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 Rank: Pro   Groups: Registered, Official Builds Joined: 10/02/2012 Posts: 475 Points: 1,237
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http://www.warbirdsnews....s-flying-formation.html
What a fantastic chance! I really hope to see video links on here when it happens! Tired, Old, and Cranky!
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Rank: Pro Groups: Joined: 24/08/2009 Posts: 48,827 Points: -13,348
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The last time Lancasters flew together was 50 years ago over Toronto, at RCAF Station Downsview. The RCAF flew a special formation of three of the bombers in April 1964 to mark their retirement from service.
The sight of two Lancasters flying in formation once more "is a once in a lifetime opportunity, something that will never happen again,” said Al Mickeloff, spokesman for the museum in Hamilton, which owns the Canadian Lancaster. "We don’t expect to ever do another trip like this.”
Hamilton’s WWII bomber, known as the Mynarski Memorial Lancaster, is an Avro Mk X built in 1945 at Victory Aircraft in Malton, Ont. Used to train air crews and later for coastal patrols and search-and-rescue work, it was retired in 1963. The museum bought it in 1977 for about $10,000 and a team of volunteers restored it and returned the plane to the air on Sept. 24, 1988.
Museum president and CEO David Rohrer said he and the RAF have talked about the possibility of bringing the planes together for more than a decade, but serious discussions started just a few months ago – partly because both groups wanted to do something to mark the 100th anniversary of WWI and 70th anniversary of D-Day this year.
The RAF wanted to arrange a formation flight before its own Lancaster is grounded next year for a planned overhaul. The Hamilton Lancaster was at a perfect point in its maintenance cycle to take on a trip like this, so the museum sent a planning team to the U.K. in January. “A window of opportunity was identified to bring the last two flying Lancasters in the world together in tribute to the crews who flew it, the people at Victory Aircraft who built it, and all the veterans of the war,” Rohrer told CBC News. “We always would have regretted it if we hadn’t tried our best to make this happen when the window presented itself.”
Mickeloff said big audiences are expected at appearances in the U.K., pointing out that the BBMF is a military plane and off-limits to the public, whereas the museum’s Lancaster is a flying exhibit that people can get up close to and even book a flight on. “We are going to give the general public that same access in the U.K. – access that they’ve never had to a Lancaster before. They’ll be able to get right up to it.” “It’s a real honour to be invited to fly with the Royal Air Force,” Rohrer added. “It’s a recognition of the confidence they have in the museum, and in the talent and dedication of the staff and volunteers, that they’re willing to be our host.”
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That'll be a fantastic sight!  Just out of interest, was the Avro Shackelton a 'Marine' version of the Lancaster and are any of them still flying? Robin First wooden ship: The Grimsby 12 Gun 'Frigate' by Constructo Second: Bounty DelPrado Part Works Third: HMS Victory DelPrado Part Works 1/100 scale Diorama of the Battle of the Brandywine from the American Revolutionary War Diorama of the Battle of New Falkland (unfinished sci-fi), Great War Centenary Diorama of the Messines Ridge Assault Index for the Victory diary is on page 1
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Rank: Pro Groups: Registered
Joined: 05/12/2012 Posts: 258 Points: 754 Location: manchester
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hi robin it was a design from the avro Lincoln bomber there is one airworthy one left stationed at ysterplaat airforce base in south Africa benny.
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Many thanks for that Benny! I often wondered whether it was a Lanc or not, pity! I was hoping somebody might rebuild it back to make a third one!  Robin First wooden ship: The Grimsby 12 Gun 'Frigate' by Constructo Second: Bounty DelPrado Part Works Third: HMS Victory DelPrado Part Works 1/100 scale Diorama of the Battle of the Brandywine from the American Revolutionary War Diorama of the Battle of New Falkland (unfinished sci-fi), Great War Centenary Diorama of the Messines Ridge Assault Index for the Victory diary is on page 1
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