Daks over Normandy: 2-5 June 2019@Duxford

[ninyule]

Your link is broken...it looks to be that it is just PH-PBA that is involved. So there is hope that others might be able?? Down to CAA of course.

Quick update:
N47E has arrived at PIK 22/05.
N74589 is on finals to PIK.
N47TB has made landfall and will be arriving PIK shortly.

From what I can tell, the others are well behind, with some still at Reykjavik and two diverted to another field in Greenland. From what I can tell some of the contingent are still in the US.

The D-Day Squadron is presumably staying at PIK until May 25 at the earliest, as they are booked to take part in a Display. It may not be completely accurate - their FB page mentions Caen but nothing about Duxford!

With loads of time on my hands I have been using Google and FR24 - if I can I will post a big update later.

[Mark_Aviation]

AIRCRAFT POSITIONS REPORT – 22/05

I put all of this together using Flightaware, Flightradar24 and social media posts to get an accurate overview of the current situation. This is all the U.S. Dakotas listed on the Daks over Normandy website.

Currently it looks like only 13 of the U.S. based Dakotas are making the trip. Those are:

N33611 Clipper Tabitha May Duxford

N47E Miss Virginia Prestwick
N25641 Liberty Prestwick
N74589 Placid Lassie Prestwick
N47TB That’s all Brother Prestwick

N8336C The Spirit of Benovia Reykjavik

N45366 D-Day Doll Narsarsuaq
N62CC Virginia Ann Narsarsuaq
N103NA Flabob Express Narsarsuaq

N47SJ Betsy’s Biscuit Bomber Kangerlussuaq
N877MG Pan American Airways Systems Kangerlussuaq

N24320 Miss Montana Presque Isle

** N150D 101st Airborne Tribute Currently pinging on Flightradar 24 at Oshkosh **

U.S. Aircraft not making the trip (Not Confirmed):

N534BE The Duchess of Dakota Last Flew 09/05/15 at Fargo
N836M Luck of the Irish Last Flew 29/11/12 at Beaver Falls
N472AF KG668 Last flew 18/05 at Terre Haute
N29TN (Super DC-3S) Last flew 22/08/13 at Wasilla
N28AA Candler Field Express Last flew 29/11/17 at Atlanta
** N18121 The Great Silver Fleet Currently flying around Portland on Flightradar24 at 2316 BST. **
N341A “Golden Age Air Tours” Last flew 30/09/18 at Oakland

All information is accurate at time of posting.

I haven’t made a list of European Dakotas making the trip as it’s too early to tell yet. However, the Daks over Normandy website lists 15 European Dakotas attending. We can safely assume Drag ‘em oot will not be at Duxford. And assuming there will be a few more drop out, we will be looking at around 20-25 Dakotas at Duxford total. That’s almost half what was expected when this whole thing was announced. With that being said, 20-25 Dakotas from Europe and the U.S. is still a great achievement!

[thevulcan]

Quick question will the other dokotas that are at Prestwick continue there journey down to duxford this week.

[Mark_Aviation]

Quick question will the other dokotas that are at Prestwick continue there journey down to duxford this week.

12 of them (maybe 11 excluding Clipper Tabitha May) will stay at Prestwick for the events there this weekend. Then they should depart to Duxford on the 2nd/ 3rd June.

[ninyule]

So there's at least 3 or 4 of the US-based aircraft that haven't flown for at least two years! Bad form - the organisers must have known they were highly unlikely to make the trip, so why list them??

My take on the Europeans:
RA2944G and RA05738 are both up for sale. No flight info.
HA-LIX - based BUD, last flown 01/05.
F-AZOX - I can find no flight info at all...Planebase 3 has it owned by Seine Aviation and based at La Ferte Alais.
PH-PBA - even though the scenic flight news is bad, I would say a strong contender to attend. Last flew today.
OH-LCH - Two flights HEM 22/05.
ZA947 - Last flew BZZ 16/05.
LN-WND - Last flew TRF 21/05.
OY-BPB - Last flew RKE 16/05.
SE-CFP - Last flew NRK 14/08/18. Not looking good.
N473DC - Flew BQH 20/5.
N147DC - Last flew HYC 05/05.

So that makes 11 US definitely on their way, a possible 3 or 4 stragglers still in US, and a possible 7 or 8 based in Europe. However, inevitably there will be a few US that don't make it across the pond, and some Europeans won't attend for technical or fundraising reasons.

Unless there are some unannounced, I think the final tally could struggle to get to 20...

