The car is packed and as soon as Rod Brooking arrives we will head off.
Display boards all complete
Educating the young and the old is an important aspect of Project Hawker. There is a story to be told about Harry Hawker and this fills one display board. The other display board centres around the Catalina. Both boards will be available for the press to see on Wednesday and will both will be on board the Catalina on its Circuit of Britain.
“Australia all Over”
Just been interviewed by Macca on ABC Radio in Australia. The programme is a popular choice on a Sunday morning and goes nationwide. Hopefully, as a result there will be a bit of interest in Harry Hawker and the 100th Anniversary of his Circuit of Britain flight in the Sopwith Waterplane.
5 days to go and RAF Leeming
This base is the planned overnight stop on the first day, Wednesday 21st. The team there have been absolutely brilliant in terms of facilitating the arrival of the IWM Duxford based Catalina. Naturally, the crew are looking forward to the visit!
RAF Lossiemouth
Readers will have noticed a comment in the schedule about a possible stop at RAF Lossiemouth on Thursday 22nd. Discussions are underway so keep posted to see if the Catalina will be setting down. A Catalina in these parts would be something to see!
7 days to go and Team Oz
With 7 days to go plans for next week are in hand but there is still a lot to clear. However, the support for Project Hawker 2013 is not just local. Twelve thousand miles away there has been a small team providing encouragement from the start. You know who you are. Well done!
A day closer to lift off
Esther Blaine at the IWM Duxford has been a real star getting the ball rolling with the Press Call and Press Release. RAF Leeming have been in touch about the operational aspects of the Catalina coming. The Webmaster has been busy providing other IT / technical input. Names of invited guests for the various local flights are firming up. Still plenty to do though!
Air to air photography
Ever wondered how photographers get some great air to air shots? I had a lengthy telephone call on Sunday and today I received a detailed email setting out the logistics of getting some photos of the Catalina coming down Southampton Water. Safety is the over-riding aspect along with attention to detail. Alas you will have to wait at least another 9 days to see the outcome.
10 days to go!
Where has the weekend gone? Well to start, more work has been done on the press release material. Photos have gone off to Shell of the Catalina being oiled up during a recent service. Once the aircraft is back from a display over the weekend of 17th-18th August it will be cleaned and a number of decals applied. Finally, some excellent news on the Hawker family front. A number of relatives will be coming to Duxford for the departure of the Catalina on August 21st.
Fuel issues
Up early this morning and went over the fuel plan for the whole trip. Including reserves about 1500 gallons required and at £2.00 per litre that means £12,000 to find in the coming week. So far £1,000 has been promised but nothing like a challenge!
