Propliner Magazine

29/05/2026

Aerovias operated a small fleet of Dart Heralds in Guatemala during the late-eighties/early-nineties. Series 206 TG-ASA (c/n 166) was originally delivered to Eastern Provincial Airways in Canada as CF-EPI in February 1963. Purchased by British Air Ferries (BAF), she was delivered to Southend on January 28 1975 and after crew training was placed into service on February 20 flying a service from Southend to Rotterdam. Retired from BAF service early in February 1987, she was initially stored before beginning a slow overhaul at Southend on November 14 1987. Sold to Aerovias as TG-ASA and painted in a simple blue, green and white livery she departed from Southend for Prestwick at the beginning of her ferry flight on April 21 1988. She arrived at Miami on April 26, where she was promptly repainted into the red, blue and white livery seen in the accompanying photograph, which was taken by Siegmar Fieweger at Tikal Airport in March 1990, and contributed to "Propliner" many years ago. We thank Siegmar for capturing this beauty on home territory whilst operating passenger services in a 50-seat configuration.

27/05/2026

As part of the 90th Anniversary celebrations, Aer Lingus has confir...

27/05/2026

26/05/2026

Gosh it’s hot! 🥵

We’ve had a busy few days in the heatwave but have been out and about making the most of the great flying weather. We were delighted to be at Goodwood yesterday for the Rob Wildeboer Scholarship Fly-In and have been at Wellesbourne Mountford today completing all the necessary checks and are now ready for the 2026 pleasure flying season to begin!

If you would like the chance to fly with us this year then please come and find us at Old Warden Airfield on one of the following dates.

***FIRST DATE IS THIS SATURDAY!!***

May
30th: Shuttleworth Wings and Wheels Airshow

June
27/28th: Shuttleworth Festival of Flight

August
15th: Shuttleworth Flying Proms

29th: Shuttleworth Military Airshow

Prices for our pleasure flights will be £135 per adult and £80 for children under 12yrs. We don’t take advance bookings, just keep an eye on our social media for any updates and come and find us on the day.

Here’s to another happy flying season!!

(Thanks and credit to Steve Brooks for his fabulous photo from yesterday’s flight)

25/05/2026

Having spent much of her flying career with British European Airways flying services between Land's End and the Isles of Scilly, de Havilland DH.89A Dragon Rapide G-AHKU (c/n 6810) was sold to British Westpoint Airlines at Exeter in May 1964. When the latter company ceased operations in the summer of 1966, G-AHKU was acquired by Treffield Aviation in July 1966, but instead of sporting Treffield titling the aircraft was painted with Dominie Airways titles - Dominie being the name given to the military DH.89B version. One of her first commercial flights was a charter from Blackpool to Belfast and return on July 20, before beginning charter flights and pleasure flying from Castle Donington Airport on August 6 1966. On October 18 Lord Trefgarne - one of the founders of Treffield - flew the Rapide from Castle Donington to Southend to finalise the lease contract with Channel Airways for three series 812 Viscounts to be flown on IT charters during the 1967 summer season by the renamed Treffield International Airways. Introduction of the Viscounts early in 1967 led to the Rapide being used for numerous crew ferry flights between Castle Donington, Liverpool, Gatwick and Cardiff. G-AHKU is pictured idle at Castle Donington on April 15 1967, a day after operating a crew ferry to Cardiff. Treffield International ceased operations on June 23 1967, following which the Rapide returned to the West Country for service with Scillonia Airways. This picture was taken by the late Peter R. Keating and comes from the collection of the late Tony Eastwood, whose family we would like to thank for allowing us to share this rare colour photograph with a wider audience. Thanks are also extended to Tim Spearman for his time and expertise in colour slide scanning.

23/05/2026

We’re delighted to announce that Aero Legends has formally applied for an Air Operators Certificate (AOC) to enable passenger flights on our iconic Douglas C-47 Dakota aircraft.

Reaching this point has been a lengthy and complex process, requiring a substantial amount of work behind the scenes alongside ongoing engagement with the Civil Aviation Authority. While there is undoubtedly still a significant amount of work ahead of us, we are incredibly excited to be moving forward with our plans.

The Douglas C-47 Dakota is one of the most important and recognisable aircraft in aviation history, with a legacy spanning D-Day, the Berlin Airlift and countless operations around the world. To have the opportunity, in the hopefully not too distant future, to share the experience of flying aboard these remarkable aircraft with the public is something we are hugely passionate about.

Alongside our future passenger flight ambitions, we remain fully committed to supporting the parachute teams operating from our Dakotas with commemorative parachute jumps throughout the UK and Europe, together with numerous appearances at airshows and aviation events.

We look forward to sharing further updates as the project progresses.

21/05/2026

Rare colour shot of BOAC Boeing 377 Stratocruiser G-ANUM (c/n 15927) "Clyde" taxying at Bournemouth (Hurn) Airport probably during a crew training sortie circa 1956. Hurn was a favourite choice by BOAC crews for training, with Britannias and Constellations also enjoying the relaxed nature of operations at this famous south coast airport. G-ANUM was purchased from Pan American World Airways on August 26 1954, one of several aircraft acquired following the grounding of BOAC's Comet 1 fleet. Loved by passengers and crews alike, the gracious Stratocruisers mainly served on routes from London to New York, Boston, Chicago, Montreal, Bermuda, Nassau and Montego Bay, with some schedules staging via Manchester and Prestwick, and on occasions via Gander too. Towards the end of their service the type was used on routes to West Africa, and G-ANUM carried West African Airways titling in the spring of 1958, shortly before her sale to Transocean Air Lines in July 1958. This gorgeous view showing smoke trailing from the exhausts of the mighty 28-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Majors was taken by R.A. Woodcock and comes via the Bournemouth Aviation Museum, to whom we offer our sincere thanks.

19/05/2026

18/05/2026

G-ANBD (c/n 12905) was one of four Bristol Britannia 102 aircraft flown by B.K.S. Air Transport. Lease-purchased from BOAC, G-ANBD was flown from Heathrow to Prestwick on November 17 1965 for overhaul by Scottish Aviation. At the time the airline's main centre of operations at Newcastle (Woolsington) Airport was closed while a new terminal building, control tower and an extended runway were constructed. Thus, following overhaul G-ANBD was delivered to nearby Teesside on December 17 1965 and was initially used on scheduled services to Heathrow and a seasonal holiday route to Tenerife. When the new runway at Newcastle Airport re-opened in April 1966, Britannias resumed operation of the several times daily route to Heathrow, together with summer services to Basle, Jersey, Ostend and Palma, winter season services to the Canary Islands, and skiing flights to Munich. Leased to Britannia Airways at Luton on April 27 1968, G-ANBD returned to B.K.S. at Southend on October 1 1968, whereupon she was overhauled and painted in the new British Air Services livery following the airline becoming part of the group alongside Cambrian Airways. Re-entering service at Heathrow on February 3 1969 this Britannia flew her final service on January 12 1970 from Heathrow to Newcastle, following which she was scrapped a short time later. G-ANBD is pictured on the old Newcastle apron in July 1966 alongside a visiting Channel Airways Viscount 701, with this glorious view captured by the late Ian MacFarlane, to whom we offer our sincere thanks for ensuring that Newcastle's illustrious aviation history was recorded on film so comprehensively for so many years.

14/05/2026