[thevulcan]

http://warbirdsnews.com/airshow-news/d- ... e-bay.html
This clears up some questions. The five that remain in goose bay were snowed in they should have departed by now to continue there journey.

[ninyule]

Thanks for the link. I can't tie up the 15 US aircraft mentioned in the article. By my reckoning it's 11, with N24320 the only one still in the US, last known at Presque Isle (PQI).

However, I am getting most of my info from FR24, which can be ridiculously inaccurate. I'm guessing none of these oldies will have ADS-B boxes fitted, unless it is a requirement for an oceanic crossing??

Otherwise nothing else is doing much, except for OH-LCH in the circuit at HEM.

[ninyule]

OK, as of 1426 on 24th May, we have the following:

N877MG - arr PIK 24/05.
N45366 - arr PIK 24/05.
N47SJ - arr PIK 24/05.
N103NA - arr PIK 24/05.
N8336C - arr RKV 21/05.
N62CC - arr RKV 23/05. Airborne from RKV as I write but no arrival airport shown.
N24320 - arr Goose Bay 23/05.
N18121 - arr Narsarsuaq 21/05.

I think that's it for the US contingent - none of the other possibles have made any moves. So that makes 13 in total.

Of the Europe possibles there are 9 recently active, 5 not active (EUR and US) for years, and 6 that I can find no info for.

So I'm guessing between 20 and 25 aircraft that make it to QFO. Not too bad, but somewhat short of the original 38...

[Mark_Aviation]

AIRCRAFT POSITIONS REPORT – 24/05

I put all of this together using Flightaware, Flightradar24 and social media posts to get an accurate overview of the current situation. This is all the U.S. Dakotas listed on the Daks over Normandy website.

Currently it looks like only 15 of the U.S. based Dakotas are making the trip. Those are:

N33611 Clipper Tabitha May Duxford

N47TB That’s all Brother Coventry

N47E Miss Virginia Prestwick
N25641 Liberty Prestwick
N74589 Placid Lassie Prestwick
N45366 D-Day Doll Prestwick
N62CC Virginia Ann Prestwick
N103NA Flabob Express Prestwick
N47SJ Betsy’s Biscuit Bomber Prestwick
N877MG Pan American Airways Systems Prestwick

N8336C The Spirit of Benovia Weston, Ireland

N24320 Miss Montana En-route Goose Bay to Iqaluit

** N18121 The Great Silver Fleet En-route Missoula, MT to Bismarck, ND **

** N341A “Golden Age Air Tours” Currently pinging on Flightradar24 at Oakland **

N150D 101st Airborne Tribute Last flew 22/05 at Oshkosh

U.S. Aircraft not making the trip (Not Confirmed):

N534BE The Duchess of Dakota Last Flew 09/05/15 at Fargo
N836M Luck of the Irish Last Flew 29/11/12 at Beaver Falls
N472AF KG668 Last flew 18/05 at Terre Haute
N29TN (Super DC-3S) Last flew 22/08/13 at Wasilla
N28AA Candler Field Express Last flew 29/11/17 at Atlanta

All information is accurate at time of posting.

[ninyule]

Thanks Mark

I stand corrected - the final US total is indeed 15 (assuming they all make it). The very last two I missed are N150D and N341A. In my defence, neither have made a move towards the UK as yet.

Both are part of the Mighty Fifteen as featured here:
http://ddaysquadron.org/the-mighty-fift ... -normandy/

[Mark_Aviation]

Thanks Mark

I stand corrected - the final US total is indeed 15 (assuming they all make it). The very last two I missed are N150D and N341A. In my defence, neither have made a move towards the UK as yet.

Both are part of the Mighty Fifteen as featured here:
http://ddaysquadron.org/the-mighty-fift ... -normandy/

Correct. Even though the two of them aren’t on their way yet, I’m confident enough to say they’ll be making the crossing based on what’s shown up on radar recently, as well as various Facebook posts saying they are still coming.

[ninyule]

One extra arrival at PIK for yesterday:

N62CC - arr PIK 24/05.
N18121 - arr Bismarck 25/05.
N24320 - still not venturing across the pond but has moved NW to Iqaluit today 25/05.
N150D - is (according to FR24) scheduled to fly East to Syracuse (SYR) today.

That's all I can find - IMHO N341A seems to be leaving it rather late, assuming it takes about 6 days to get to QFO from OAK - a long journey.

