunkeswell-Bournemouth).

Wing Commander Bill Stapleton CBE was good enough to officially start the day's events rolling, introducing Alex Henshaw as our guest speaker. We were very fortunate to secure the services of Alex, as he is very sparing with his public appearances. His talk was much appreciated and enjoyed by all who were able to listen. Alex was also kind enough to sign a copy of his book "Sigh for a Merlin", which was given to Gideon Todes as a "retirement" gift.

Alex's talk was followed by a practice flying display given by Andrew Dixon in the DC3. Tony Holden once again offered the Dakota at no cost to Project Propeller, and we are very grateful to him and his team for their efforts on our behalf.

Next came the complimentary pleasure flights (including aerobatics). 2001 was our second year offering these flights and they are becoming very popular. Thanks go to the following pilots for donating their time and aircraft :

David Wall (Tiger Moth)
Peter Greenyer (Miles Messenger)
Peter Holloway (Robin)
John Swimmerton (Piper Cub)
Phil Cottrell (DHC1 Chipmunk)
Adrian Keeling (DHC1 Chipmunk)
Gerard Clark (Cap 10b, aerobatics)
Dave Cockburn (Pitts Special, aerobatics)

Whilst all this was going on there were complimentary refreshments provided in the "Concorde Room", plus unlimited access to the exhibits of the Imperial War Museum.

The "Squadron Lists" proved very popular - eight were placed around for viewing and only one was returned at the end of the day! The purpose of these lists was to show the names of the air crew against the squadron numbers. Our records are far from complete in this respect, and we were hoping for additions and corrections to be noted onto the lists for our attention. If you have one of these lists with comments on, please return it to us and we will gladly replace it with an updated copy.

A few pilots had to leave early, due to distances travelled and destination airfield closing times. The big rush for departures started just after 4:00pm and went on until almost 6:00 pm.

Guest Book Comments

This what some of our guests have had to say:

David Pearce, Secretary East Kent Branch ACA

On behalf of the following members of our branch, John Adley, Dick Archer, Charles Gethin, Ken Stamp, Jack Wingate and myself, many thanks for all the hard work you have put into the meeting at Duxford. We believe this was the best year yet, and look forward to more in the future.

Brod Pitt-Steele, pilot based at Old Buckenham

Many thanks Dennis & Lynette for another excellent event, your hard work showed through. My Father-in-law, Norman Stimson, has also asked me to pass on his thanks.
I wondered if I might have a copy of the squadrons list, Norman only got a fleeting glance of it when he was there. I also wonder if at future events it may be an idea to get the various squadrons to have their own little table, with some posters, memorabelia, register and meeting point - just a thought? Thanks again.

Harry Coleman, navigator 186 Squadron based at Tuddenham & Stradishall

I write to thank you and your colleagues for the day out at Duxford - and what a wonderful day it was. I enclose a small contribution to the funds.
I am impressed with the whole concept of Project Propeller, and to know that younger men and women have a regard for we old codgers is quite humbling. To realise that it was we - the guests - being referred to as "air crew" made me straighten up and throw my chest out!
Thank you again for your efforts to fit me in at the last moment. All being well I would like to be invited next year. Good luck to you in the future and keep it (Project Propeller) going.

Freddie Frost, pilot based at White Waltham

This is to record my appreciation of the wonderful effort that you and your dedicated Team put into last W/Es gathering at Duxford. Project Propeller provided a tremendous amount of enjoyment to your guests, and was an obvious success, - thanks to the hard work of Lynette and yourself, Dave, Ian and crew, in organising the reunion.
Tom Dehn, John Cooper, and George Terry, have asked me to express their sincere thanks to you, for making it such an enjoyable day.

Bill Law, WWII pilot instructor from Devon

I have been given the pleasant task by my A.C.A. colleagues Ron Williams and Alex Gostling of writing to thank you for the wonderful day we had at Duxford on 9th June.
We think it surpassed last year and that in itself is a compliment. Our guess is that over 100 light aircraft were there. (Not far out Bill, 97 flew in).
Last year when we returned, it was suggested that Ron and I were like two excited schoolboys. This year Alec was with us so we became three excited schoolboys!
We want to pay tribute to our pilot, Roger Panell. Totally organised and a great credit to the amateur flying fraternity - in fact the word "amateur" is wrong, he is totally professional.
You good people are certainly helping to keep us young!
Finally, please thank Lynette for the great job she does on reception - she certainly has a lot to do with the success of Project Propeller.

Deryck McCusker, Wop/AG on Hudsons and Halifaxes

I am writing to thank you and your Project Propeller pilot/owners for including me and my Isle of Wight colleagues in the event at Duxford on 9th June.
The Project Propeller team made it a truly memorable day for us "Oldies". It is indeed a most generous and expensive operation for you all to mount, and merely to say "thank you" seems a quite inadequate gesture.
Please pass on an extra "thank you" to my pilot, Vasa Babic, for his kindness, skill and patient handling throughout the whole day's outing.
A sincere and grateful thank you to you all.

Jack Ball, WWII air crew from Borehamwood

Just a short note in appreciation of Project Propeller 2001, and all the hard work that obviously went into it. Having failed to make the trip last year I was amazed by the number of aircraft lining the edge of the runway when we arrived at Duxford. That was the first time I realised the complexity of the whole operation. We had a good flight back in the Cap 10, just a couple of rolls to divert our attention.
I close with thanks to all those whose work made the day so successful, and my compliments to the Project Propeller team.

Gerry Taylor, navigator on Wellingtons and Lancasters

I am sending this short note to say how much I enjoyed this year's Project Propeller with Stanley Simmons as pilot and Jack Rendell in the co-pilot's seat!
Both flights were excellent - the weather was, on the whole, very kind to us for the day. As usual it was good to see the various exhibits at Duxford.
My thanks to you and all the people who helped to organise things so well that so many of us could gather and enjoy the day.
I hope that I may have the pleasure of taking part again next year.

Dennis Emmett, WWII RAF pilot

Thank you once again for all your hard work on our behalf, and which resulted in such a fabulous and memorable day at Duxford on Saturday 9th June.
This year was my second visit with Project Propeller, and this time we arrived by air, through the good offices of David Freeman and his friend Ian, with their Piper Cherokee 140 from Seawings Flying Club at Southend airport.
The fourth member of our party was Bob, also ex WWII air crew, who I had not previously met, but, who as the day went on entranced us with his stories and experiences of flying Avro Yorks, Hastings, Brittannias and Tridents during a lifetime of flying, and accumulation some 21,000 hours of logged time. I know now why he was taking so much interest, during our hosts pre-flight briefing, in their weight and balance calculations. In the event we had a super flight in a well cared for and equipped, albeit hard worked 140.
We all agreed that it was a great day for all of us, in every way, and the icing on the cake had to be meeting and listening to a presentation of his life and experiences from Alex Henshaw. What a wonderful man and truly a great ambassador for British aviation, throughout his life time. Thank you all once again, and I will certainly be looking forward to Project Propeller in 2002.

A photo of a Chipmunk and Dakota at PP2002