title Nosher Flies in a P-51D Mustang, Hardwick Airfield, Norfolk (and the Whole of Suffolk) - 17th July 2011 intro Nosher, Isobel and The Boy are hanging around Hardwick Airfield after the traditional Camper Van breakfast, on the day after Maurice Hammond's hangar dance. Whilst we're deciding what to do and looking around at some of the 1940s vehicles floating around and Nosher is taking photos of the parked Mustangs, Isobel wanders over to say that there's a spare seat in "Janie", Maurice's first Mustang restoration. It takes ahout 400 millseconds to decide to splurge out and have a flight - after all, the plane's been over the house about a hundred times. And it's incredible, in particular as we're flying pairs for a chunk of the flight with Maurice's other Mustang Marinell - the sight of another WW2 fighter plane up so close is just amazing as we roam over the countryside of Suffolk. After a while, Maurice and Marinell peel away and Nosher and pilot Dave head over in Janie to Brome and Diss for a circuit or two, then fly on to Stowmarket before briefly looking at Latitude Festival and the coast at Southwold, then finally meeting up again for a dual fly-past of the airfield at Hardwick prior to landing. The view of the world from the clear plexiglass tear-drop-canopied cockpit is just poetry. Massive props to Clive "Chickens" for brokering the spare seat. imgp2529 Dave and Nosher before the off imgp2532 Nosher clambers in to Janie p1000334 Janie is loaded up p1000345 Isobel gets a photo from the sidelines p1000380 Taxiing back for take-off imgp2542 A quick glimpse of the cockpit instruments imgp2543 Meanwhile, Marinell loads up imgp2546 Smoke as the 27-litre V-12 Merlin starts up p1000352 Janie starts up imgp2550 Marinell is running p1000355 Nosher, Dave and Janie taxi down to the end of the runway imgp2552 The view of the gathered crowds imgp2554 Marinell is just behind, ready for takeoff imgp2561 We're up in the air imgp2563 A view of the Norfolk/Suffolk borders imgp2571 Marinell comes alongside imgp2575 Marinell and Janie fly side-by-side imgp2577 413521 Marinell switches sides imgp2578 Marinell in the clouds imgp2584 Air-to-air shot of Marinell dscf8772 Nosher in the back seat of Janie (© A. Seager) imgp2593 Marinell over Suffolk imgp2595 Another view of Marinell imgp2599 Flying past Stowmarket imgp2603 Nosher and Isobel's pad, bottom left imgp2607 The Brome Swan, on the A140 imgp2609 The back of the Brome Swan imgp2610 The avenue of the nearby Cornwallis Hotel imgp2612 The side field imgp2614 The Brome triangle imgp2616 The Cornwallis Hotel imgp2617 Flying past Diss imgp2623 Dave looks out over the sea near Sizewell imgp2628 Southwold, with the lighthouse on St. James' Green imgp2629 Another aerial view of Southwold and beach huts imgp2632 We fly up towards the Waveney imgp2637 The Beccles sugar factory and the Norfolk Broads imgp2641 We re-engage with Marinell imgp2643 Marinell the Mustang is back in formation imgp2647 Marinell again imgp2652 The canopy is opened in case we need to bail out imgp2655 Back on the ground imgp2661 Fred and Max by Marinell imgp2663 Nosher and Fred, just before The Boy escapes imgp2664 An in-theme photo imgp2669 Isobel and Fred have a look around Janie imgp2676 Janie, the Harvard and a US-Army truck imgp2682 Amelia, Suzanne, Fred and Isobel imgp2684 Dave secures the cockpit imgp2690 Dave and Nosher and the cliché photo imgp2699 Janie watches the approching storm imgp2700 Clive's truck hangs around in the rain