Also noticed that LN-WND is supposed to be doing demo flights according to the official Daks website, so I'm guessing that she and PH-PBA are pretty much certain (subject to tech).

[Mark_Aviation]

One extra arrival at PIK for yesterday:

N62CC - arr PIK 24/05.
N24320 - still not venturing across the pond but has moved NW to Iqaluit today 25/05.
N150D is (according to FR24) scheduled to fly East to Syracuse (SYR) today.

That's all I can find - IMHO N341A seems to be leaving it rather late, assuming it takes about 6 days to get to QFO from OAK - a long journey.

Also noticed that LN-WND is supposed to be doing demo flights according to the official Daks website, so I'm guessing that she and PH-PBA are pretty much certain (subject to tech).

N24320 flew to Iqaluit yesterday and will fly to Kangerlussuaq today. It will be touch and go with N341A.

[Mark_Aviation]

AIRCRAFT POSITIONS REPORT – 25/05

I put all of this together using Flightaware, Flightradar24 and social media posts to get an accurate overview of the current situation. This is all the U.S. Dakotas listed on the Daks over Normandy website.

Currently it looks like only 15 of the U.S. based Dakotas are making the trip. Those are:

N33611 Clipper Tabitha May Duxford
N25641 Liberty Duxford

N47TB That’s all Brother Coventry

N47E Miss Virginia Prestwick
N74589 Placid Lassie Prestwick
N45366 D-Day Doll Prestwick
N62CC Virginia Ann Prestwick
N103NA Flabob Express Prestwick
N47SJ Betsy’s Biscuit Bomber Prestwick
N877MG Pan American Airways Systems Prestwick

N8336C The Spirit of Benovia Weston, Ireland

N24320 Miss Montana Kangerlussuaq

N18121 The Great Silver Fleet Presque Isle

N150D 101st Airborne Tribute Presque Isle

N341A “Golden Age Air Tours” Last Flew yesterday (24/05). 50/50 chance of it making it IMHO.

U.S. Aircraft not making the trip (Not Confirmed):

N534BE The Duchess of Dakota Last Flew 09/05/15 at Fargo
N836M Luck of the Irish Last Flew 29/11/12 at Beaver Falls
N472AF KG668 Last flew 18/05 at Terre Haute
N29TN (Super DC-3S) Last flew 22/08/13 at Wasilla
N28AA Candler Field Express Last flew 29/11/17 at Atlanta

All information is accurate at time of posting.

[Mark_Aviation]

There will be a Twitter Q&A tomorrow to answer any event related questions 7-8pm BST. Should be popular!

https://twitter.com/daks_normandy/statu ... 31041?s=21

And also on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/20573275292669 ... 18&sfns=mo

[Mark_Aviation]

I’ve got a reply off the organisers on Facebook, they are expecting 12 of the 14 European Daks to attend. What is also worth noting regarding Duxford:

- They say a few aircraft will leave Duxford on the 4th June to do drops at Carentan, before returning for the cross-channel flight in the 5th.
- Only the parachutist capable Daks will take part in the practice drop on the 4th, as opposed to all the Daks taking part in the flight on the 5th
- They have planned to position the aircraft so there will not be backlit
- The nightshoot on the 3rd will involve a total of 6 Daks (DC-3, C-47 and LI-2), there will be no engine runs, but there will be a scissor lift available and lighting on the aircraft.

[peasus911]

I was talking to one of the Dak organisers at Duxford yesterday and he confirmed that there will be a para drop of 280 men directly over duxford on the 4th as a full rehearsal for the big day.

[dollar99]

N341A is on the move, spent last night in Rapid City SD

[ninyule]

OK, latest as follows:

Arr Duxford (QFO) 27/05:
N47TB
N74589
N47E
N45366
N47SJ
N103NA
N62CC
N8336C

N24320 - arr PIK 27/05
N18121 - arr UAK 27/05
N150D - arr RKV 27/05
N341A - arr Rapid City 26/05. This aircraft is progressing very slowly, mostly flights of around 2 hours every day. So still not clear whether she intends to come to Duxford!

Not clear on the positions of N25641 and N877MG - last reported at PIK.

Nothing to report on Europeans - presumably most (if not all) will arrive on Sunday 2nd??

[DanBeeden]

I’m hoping the answer is an emphatic no but could anyone just confirm that the Daks are not going to be left south side for the duration of the upcoming Duxford festivities? I assume they would all be parked along the edge of the northern taxiway in due course, as per the flying participants at Legends?

Dan