August 2019The August issue of FlyPast features an icon of D-Day on its cover. We visit North Weald to profile Douglas C-47A Skytrain ‘Drag ’em oot’, one of the first aircraft to drop paratroopers over France in the early hours of D-Day. It’s now owned by Aero Legends and recently returned to Normandy, almost 75 years to the day, to once again drop parachutists in tribute to the brave men who risked so much in June 1944. We describe this remarkable return and feature air-to-air photography of this beautifully maintained machine. <b>WING TO WING</b> Jamie Ewan was invited on board a Classic Wings’ Dragon Rapide for the firm’s debut fly-along experience with a pair of World War Two fighters – something you can do too from the company’s Duxford base. <b>DAKS OVER DUXFORD</b> Reports from the commemorative Daks Over Duxford event and from RAF Cosford’s annual showcase. <b>COUGAR AND PANTHER IN THE SPOTLIGHT</b> Our popular Spotlight section profiles a pair of Grumman jets, both of which proved their worth in the early years of the Cold War. We highlight the straight-winged Panther and its successor, the swept wing Cougar. <b>PACIFIC LEGEND</b> ‘Kiwi’ fighter pilot Guy Newton and his squadron of Curtiss Kittyhawks helped to break the Japanese stranglehold on the Solomon Islands, as Andrew Thomas explains. <b>GREAT WAR MAVERICK</b> Daredevil World War One ace Charles Nungesser was as unpredictable as he was brilliant. Kathleen Hanser details some of the Frenchman’s daring exploits. <b> PLUS...</b> After the recent return to flight of Aero Vintage’s Great War-era de Havilland DH.9, we celebrate the many achievements of restoration experts Retrotec and we also visit the RAF Museum where the Lysander and Hampden projects are rapidly approaching completion. Bob Gordon reflects on the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum’s history and presents a story of triumph over the odds, while Ken Ellis takes us on a driving tour of Northamptonshire’s aviation heritage sites.
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