Standing in between a thousand other aviation enthousiasts at an air display show is one thing, walking around in your own village and literally 'out of the blue' catching the unmistakable sound of a few piston engines coming your way is another !
I just picked up a few groceries the other day and was walking back to my car when i heared the, indeed unmistakable, sound of a couple of Merlins. I completely frose.....
What could it be ? A couple of Spitfires ?.. A Spit and a Hurricane ?... A Spit and a Mustang ?.. 2 Mustangs ?.. A Lancaster ?... Before i was ready with my contemplation there it was : a Lancaster ! Not really at treetop height but pretty low for sure. Goose bumps all over ! I might even have become a goose just for a second during that moment ! Hehe
This really is something completely different compared to watching a Lanc, or any other warbird, being put thru its paces at an airshow. That's what you're there for, that's what the meaning is,isn't it. Nothing out of the ordinairy if you're an airdisplay junkie.
However, unsuspectingly just walking down the street, carrying a few groceries and then being confronted with the heavenly sounds of an aircraft's piston engine coming towards you it will grab you by the balls !
The most peculiar thing was that nobody around in the street seemed to notice, nobody else was looking up. I wanted to shout "Hey, Look!! It's a Lancaster !! Not an Airbus for Pete's sake!! " (we're underneath the ILS for Schiphol Rwy 18C final approach so people here are quite a bit weary of aircraft...;-) Once the Lanc had dissapeared over the houses and the gorgeous sound of the Merlins had died down i felt completely alone, nobody to share this extraordinairy exiting moment with me. Ok, pack up the groceries and go home. Now where's my car...
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