It is quite a busy time at Old Warden with summer events. A temporary visitor is the ex-Fleet Air Arm Navy Wings “Stringbag” or more properly Fairy Swordfish above. On Saturday there was a vintage fly in which brought in a favourite of mine, a Beech Staggerwing. Aircraft like this evoke thoughts of glamorous flying in the 1930s, a far cry from budget airlines and crowded airports of today. Not nostalgia but certainly rose tinted spectacles. :-) There is a mechanic working on the right main gear in the photo below and there is a lot of work to keep these veterans in the air. Sadly there will be more work for the next plane a Miles M3-A Falcon. As it landed it suddenly started making pirhouettes after coming to a halt. A puncture left main gear tyre was the cause. The passenger got out and used his strength to hold the aircradt straight as the pilot attempted to exit the runway but, oops, a little too heavy on the throttle and you can see what followed in the pictures berlow. The Shuttleworth team were quickly on the scene and they proceded with a lengthy recovery operation. It was still being recoverd about 45 minutes later. Here are a few snaps of some of the entertaining machines that had made the journey to Old Warden on a bank holiday Saturday. A lovely old Piper crew had brought their guard dog. As you can assess from the last picture it was a popular day with free entry except for the collection hangars and Swiss Garden where normal charges applied. As a Shuttleworth Vintage Aircraft Society (SVAS) member my £30 annual sub allows free access all of the year round and discounts on flying days. Probably the best value membership in the local area, if you like aeroplanes and gardens.