A Day to Remember

Meeting famous pilots and their warbirds in Sweden, and being treated to a ride home to England in a Mustang

- Graham Robson

As an aviation photographer and writer, I have been privileged to partake in a number of unusual assignments, experiencing and enjoying the company of pilots and aircrew in many different environments and aircraft types. This occasion, however, was one of those where pinching one’s self became a necessity, such was the outcome of an otherwise normal summer’s afternoon. It all happened many years ago...

I had traveled to Malmö– Sturup airport, Sweden to attend the ‘DC-3 Meeting and Big Bird Fly-In’, organized by the Swedish DC-3 veterans’ organization, Flygande Veteran. Held over the weekend of 9-10 August 1997, the event was a celebration of the DC-3 and gave fellow preservation and operating groups the opportunity to meet and relish the joys of yesteryear.

Local warbird organization the Scandinavian Historic Flight (SHF), under the guidance of Anders Saether, had been asked by the Swedish authorities to oversee the running of the whole do, which naturally had the effect of boosting it to a full-blown airshow−with a definite ‘vintage’ feel. My aim was to record the event and gather material for a forthcoming publication, as well as to shoot the SHF’s immaculate Douglas A-26B Invader Sugarland Express in an air-to-air photo sortie, if possible.

This did happen, producing some very pleasing images (on 35mm film, note−Ed). However, as these were obtained whilst the Invader was airborne prior to performing her display routine, I had only achieved part of my stated aim. Worse, its appearance the following day was scheduled too late in the show for me to view the routine from ground level and still make my flight connection home from Stockholm-Arlanda.