Following the terribly sad news of the passing of a true hero yesterday, our beloved Johnny Johnson, only one place was suitable for some low flying and airdrop training today in the A400. The whole crew joined me in remembering him as we flew. Lest We Forget. RIP Sir.

A very pleasant afternoon out with an airdrop at Abingdon Airfield in the A400M. A very nicely filmed video of a pair of 750kg CDS containers making their way out of the aircraft.

Roll on the summer. 😊😁

To celebrate International Women’s Day, a hugely talented media officer colleague and friend of mine produced this while on Ops in the Middle East. A brilliantly fitting tribute.

Today, Paul ‘Ernie’ Wise and I regained Dakota currency in preparation for our upcoming Lancaster flying. Many thanks to Aero Legends for their very kind loan of Dakota KP220 and their incredibly helpful pilot instructors and Dakota gurus, Andrew Dixon and Pete Peers-Johnson.

80 years ago tonight, 19 Lancaster Bombers, with 133 crew, took off from RAF Scampton to undertake one of the most famous raids in the history of the Royal Air Force. 8 of those aircraft did not return. 53 crew were killed. 3 were taken prisoner. Lest We Forget. The Dambusters

✈ To commemorate the 80th anniversary year of the Dambusters Raid, we’re joining forces with RAF Typhoon Display Team once again to present a unique formation that can be seen at selected air shows this display season. 👀🎥 Here’s a sneak peak at what you can expect to see this summer!

79 years on, please take a moment to remember those who gave so much, so bravely in 1944. If you have not already, I can thoroughly recommend visiting the place that these events occurred to pay homage. Lest We Forget. D-Day.

1/2 A sad day witnessing, albeit on television, the last public appearance of the beloved C-130 Hercules in Royal Air Force service. 56 years in 2 variants and, personally, 13 years of my service. Operationally, she kept me unfalteringly safe in unsavoury places. So grateful.

2/2 The Hercules served this country with distinction. The least glamorous role carried out with the greatest of ability. First in, last out. Albert, your time is done and you will be missed. You allowed me to work with the best people one could ever hope to. Lest We Forget

If anyone is interested in how the dear old C-130 and her crews were seen by our “customers”, this is really worth a read. As crew, I experienced first hand the other side of the story, and can vouch for its authenticity! Dark Cockpits & Dangerous Skies thinpinstripedline.blogspot.com/2023/06/dark-c…

Brilliant video from Jamie “JJ” Jackson from the RAF Coningsby Families’ Day on Friday.

The very old, the old and the relatively new (but shortly to be demolished) in one picture. Great capture Nick

To close our weekend at IWM Duxford for the Battle of Britain Airshow, we’re delighted to share this Go Pro footage taken from the B-17 Flying Fortress, Sally B, who flew in formation ahead of our Lancaster, PA474. #gopro #inflightfootage #lancaster #B17 #battleofbritain

A very nice video of a bit of Unprepared Runway operations training that I did last week. Always great fun landing a large transport aircraft on a beach!

Paid a little visit to Wolverhampton Halfpenny Green Airport yesterday with the day job aircraft. Beautiful blue skies!

As the 2024 season approaches, I thought it may interest some to get an insight into how we operate our wonderful aircraft.

Many congratulations to Dr Sarah-Louise Miller 🇺🇦 on the release of her second book, The Lancaster Story. I think that many of my followers would be very interested in reading it!

PDA was awarded to the RAF BBMF Lancaster Display today. Huge thanks to our tireless, devoted and expert engineers and the rest of our fantastic team for the hard work to allow this to happen. That noise. ❤️ Lest We Forget.

Fabulous footage of us displaying Sanicole Airshow last weekend.