Daks Over Normandy...this will be awsome!!!!!

[JohnTerrell]

As Mike stated, Aero Legends, which is built on making a profit selling warbird rides/experiences, are doing their own thing this week in marking the D-Day 75th anniversary. From their Facebook page:

"On the 4th June Aero Legends who are now based at the historic North Weald Airfield will be setting off to Normandy as part of the 75th commemoration of D Day which took place on the 6th June 1944. Aero Legends will assemble their veteran Douglas Dakota “Drag ‘em Oot” and three Spitfires (NH341 “Elizabeth”, TD314 “St George” and RR232 “City of Exeter”) at The Squadron, North Weald Airfield on the morning of the 4th June and will depart from there late morning to The Dispersal Hut, Headcorn Aerodrome before heading for Cherbourg in Normandy. Drag ‘em Oot is named after it’s role as a glider recovery equipped aircraft and is a genuine Normandy and Arnhem veteran and has 40+ bullet holes as testimony! Both the event at North Weald Airfield and Headcorn Aerodrome are free to attend for members of the public who will be able to get up close to the aircraft and meet the pilots. The event at North Weald will begin at 09:00 before the aircraft depart at 11:30 for Headcorn Aerodrome. The event at Headcorn will begin at 12:00 at the aircraft arrive from North Weald and will end at 14:00 as the aircraft depart for Cherbourg as part of the 75th commemoration of D Day."

[JohnB]

As far as "Daks over Normandy..."
It should be called..."C-47s (and maybe a few C-53s) over Normandy"...most Daks were only Dakotas only after they were C-47s and given to the British.

I believe their dataplates read C-47 if they were bought with U.S. money (as most were).

[p51]

So, how'd it go?

[Brenden S]

From all the videos on youtube, it appears that it went very well.

[airnutz]

So, how'd it go?

It was pretty good p51. I started watching on ABC, but when they cut the speech ceremony short I switched to NBC where it was continued. However, as soon as that was done they ceased coverage before the flyovers. Last night I found a good link to a clip of the flyovers on CNN.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfBlsxwa9NE

[airnutz]

PS
Fergot to mention...If I was king, I'da had the Patrouille de France go around after their first pass and enter the picture from the left laying down the tri-color smoke low with the Goonie flight following onto the scene above over the smoke.

[Moondance29]

So, how'd it go?

Excellent! Highlight for me was the late announcement that nine aircraft were to attend the Shuttleworth Festival of Flight airshow on June 2nd. In the end, there were two no-shows, but two hours of close access to the aircraft with their hospitable and enthusiastic crews in the morning, followed by a stream takeoff of all seven during the show, will live with me for a long time.

Last edited by Moondance29 on Thu Jul 04, 2019 8:55 am, edited 1 time in total.

[mazdaP5]

Thanks and congratulations to everyone involved.

[Mike]

The Caen end of the 'Daks over Normandy' event was a total fiasco (predictably, and predicted by many) - the less said about it the better.

However, the D-Day Squadron did a great job, and got the various planned flypasts and parachute drops done. Great credit to them, they've done a superb job bringing 15 aircraft over, and picking up the slack (and the 'stray' European aircraft) when 'Daks over Normandy' fell apart.

It has been a real pleasure and a privilege to have seen them doing their thing over the last week, both in the UK and in France.

[Stoney]

^^^^ please explain

[Jeremy S]

An episode of CBS Sunday Morning about "Miss Montana".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6TzN1yhBA8

[quemerford]

^^^^ please explain

See Flypast Forums 'Daks over Duxford' and 'Daks over Normandy' threads: organization for spectators was not great at Duxford and poor at Caen. Not much in terms of maximising the opportunity in terms of flypasts at Duxford or mass formations anywhere. The mass departure from Duxford was delayed two hours or so by a 'VVIP' not being in place and that hoped-for mass formation flight to Normandy ended up late, and as a line of twos and threes at best. Yes weather payed a part but a great, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see D-Day type formations over England and France seems to have been squandered. Ditto access by the public to the aircraft. Can't comment on how the jumps went.

[Mike]

The tip of the iceberg. Allegations include:

Jumpers who were promised that their bags would be taken in the non-jump plane DC-3s didn't receive then for another 3 days, so were stuck without any spare clothing etc, so incurred costs to buy clothes
Aircraft crews and jumpers arriving at Caen to find the promised accommodation and rental cars were non-existent and they were left to make (and pay for) their own arrangements
Photographers paying in advance for photo flights that never happened
Non-existent airshow at Caen (blamed on the weather, but allegedly the proper authorisations had not been obtained from the French)
People turning up at the event car parks and queuing for two hours for non-existent shuttle buses before giving up and going home
Promised trade stands and catering outlets not there, reports of only one burger van and nothing else
Aircraft parked tail-on a considerable distance from a metal fence was the nearest the public could get. The organisers then poured gasoline on the flames by posting close-up photos from liveside to show what a great event they were putting on

In short, a total shambles with a lot of people demanding refunds and threatening legal action

I'm glad we made a late decision on the day not to go to Caen and went elsewhere in Normandy instead.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/628505980994699/ makes for interesting reading

[Mark Allen M]

Sounds like everyone should have gone to the Hotel SNAFU to have a few drinks at the FUBAR.

[p51]

Okay, everything should have sorted itself out by now, and the Americans, or at least most of them, should have been home by now. So, does anybody have any news from the people who are actually involved?