A number of articles caught my eye in the November 2025 edition of FlyPast. It’s quite amazing sometimes how you can find a connection in various articles describing events that might at first seem a little obscure or buried deep in the past.
I loved the photos and description of the displays at 2025’s EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. I was out there a few years ago and can confirm that it really is like a small town totally given over to aviation. If it has something to do with aviation and you want it badly enough, you will certainly find it there. Also, there is always much for us enthusiasts of historic aviation to get excited about. I remember seeing one of the two Boeing B-29 Superfortresses fly over at pretty low level. The noise was full of character and the sight of it gleaming in the sunshine… Well, only the word ‘Wow’ seems to sum it up.
I also noted with interest the article about the counterinsurgency operations which saw Bristol Sycamores being put to good use in the so-called Cyprus Emergency in the 1950s. My grandfather was out there for a while and says he remembers the first of those distinctive-looking helicopters arriving in Cyprus sometime in 1955. They were indeed initially tasked with search and rescue duties, to which they were well suited, but pretty soon the Sycamore crews were tasked with more hazardous missions. These were termed ‘Internal Security’ operations, as the article states.
Finally, it was good to read about the Thomas Castle Aviation Scholarship, taking what was obviously a very sad event and working hard to produce something positive from that. Good luck to all involved.
Maxwell Rhead
Splott, Cardiff
Leave a Reply