Continue reading]]> A father and son, sharing a deep passion for restoring vintage watches and airplanes, have combined their love for both into something truly special.

Inspired by the legendary SV-4B, an aircraft that played a pivotal role in Belgian aviation history, they’ve  crafted a watch that honors its legacy. Built in Alfred Renard’s factory in Evere, the SV-4B was the backbone of the Belgian Air Force’s training fleet after World War II.

This limited edition watch, with only 65 pieces available, is more than just a timepiece – it’s a tribute to the spirit of innovation and excellence. Each watch features the iconic silhouette of the SV-4B on a sleek black dial, and the case back is engraved with a unique number from V 1 to V 65, making each one as unique as the plane it represents.

Pre-orders are now open! Secure your piece of aviation history today by visiting https://www.sv-4.com/ or clicking the image below.

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Ford Europe unveiled the Ford Mustang GT Eagle Squadron, a unique Mustang GT bearing the colours and markings of a Spitfire of No 71 (Eagle) Squadron to honour the American pilots who served in the Royal Air Force.

The Mustang is powered by a V8 engine delivering 710 hp and 610 lb/ft of torque. The codes and serial match the Spitfire Mk V EN783, which was notably flown by Greek-American ace Steve Pisanos.

Spitfire Mk V EN783 of No 71 (Eagle) Squadron (© Gaëtan Marie)

Spitfire Mk V EN783 of No 71 (Eagle) Squadron (Crown Copyright)

Continue reading]]> The 2017 airshow season is starting. We have created a range of warbirds t-shirts which will be perfect for the occasion, with the added benefit of supporting World Warbird News. These shirts, as well other warbird-themed items such as phone cases, caps and more, can be purchased from the integrated shop we’ve added to the website, or directly from the Spreadshirt shop.

More designs will be added in the future. Feel free to let us know what you think of them, or suggest some new additions !

Continue reading]]> The Royal Air Force’s Memorial Flight Club is the official club of the famous Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. The BBMF operates six Supermarine Spitfires, two Hawker Hurricanes, the Avro Lancaster PA474, two Douglas Dakotas and two de Havilland Canada DHC.1 Chipmunks, which are presented to the public during air shows and commemorations. The BBMF is somewhat unique as most modern air forces are not much – if at all – involved in the preservation of their former aircraft and the memories of their veterans, or are only in an indirect fashion.

Membership

You can support the RAF Memorial Flight Club and the BBMF by becoming a member. Annual membership costs £25/year (plus P&P). Not only will your membership help support the BBMF, you’ll also get a number of gifts and benefits. The membership pack includes the following:

• Club Yearbook – meet the team and get an exclusive insight into BBMF “behind the scenes”.
• BBMF Visitor Guide – full details of the BBMF aircraft and their colour schemes.
• Four aircraft data sheets (specifications of the Spitfire, Hurricane, Lancaster and Dakota)
• Wall chart
• Poster
• Car sticker
• Club badge
• Club pen
• Membership card.

• Exclusive merchandise and prints, signed by BBMF pilots
• Tour inside the Lancaster
• Chance to sit in a Spitfire
• Tickets to an exclusive display day at the BBMF

Magazine

Having been given a chance to review the magazine, I must say I was very favourably impressed with it. First of all, the 76-page Autumn 2015 issue comes with a very clean and agreeable layout, which is a welcome change from the very heavy and intensive layout often found in aviation magazines.

More importantly, the quality and subjects of the articles came as a very agreeable surprise. In addition to news related to the Club, the BBMF and its operations, the editors propose several well-written articles on various topics related to the RAF in World War II and today. The articles of the Autumn 2015 issue includes articles on the Castle Bromwich Spitfire factory, battlefield casualty evacuation in WW2 and the present, Hurricane night fighters, etc.

In conclusion, I can only recommend becoming a member of the RAF Memorial Flight Club. Christmas is arriving: for a very reasonable price, you can treat yourself or a friend to a very nice present with the added benefit of supporting the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight!

Continue reading]]> If you’re using an ad-blocking plugin with your browser, you might have noticed that you are now invited to deactivate it when you visit World Warbird News. We believe an explanation is in order.

Ads on websites can easily become irritating, if not outright annoying. This is why the ads on World Warbird News are minimal: no pop-up, flashing, sound or video ads are to be found on this website. This has always been the case with us, and won’t change.

We don’t just keep our ads discreet and non-intrusive: all of our ads are validated by human beings, and only relevant, aviation-related ads are displayed on the website.

Since World Warbird News is entirely free for visitors and does need some money to pay for itself, we would appreciate if visitors using Ad Block or similar ad-blocking software would consider deactivating them for our website. There is no obligation to do so, and you will not be stopped from visiting the website if you choose to maintain the ad blocker for World Warbird News.

Sadly, more and more free websites with great content are shutting down since their only source of income has disappeared because of ad blockers. Most often, the users of such ad blockers installed it because of abusive behaviour by some webmasters and don’t even realize how the adblocker is impacting legitimate and respectful websites.

And, no: the picture of the Breitling Wingwalkers was not chosen randomly. Imagine the impact on classic aviation if advertising was to be suddenly banned? As with everything else, it’s a question of balance: advertising can be a good thing or a bad one, depending on how you do it.

Feel free to let me know what you think by commenting this article!

Continue reading]]> Here are a few photos from the meeting “Le Temps des Hélices” which takes place every year in La Ferté-Alais, south of Paris. As I am no expert photographer, only a few of my photographs were worth publishing, so the selection is somewhat limited when compared to the list of aircraft that were displayed.

I’m sorry for posting these pictures so late (they were taken on June 7): as shown by my (stupid) mistake of yesterday, I have a lot of work and very little free time these days… Anyway, I hope you’ll enjoy them!

Photos (C) Bertrand Brown