Very smart, glossy black with a simple 'mint' stripe

Scanned from a very thin, underdeveloped negative. This aircraft was built in 1974 and only transferred to the South African Register as ZS-BRD as recently as 2009

1/100 sec for full prop discs

It was a real treat to see an Optica in the air again. The Optica first flew in 1979 with the unusual ducted fan pusher propellor. It has excellent low speed characteristics and superb all round visibility making it a cheaper alternative to helicopters for surveillance operations such as Police work. It is hoped that these may soon re-enter production

Straddling the Lincolnshire and Leicestershire border and close to Nottinghamshire too, the former RAF Bottesford had a very short life. It opened in Autumn 1941 with Avro Manchesters but soon converted to Lancasters. It was transfered to USAAF use in August 1943 for the reception of Dakotas from the USA. Returned to the RAF for heavy bomber training in late 1944, flying had more or less finished by the end of 1945 and though used for a short time for storage it was sold in 1948. It is largely used for industrial purposes and car storage. Taken from a Tiger Moth, G-ANFI and with thanks to Geoff Graham for the magnificent flight.

Sold to the Finnish Air Force in July 2017

Bilt in 2008. This aircraft was a participant in the National 18m Championships and it is seen venting ballast water as it returns to Husbands Bosworth.

The aircraft powers on to go around the circuit

This aircraft is preserved in the middle of a traffic island close to Florennes

This airline lost its identity when it merged with US Airways in 2005, except that the 'Cactus' callsign was retained - at least until US Airways merged with American.