# Flyover at the royal reception (WWII aviation) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 29, 2011, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flyover-at-the-royal-reception-wwii-aviation/580165 "2011-04-29T14:59:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2011, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flyover-at-the-royal-reception-wwii-aviation/580165/1 "2011-04-29T14:59:06Z")
Need aviation buff help. I studiously avoided the wedding (not easy when it’s on every channel) but when I heard that there was a flyover, my interest was piqued. [Royal Wedding Fly Over 2011 - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxVo-96atkg)" So is that two Spitfires escorting the Lancaster or is one a Hawker Hurricane? They don’t quite look identical even if the shot is mostly a silhouette. Thanks in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2011, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flyover-at-the-royal-reception-wwii-aviation/580165/2 "2011-04-29T15:15:59Z")
Spitfire and Hurricane. At 0:17, you can get a good look at the wings. The one with the pointier wings is a Spit; the more squared-off wingtips is a Hurricane. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2011, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flyover-at-the-royal-reception-wwii-aviation/580165/3 "2011-04-29T15:16:37Z")
> [@Rocketeer](#): > > Spitfire and Hurricane. At 0:17, you can get a good look at the wings. The one with the pointier wings is a Spit; the more squared-off wingtips is a Hurricane. Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flyover-at-the-royal-reception-wwii-aviation/580165/4 "2011-04-30T00:00:20Z")
That was the [Battle of Britain Memorial Flight](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Britain_Memorial_Flight), which regularly (although too infrequently) flies by at major events. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flyover-at-the-royal-reception-wwii-aviation/580165/5 "2011-04-30T02:58:09Z")
I’m always late to aviation threads! (And I’ve only just seen the fly-over.) ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flyover-at-the-royal-reception-wwii-aviation/580165/6 "2011-04-30T03:30:32Z")
[Clickable link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxVo-96atkg%22). ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flyover-at-the-royal-reception-wwii-aviation/580165/7 "2011-04-30T07:26:12Z")
Yes, the BBMF is a Spitfire, a Hurricane and a Lancaster - despite the Lancaster having nothing to do with the Battle of Britain. (The BoB ended October 31 1940, the Lanc entered service in 1942.) ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flyover-at-the-royal-reception-wwii-aviation/580165/8 "2011-04-30T08:49:56Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Yes, the BBMF is a Spitfire, a Hurricane and a Lancaster - despite the Lancaster having nothing to do with the Battle of Britain. (The BoB ended October 31 1940, the Lanc entered service in 1942.) True, but it is a chance to hear 6 merlin engines at once, what more reason is required? ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flyover-at-the-royal-reception-wwii-aviation/580165/9 "2011-04-30T09:38:42Z")
Very cool. We went to a private fly-in party once ( everyone was a pilot, except probably us) at a friends parents house, whose house backs up to a private airstrip. They had a bunch of fly overs that day from other area enthusiasts. The one that got alot of OOOOh factor was the MIG. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flyover-at-the-royal-reception-wwii-aviation/580165/10 "2011-04-30T19:10:12Z")
Henry Tenby of [AirlineTV.net](http://AirlineTV.net) filmed [this footage](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kURznObIIJM) at the Abbotsford Airshow 2010 media day on Thursday, August 12, 2010, which includes pre-flight engine run-ups and post flight maintenance run-ups. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flyover-at-the-royal-reception-wwii-aviation/580165/11 "2011-04-30T19:16:29Z")
I was at that airshow. I was in the crowd, and I didn’t have my tripod. I did get some video, but I haven’t watched it yet. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flyover-at-the-royal-reception-wwii-aviation/580165/12 "2011-05-01T10:15:28Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Yes, the BBMF is a Spitfire, a Hurricane and a Lancaster - despite the Lancaster having nothing to do with the Battle of Britain. (The BoB ended October 31 1940, the Lanc entered service in 1942.) Even so, it is one of the only two flying Lancasters left in the world, so I’m not going to get too upset about anachronistic details on the subject… ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flyover-at-the-royal-reception-wwii-aviation/580165/13 "2011-05-01T14:36:15Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > True, but it is a chance to hear 6 merlin engines at once, what more reason is required? None whatever… 🆒 > [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Even so, it is one of the only two flying Lancasters left in the world, so I’m not going to get too upset about anachronistic details on the subject… Trust me, when I see them, live or on TV, the first thought to cross my mind is _not_ “But Lancasters weren’t in the Battle of Britaiiiin…”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flyover-at-the-royal-reception-wwii-aviation/580165/14 "2011-05-01T19:22:32Z")
There was some great footage from inside the Lancaster as it flew down the Mall, looking out of the front of the plane at the crowds and Buckingham Palace, and at the two flanking planes from the turret. ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flyover-at-the-royal-reception-wwii-aviation/580165/15 "2011-05-03T01:50:34Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Even so, it is one of the only two flying Lancasters left in the world, so I’m not going to get too upset about anachronistic details on the subject… My sons and I slept underneath one of them on a Scout field trip to the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. At the time, they had one of the engines out for maintenance, so I was able to look at it partially disassembled. Fascinating stuff.